Chapter 39 - Gio
GIO
Cold. Hospitals are always so fucking cold.
I’ve been in and out of them enough to know this for a fact.
Every time Darrio lost his shit and took his hits too far.
The broken bones, the bruises, the backhanded apologies that always sounded like blame—they gave me the relationship I have today with hospitals and it’s not a good one.
Still, I sit in the waiting area in front of a reception desk with my leg steadily pumping up and down as the clock on the wall ticks each second by. My eyes are glued to the double doors through which both Juliet and Lex disappeared.
“They’re going to be okay.” Nolan’s voice is firm, as if he refuses to acknowledge any other outcome. It’s the first time he’s spoken in the hour that we’ve been here.
My phone buzzes in my pocket almost at the same time that Nolan’s does and I reach inside, yanking it out to look at the screen. Nolan withdraws his far more sedately.
I blink, my eyes adjusting to the brightness of the screen and the simple text that comes through from Viks—mostly likely copied and sent to both of us.
VIKS: The police will show up at the hospital in the next hour to take statements. Abel is on his way. Everything here is taken care of.
The buzzing under my skin—an uncomfortable sense that I need to be doing something—takes over and I jolt up out of my chair. Nolan lifts his head, but doesn’t say anything as I shove my cell back into my pocket and begin pacing.
Back and forth, I follow the same stretch of tile in the nearly empty waiting room.
I can feel the nurse receptionist’s eyes on me, but since she’s not back there with them, I feel like I can’t stop and demand to know how they’re doing.
I have to trust that the doctors will take care of them, even if they never fucking saved me or my mom—every time, they just let us walk out of this place and right back to hell.
For places that are so clean, they sure make a fucking mess of my head. The fluorescent lights above me hum, my eyes playing tricks on me every few minutes and making me think they’re flickering. It makes me want to reach up and rip them out of the ceiling.
My jaw is locked so tight that my teeth are starting to ache.
What the hell did Viks mean? Everything is taken care of?
Does that mean Roquel’s body disappeared?
No, he wouldn’t get rid of her—not with the evidence Rylie had been able to record on the hotel security cameras.
There’s no point. It’s not like we killed her.
Hell, Juliet didn’t even kill her. Anyone who saw what we did would know that.
“Fuck, I hate waiting.” The confession slips out of me before I can stop it. I shove my hands through my hair, grabbing a chunk and gripping it tight. My pacing ends as I collapse back in one of the uncomfortably worn chairs that line the waiting room wall.
“They’re going to be okay,” Nolan repeats his words from earlier, even going so far as to use the exact same tone. His confidence used to reassure me. Right now, I’m not sure anything can comfort me but seeing both Lex and Juliet alive and well with my own eyes.
The sliding glass doors that lead from the parking lot into the waiting room whoosh open with an audible hiss a moment later.
Dressed in a pair of flannel pants and a sweatshirt that’s likely a relic from Nolan’s early high school years, a frazzled-looking Eliza strides in.
Both Nolan and I are out of our seats in an instant.
She catches sight of us and rushes over.
“Are you boys okay?” she demands, her keen eyes sliding over Nolan before switching to me.
“We’re fine, Mom,” Nolan murmurs, voice quiet as Eliza cups his cheek and stares into his face. She doesn’t say anything more as she seems to scan him to ensure that his words are true. Then she switches to me.
“Gio?” That’s all it takes. Just one simple, motherly whisper of my name. I break, swooping forward and dragging her into my arms.
My eyes burn with unshed tears, but I refuse to let them fall as I grasp her much smaller body and crush her against my chest. As if the woman knows exactly what I need, Eliza sighs and hugs me back.
She murmurs soothing words into my ear, not trying to force me to release her even though I’m sure I have to be squeezing her uncomfortably tight. I can’t seem to let her go.
So much has happened just in the last few hours that I feel like I’m shattering apart. Lex was shot, the amount of blood that had soaked my hands as I’d tried to help him terrified me. All the while neither of us were even sure if Juliet was still alive.
How I’ve kept it together this long, I’ll never know. But here and now, with Eliza’s soft and calming scent filling my nostrils and her warm hands cupping my face, stroking my hair, and smoothing down my back, I think that maybe, fucking maybe, we’ll be okay.
Minutes pass and Eliza lets me just hold her.
It isn’t until she tells me she wants to go back to check on Lex and Juliet that I release her.
Then, I realize just how selfish I’d been.
Nolan’s face is calm, stoic as Eliza motions for him to follow her towards the desk.
He never would have said as much, but he probably needed her reassurances too.
I watch the two of them talk quietly and thank the universe that of the three of us there’s at least one fucking person we can count on to actually be a parent.
Nolan nods his head to something Eliza says and she grasps his arm before pulling him into a sharp hug. Their embrace isn’t nearly as long as ours was, but it’s sweet and it seems to give Nolan some relief before she turns and marches through the double doors leading to the operating suites.
“What did she say?” I ask as Nolan approaches and retakes his seat next to me.
“I told her about Lex getting shot,” he replies. “She said that if he was shot twice and didn’t bleed out before the ambulance got there, then it’s more likely no major artery was hit.”
That kind of information is something we knew, but I’m sure Eliza merely said it as a way to make him feel better. Regardless, I love her for it.
Together, the two of us fall into a companionable silence—the tension that had been there earlier not gone completely, but assuaged enough to not drive either of us insane. Just as Viks had warned us, the police show up within the next hour with Abel on their heels.
He sprints into the waiting room, dressed in a pair of loose workout sweats and a gray t-shirt, his wife by his side dressed in a pair of black leggings and an oversized hoodie that I’m sure is his. If it’d been Juliet, it certainly would’ve been mine.
