Chapter 54
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
DOMINICK
B eep…beep…beep…beep .
The rhythmic beeping is the first thing that filters into my awareness. Followed closely by the sensation of someone using a sledgehammer inside my head. I attempt to open my eyes, but the bright fluorescent lights turn the sledgehammer into a jackhammer, forcing me to close them again and a pained groan to escape.
“Fuuuuck.”
Fuck, what happened? My thoughts are clouded by the agony screaming through my brain at every little movement. There is no memory of what happened to land me in the hospital. Just darkness. Darkness and the most intense pain of my life. Sounds of someone moving next to me pierce through the fog.
“Serena?” I don’t know if I say her name out loud. Between the drugs and the skull-splitting headache threatening to consume me, I’m not sure what is real and what’s just jumbled thoughts in my head.
Slowly, memories bob to the surface. Serena looking so beautiful and broken on her knees for me. How lovely her tears looked glistening on her cheeks as she swallowed my cock all the way to the base. How malleable she became after she realized exactly how thoroughly she belongs to me. Serena and I in the car, driving up the mountain to the cabin where I was keeping her mom. Her reward for being a good kitten for me. Then…nothing.
The person in the room with me clears their throat. It’s masculine.
“Not Serena, man, sorry.” The voice doesn’t sound sorry. It sounds anything but, with the flat, bored tone used.
“Can you turn off the light? Too bright…can’t open my eyes.” I move to raise my hand to shield my eyes from the light so I can open them, but cool metal clanking against the plastic of the bedrail stops the movement. “What the f?—”
Whoever is in the room with me mercifully turns off the overhead light, allowing me to finally open my eyes and fully take in my surroundings. I’m in a single-bed hospital room. The dusky light outside the window indicates it’s evening. My right hand is cuffed to the bed, an IV taped to the crook of my elbow.
Anger and confusion momentarily cause me to forget my injury as I jerk my arm, uselessly testing my restraints. The motion sends another lightning bolt of excruciating pain surging through my skull.
“Yeah, you might wanna take it easy there, Dom. You took a pretty solid hit to the head. Did you know Serena’s mom used to be a state champion softball player? Apparently, she held the homerun record her senior year of college.” I narrow my eyes at Dane, who stands at the foot of my bed dressed casually in jeans, a t-shirt and a trucker cap, a shit-eating grin spread across his stupid fucking face. He keeps yapping like he’s recounting a funny story that happened.
“Who woulda thought the person to bring down the big, bad Dominick Reeves would be a middle-aged woman who can’t remember what she had for lunch and does puzzles in her free time?” Dane lets out a chuckle that causes a spike in my blood pressure, resulting in yet another mind-melting surge of agonizing pain. “You’re lucky Serena is a good person. She could’ve left you on the floor of the cabin to bleed out from a cerebral hemorrhage.”
“What. The. Fuck. Are. You. Talking. About?” I bite out the words as I clench my eyes shut, trying to block out the pain.
“I’m talking about how you are done fucking terrorizing Serena and the people closest to her. I’m talking about how your obsession over her has caused your whole fucking life to cave in. I’m talking about how, with the help of Serena’s friend Kai, there is now evidence of you abusing your role as a police officer, as well as conspiracy and murder. We also have evidence of physical abuse, sexual assault and false imprisonment, thanks to Serena’s statement. The fact that you have cameras all over your house that recorded it all? Are you that fucking dumb? Or were you that fucking delusional in your ability to not get caught?”
“Agghhhh!” A roar rips from my throat as rage floods through me. I lurch forward, trying to grab Dane by his shirt, but my left arm hangs limply by my side, and the shock of pain that ricochets through my head forces me to fall back against the pillow.
“Yeah, like I said, you might wanna take it easy there, bro. They had to do surgery to relieve the pressure on your brain. Apparently you suffered a stroke while you were under. Lost the use of your left arm. Not sure if that’s temporary or what.” Dane shrugs, like it doesn’t matter to him one way or another.
“Where’s Serena?” I grit out, slowly breathing through the nausea the last wave of pain summoned.
“Probably at home. Her home, that is. With Kai, living her best life. You’ve been here in a medically-induced coma for the last week. She hasn’t come to visit you once. Not that anyone can blame her, after the shit you put her through.”
“Why are you here?” If looks could kill, Dane would be dead on the spot. The anger I have towards this punk ass rookie trying to put me in my place rages through my veins. Fuck this kid.
“Your doctor called Serena, told her they would be letting you wake up today. Apparently since she’s your fiancée, she’s the closest thing you have to next of kin. Unfortunately for you, she hates your fucking guts and pretty much said as much to your doctor. I volunteered to come be here when you wake up to let you know how irrevocably fucked you are. Oh, and to let you know there is a protective order against you for Serena, Kai and Laura. Not that you’ll get the chance to harass her. As soon as you’re medically stable, you’re being transferred to the county jail to wait for trial.”
“You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about! Serena is mine! If that bitch-ass punk touches her…”
“You’ll what, Dom? Come on, give me another charge to add to your file. Please, I’m begging you. I want to make sure you never see the outside of a prison cell for the rest of your life. Dirty cops like you and Eric give the rest of us a bad name, and I’m not going to fucking stand for it. Have a nice life, Dom. Enjoy being someone’s prison bitch.”
With a wink and a tip of his hat, the motherfucker saunters out of the room, whistling the theme from Kill Bill.
“FUUUUUCK!”
Moments later, a nurse rushes into the room, drawn in by the flurry of erratic activity on the monitors by my bedside. “Oh, hon, you need to calm down. If your blood pressure spikes, it can cause more bleeding on your brain. I’m gonna give you something to help you calm down and go to sleep. You need to rest in order to heal up.”
I watch helplessly as she pulls out a syringe and attaches it to the IV in my arm. Seconds later, warmth floods my veins, my mind growing fuzzy as the meds take hold. I let it pull me under, no desire to remain conscious in a world where Serena doesn’t want me any longer.