Chapter Sixteen
Kaleb watched as the doctor thoroughly cleaned the area and then pinched Myla’s wound together and used a type of superglue called cyanoacrylate to glue the edges of Myla’s wound together. He kept glancing down at Myla to make sure she wasn’t in any pain.
The doctor stood, peeled off the gloves, and set them on the tray.
“I think she’s going to sleep for a bit. Let’s get her up to a room. You can lay her on the couch or hold her. I wouldn’t put her in a bed yet. While she’s out, I’ll put in an IV, get some fluids in her.”
He followed after the doctor. He ignored the looks he got from the people he passed. He just wanted to get her in a room.
He sat with her in the chair as the doctor inserted the needle in the back of Myla’s hand and then adjusted something on the monitor.
“I’m going to order another sedative.” The doctor turned back to him. “Do you have any objections?”
He shook his head. “No, she needs it.”
“I’ll also have a counselor come in who knows how to talk to victims. The police are going to want to talk to her, too.”
He nodded. “I know, I’m a cop.”
Jessica nodded. “I’ll check back with you in a while. Have the nurse call if you need me.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
He watched the door close behind the woman. A calm settled over the room. The only sounds were their breathing and the beep of the machines they had attached to Myla. Instead of irritating him, they gave him comfort to hear the rhythm of her heartbeat.
He gathered her closer against his chest and closed his eyes. He must have slept because the opening of the door startled him. He watched Joel walk over and stare down at Myla.
“How is she?”
“She’s holding up for now. They are going to sedate her. They gave her a small dose in the ER.”
Joel nodded. “It’s probably for the best.”
“You guys have the man in custody?” Kaleb asked.
“Yeah, He’ll be going away for a long time.”
“Good.” Kaleb narrowed his eyes on the other man. “Tell me about the first attack?”
“We never found out where Clark first saw Myla, but he fixated on her. He didn’t stalk her in the ordinary sense. There were no notes or phone calls. But he seemed to be everywhere she went, or she could feel him watching.
“He attacked her when she was walking out of her office building. It must have been a spontaneous decision because it didn’t make sense to anyone.
There were other people around. A few men held him down and called the police.
I was the first on the scene. She was terrified, but not close to this time.
But he did a lot more damage this time. It wasn’t the only time he’d done something like this, so he was sent to prison.
He was supposed to be there for another few years. I’ll find out what happened.”
Joel rubbed his hand against the back of his neck. “I stayed with her through it and then helped her move to a better location so she could feel safe.”
“You two have stayed close?”
Joel’s gaze rose to Kaleb’s. “It’s not like you’re thinking, man. I was dating my wife Rebecca then. She helped move Myla and get her situated. She’s a suicide counselor and has a degree in psychology, so she was able to connect with Myla. Since then, they’ve become good friends.”
Joel stuck his hands in his pockets and watched the gentle, loving way in which Kaleb smoothed the covers over her. “You know the way she talked about you, I thought you two had been together for a while.”
Kaleb shook his head. “No, sometimes it feels like forever since I met her. I don’t want to remember a time in my life that I didn’t know her.”
Joel nodded. “I get that. I felt the same way about my Becca.” Joel cleared his throat. “The detectives in charge of her case will be stopping by tonight to ask questions.”
“I figured.” Kaleb looked at Joel. “I’m not sure she’s going to be able to answer them.”
“She’s stronger than you realize. She’ll get through this. I’m going to head out. I’ll be by tomorrow with Becca.”
“I’m not sure she’ll be here tomorrow.”
“She has a slight concussion, so they’ll at least keep her overnight. Becca and I will stop by in the morning.”
Kaleb nodded. “I’ll see you then.”
Joel set a card on the table next to the bed. “Could you call me if something changes or you need anything?”
“I will. Thanks.”
Kaleb closed his eyes for a brief moment when the door opened again, and the nurse quietly walked in.
“I’m just going to check her vitals and add a sedative. I won’t disturb her.”
Kaleb nodded.
Within a minute, they were alone again. Kaleb looked at the sofa and grunted. No way were they both going to fit on it. And the bed wasn’t much better.
He cursed under his breath when the door opened again. His brows snapped together when two cops came through.
“As you can see, she’s resting.”
One of the men nodded and pulled out a pen and a small pad of paper.
“We could ask you a few questions until she wakes up.”
“If you keep your voice down, you can stay,” Kaleb growled.