“What are you doing here?” I ask as both Rylie and Abel skirt around the police officers that are currently talking to the receptionist, informing her that they’ll need to talk to the doctor once they’re done. Abel I’m not surprised to see, but Rylie…
“Evidence,” Rylie says, shoving a few purple strands away from her flushed face. It’s as if the two were sprinting all the way here.
Nolan’s brow furrows. “They might not take it,” he says. “You had to hack the hotel’s system.”
Rylie’s small smile is reassuring and she and Abel exchange a glance.
“That’s what took us so long to get here,” she tells us as she reaches into the pocket of her hoodie and withdraws a paper and ID card.
“You’re looking at Hotel Vera’s official IT girl.
” She grins as she shows us the ID that has a picture of her looking far more professional with a name that reads Rylie Frazier: Hotel Vera Security Specialist.
“How the hell did you pull that off?” I gape between her and Abel.
Abel claps me on the shoulder. “A lot of fucking negotiations, that’s how,” he says, and I’m not entirely sure why, but it feels like an understatement.
“Mr. Pierce? Mr. Vargas?” We’re interrupted by the two officers who’ve finished speaking with the receptionist. As a unit, the four of us turn towards them.
“Yes?” Nolan straightens. “You need a statement from us, Officers?”
The older one who has graying hair along the sides of his temples nods. The name badge of his uniform reads Officer Petty and his partner, Officer Gabin.
Abel introduces himself, shaking each of the officer’s hands even when they stiffen ever so slightly at the mention that he’s our lawyer. I half expect the officers to become aggravated, but they remain professional as the oldest one removes a small notebook and begins to ask us questions.
We detail the events of the night—opting to leave out the less-than-legal methods of our involvement in finding out that Roquel Lee has been stalking Juliet for not just months, but years.
When it’s clear that the officers are a little unsure of the validity of our claims, however, Rylie steps in and shows them her badge ID and then the paper.
Whatever it is on the paper makes both officers straighten and Officer Petty puts his notebook away immediately.
“We apologize for bothering you folks while you’re waiting for your friends to be treated,” he says rather abruptly.
“We’ll be in contact when they’re out of surgery and you’ve all been given sufficient time to recover. ”
Nolan and I look between Rylie and Abel and the officers. I’m grateful that it seems he’s as confused by the sudden about-face as I am.
“It’s understandable, Officers,” Abel says with a smile as he circles Rylie’s shoulders with one of his arms. “We know you’re just doing your jobs.”
Officer Gabin bobs his head in an almost jerky fashion. “Yes, sir, Mr. Frazier, just doing our jobs,” he blurts.
“What about Detective Lann?” I ask with a frown. “He was the one in charge of Morpheus Calloway’s murder—he’ll want to know about the new evidence.”
Abel’s smile turns into a shit-eating grin, the smug satisfaction coating his features making his little wife roll her eyes and elbow him in the side. It’s Officer Petty, however, that tells us why.
With a throat-clearing cough, Officer Petty dips his head. “Detective Lann has taken a leave of absence for the time being,” he murmurs. “All of his caseload has been moved to another detective. She’ll be in contact with you soon.”
Stunned. I’m fucking stunned.
I whip my head in Abel’s direction only to find that self-satisfied smirk still on his face. The beautiful, brilliant bastard. I don’t know what the fuck he did to make that happen, but I’m grateful nonetheless.
“Thank you, gentlemen,” Rylie says, offering the men a soft smile. They seem to relax at her attention, only to stiffen right back up when Abel’s smile falls away into a scowl and low growl of discontent. He drags her closer, narrowing his eyes on them.
“We’ll… uh, get out of your hair then,” Officer Gabin says quickly. Nolan and I watch in surprise as the two bob their heads in unison and practically flee out of the doors into the parking lot.
Slowly, we turn our gazes on Abel. For a long time, no one speaks. Rylie looks both tired and like she’s over dealing with Abel’s rapidly changing moods. Now that the officers are gone, he’s back to smiling and squeezing her against him.
“You did so good, Riot Girl,” he tells her. “God, you’re sexy when you take charge.”
Ignoring him, Rylie focuses on us. “Viks, Abel, and I will handle everything,” she tells us. “Don’t worry about anything for now. Just take care of Lex and Juliet.”
“What about Madison?” Nolan asks, a frown dipping between his brows and forming two lines.
“Viks called,” Rylie replies. “He said he went back up to check on her. She woke up on her own and confirmed what you all suspected. Roquel lured her to the rooftop with needing to talk and then forced her to make the phone call before knocking her out. She said she tried to warn you, but I assume… you didn’t really get it?
” The last bit of her words ends in a question and both Nolan and I shake our heads.
“It sounded like the reception was shit,” I say. “I was standing next to Juliet when she took the call.”
Rylie nods as if my answer was expected.
“Well, she’s doing okay now. A little shook up and feeling guilty, but according to Viks, she refused to get checked out.
She wanted to come to the hospital to check on Juliet, but we figured you guys would want some time to yourselves.
I do suggest having Juliet give her a call, though, as soon as she can.
She seemed pretty beat up over being used against her like that when I spoke to her on the phone. ”
“We’ll shoot her a text as soon as Lex is out of surgery,” Nolan assures them.
As if the mention of Lex conjures them, the double doors leading back into the hospital’s hallways open and both Eliza and a man dressed in scrubs come out into the waiting room.
“Come on, boys,” Eliza says, gesturing to us. “It’s time to check on your friends.”
With that, Nolan and I thank Abel and Rylie and practically race for the doors. The sooner I can put eyes on both Lex and our girl, the better I’ll feel.