Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Knox stared out the window in the hospital waiting room then bowed his head to the glass. The chopper had flown Adriana to Abilene to better care for a gunshot wound.
GSW. GSW. G-Fucking-S-W. He slammed his fist against the wall off to his right, and he gulped in a fat breath of air.
“She’s okay, man. She’s going to be okay.” Luke wrapped a hand over Knox’s shoulder, but he was rooted in place.
Her mom had died from a GSW. How the hell had he let this happen?
“So stubborn.” The bright sunlight streamed through the window and burned his eyes, causing them to water. Or maybe he was crying. At this point, he didn’t know, and he didn’t care.
“You heard the doctor. They’re waiting for her to wake up and then you can see her,” Luke said, giving his shoulder a tight squeeze. “I’m so sorry, though. This was all my fault. You were right. I shouldn’t have let her go in there.”
Knox bit down on his back teeth and finally turned away from the window and focused on Luke’s booted feet as they took a step back. She’s okay. She’s okay. As many times as he repeated the words to himself, the fear of her not being okay would remain until he saw her for himself.
“I’m sorry we didn’t catch the shooter sooner,” Liam said, and Knox glimpsed him leaning against the far side wall with his forehead against his palm. Guilt in the slouch of his shoulders.
Glenn Sterling must’ve sent the sniper to prevent Nina from talking.
The hired hitman was dead, but Knox wanted to bring him back to life so he could wrap his hands around his throat and end the man himself.
“This isn’t on you,” Knox admitted, eyes on Liam first before peering at Luke. “Or you,” he said to Harper. “Any of you.” He expelled a deep breath and looked at Roman. “And you should be in a hospital bed.”
Roman was pretty banged up, but he’d be okay, thank God. He couldn’t handle that, too.
“I’m where I need to be.” Roman pressed two fingers to his right temple. There were bruises all over his body. The cocksuckers had beaten the shit out of him before they’d brought him to the stable with Nina’s plan to burn him alive.
“We’ll get Nina to talk. If she survives surgery we’ll find out where the hell she hid those Polaroids, and we’ll bring Glenn down.” Luke’s words brought his focus back his way. “I promise.”
Knox shook his head, anger building up steam again.
“Glenn’s already underground.” He turned back toward the window, unable to look at his teammates, who were crowded in the small room.
They’d been taking turns pacing. Taking turns getting details from the Feds.
And getting updates on Adriana’s status every few minutes.
“Glenn knows he’s fucked,” A.J. said as if dragging his words over burning coals. Anger in each syllable.
“Glenn managed to slip the FBI agents Quinn had on him, which means he could be anywhere by now,” Knox said bitterly.
Adriana was right, Knox hated killing. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do it. And in this case, when he found Glenn, he’d enjoy it.
“I can’t believe Nina was going to try and blow up the stage at the debate in Cleveland on Tuesday,” A.J. said, filling the silence that began to eat away at the room.
Roman had discovered Nina and her husband’s scheme to have their men plant homemade explosives at the event in Ohio. Nina had planned to burn her compound to the ground once they dispatched their people.
Knox should’ve been shocked at the lengths people were willing to go in the name of revenge, but he wasn’t. He’d seen his fair share of crazy shit in the past. But having Adriana in the mix . . .
“Mendez has a team en route to pick up Leslie Renaldo for questioning, so maybe she’ll know something to help us find Glenn,” Harper said, her voice small. “The Feds need to coax a confession out of her.”
“Mendez say anything to Quinn?” A.J. asked. “Like maybe an apology for being so wrong about everything?”
Knox barely heard their exchange, his mind going back to Adriana on the ground with his hands soaked in her blood.
“I see Mom,” Adriana had said to him before passing out.
He’d looked up at the sky and seen her, too. Well, the star he’d chosen for her.
Chills darted up his spine at the memory, but then Luke said, “The doctor’s here.”
He spun around in a hurry and moved through the waiting room to get to him.
“You ready to see her?” Doctor Frank asked. The man was officially his hero now.
“Yes, please.” His voice cracked.
Knox reached the doorway but turned back to catch sight of his buddies. “Thank you,” he mouthed and left the room.
He followed the doctor through two sets of doors, his heart kicking higher with each step closer to seeing her.
“She’s a tough woman,” the doctor said as they walked. “Sorry we made you wait to see her, but she was still under anesthesia. She should be waking up anytime now.” He stopped walking and fisted a curtain. “You ready?”
He couldn’t get the words out, so he nodded.
The doctor pulled the curtain to the side to reveal Adriana in bed.
The steady electronic beats from the heart monitor and BP machine off to her side were reassuring.
But the sight of them, and the IV . . . it was still too much.
The breathing tube, which she would’ve had during surgery had been removed. That was a good sign.
He was on the verge of sinking to his knees, but he had to remain strong. He could get through this because she was okay. She got shot, but he didn’t lose her the way her father had lost his wife.
He cupped his mouth, tears forming in his eyes as he approached the bed.
The face paint had been wiped off, although some traces were still at her hairline.
She looked like she was peacefully sleeping, not like a bullet had ripped through her that morning.
Her lashes fluttered a little.
Her right arm was wrapped in gauze where the first bullet had grazed her.
An hour ago, when Doctor Frank exited the OR with a smile, Knox had broken down with relief, his coffee splashing over the rim of the cup as he struggled to stand from his chair. He actually needed to lean against Liam for a moment.
“She’s not going anywhere,” Liam had whispered.
Knox’s gaze floated to the doctor. “And she’s going to be fine?” He’d asked the question about five thousand times since they’d first spoken.
“She was very lucky. We only had to repair part of her small bowel. We’ll keep an eye out for infections, but other than that, no major damage.”
It could’ve gone so much differently. He’d run through a checklist of all the major issues resulting from a gunshot wound to the abdomen while he’d been in the waiting room, and this was one of the best-case scenarios. Thank God.
“I’ll give you some space.” He left the room, and Knox moved to her side and reached for her hand, holding it between his palms.
“I got you,” he said and closed his eyes. “Always.”
“I know,” she answered, her voice scratchy, but she was talking . . . and . . .
He brought his forehead to hers. “I’m so—”
“Don’t apologize,” she said softly. And after a few seconds, she added, “I’ll withhold sex from you.” Her voice was low and sleepy.
But how the hell was she joking after waking up from anesthesia? Only Adriana.
“Addy.” He lifted his head to find her beautiful green eyes focused on him, but it was brief. The drugs pulled at her lids, and she closed them again.
“I promised you no one would die,” she said. “See, I kept my word.”
“What the hell am I going to do with you, woman?” He smoothed the back of his hand over her forehead and gently kissed her lips.
Tears hit his cheeks again.
“I saw my mom,” she whispered after a few minutes passed.
“I saw the star, too.” He kept hold of her hand, sitting at her bedside.
“No. I saw her.” She blinked until her gaze was focused on him, and she whispered, “She wanted me to find my way back to you.”