Both cops stiffened.
“Sir, we will ask her these questions, and we certainly don’t need your permission.”
“First, let me introduce myself. I’m Sergeant Kaleb Hawkins from the Nineteenth District.”
Both men relaxed.
“Good, so you know the drill?” the taller of the two cops asked.
“I do, but right now, my fiancée is resting, and I won’t have her woken up. Leave a card, and I’ll call you when she’s ready.”
“You know that’s not how it works, Sergeant.”
“Well, it’s the way this will work,” Kaleb spit out and then sighed.
“Look, she was attacked and almost raped, give her a minute to breathe before asking questions.” Kaleb could see the discouragement in both men’s faces.
“I’ve been where you’re at, guys. I know how you’re feeling.
Now, I know how the other side feels also, and I’m telling you it sucks big time. I’m holding on by a thread.”
One of the cops closed his pad of paper and put that and the pen away.
“All right,” the other one said and laid a card down on the table next to the one Joel left. “Call us as soon as you can.”
“I will, I promise. Thanks.”
One of them stopped at the door and turned.
“Are you the Hawkins who was in that explosion a few years back?”
Kaleb nodded and touched his cheek. “Yeah, it’s pretty obvious.”
“We were sorry to hear about losing your partner in the blast.”
“Thanks.”
The cops turned and walked out.
Kaleb rested his head against the back of the chair and closed his eyes. He would never forget that day as long as he lived. His sixth sense had been screaming when they started walking to the warehouse. Even Dane, his partner, mentioned how uneasy he was.
They were there on a tip about a missing kid and couldn’t turn away even if they knew something was up. The explosion happened as they moved into the warehouse by the back door.
He was told in the hospital that they were both thrown several yards, knocking them unconscious, and then shrapnel from the building rained down on them. It was a piece of metal that pierced Dane’s chest.
All Kaleb could be thankful for was his partner had been unconscious and hadn’t felt anything.
Besides the death of his partner and best friend, the shrapnel had torn through one of his thighs and split open his face, taking his career as he had known it away.
The surgeon at the time did the best they could to patch him up, but it left him with horrible scars across one side of his face.
He’d been told at the time he could get plastic surgery, but he always felt he deserved to stay scarred because he’d been the one to live.
He woke to Myla moving around on his lap.
“Hey, Baby. What are you doing?”
She stared up at Kaleb like she hadn’t seen him before. Her eyes were so dazed she didn’t even know where she was at first.
“I need the bathroom,” she murmured and tried to stand again.
“Whoa, all right. I’ll carry you in.”
She tried to struggle. “No, I want to walk.”
He didn’t want her upset, so he stood and set her on her feet. He watched her face to see if there was any discomfort.
“Are you steady, Baby?”
She nodded and took a few steps forward before she got shaky. Thankfully, Kaleb had been right there and wrapped an arm around her waist. They made it to the bathroom with Kaleb holding her up and making sure the long IV tube didn’t get messed up. She pushed against his chest at the door.
“I can get this.”
He scowled in concern but knew he couldn’t fight her on it at the moment.
“I’ll be right here.”
She closed the door.
He listened to the toilet flush a moment later, and then the running water. Finally, the door opened. He caught her around the waist and lifted her.
“No arguing, Baby. You’re about ready to fall on your face.”
She stayed silent until he got on the other side of the bed. “Set me down on the bed, please.”
He froze. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes,” she murmured.
He wondered if the sedative they gave her was causing her not to remember, but after he lay her down and caught sight of the expression on her face, he knew she remembered everything.
She closed her eyes and shuddered after he pulled the blanket over her and tucked it in at her shoulders. He set the other blankets they used at the end of the bed.
He stood over her. “Baby, I don’t mind holding you.”
She shook her head without opening her eyes. “No. That couldn’t have been comfortable holding me for hours. Can you adjust the bed? I’d like to sit up for a while.”
He leaned over her and placed his hand on the other side by her hip. “I love holding you.”
She stared up at him before looking over his shoulder out the window. Night had fallen. “How did you know I was here?”
He sat on the side of the bed, facing her, and watched her continue to look beyond him.
“Joel called and had someone track me down.”
Her gaze swung to him. “I’m sorry he did that. I hadn’t had a chance to tell anyone ... that we ... were not seeing each other anymore.”
“I fucked up, Baby, and I’m sorry.”
Her brows pinched together. “What do you mean?”