Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
CHARLOTTE
My little curtained-off emergency room bay was getting more cramped by the second, and the only calming presence during this whole damn thing was Temperance, a friend of mine who just so happened to be a nurse and was on shift when I’d been wheeled in.
With the exception of when I’d been taken back for X-rays, Micah hadn’t left my side since the ambulance had passed me on to the staff at the hospital, and if I were being honest, he hadn’t been particularly good company.
Dalton had been there as well, at least until a couple uniformed officers had come in to question me about everything that had happened with my masked assailant.
He’d remained silent, standing stoic and tucked away as I spoke, but the more I recounted to the officers, the tenser he became until his muscles turned brittle.
I told them absolutely everything I could remember, and almost as soon as they’d exited through the curtains, Dalton had grunted, “Gotta make a few calls,” under his breath, disappearing right after them.
“All right, hon,” Tempie said softly, placing a gentle hand on my forearm.
“You should hopefully start feeling better soon. We’ve got some real nice pain meds moving through your IV that’ll start working pretty quickly, and I’m just waiting to hear back on when they’ll have a room ready for you so we can move you somewhere with a bit more privacy. ”
Instead of giving me the relief she’d intended, my stomach tied itself into tight knots. “Is that really necessary?” I asked quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of the man in the room, but it was pointless. The space was just too damn small, and I held too much of his focus.
“You’ve got a severe concussion, a broken nose, a sprained wrist, and a couple fractured ribs for good measure,” Micah declared, repeating everything the doctor had already told me.
I knew damn good and well what that man who’d broken into my apartment had done. I didn’t need him to repeat it for me.
“Thanks for the refresher,” I deadpanned.
“Well someone needs to remind you,” he clipped, slamming his hands down on his hips and shooting me a hard scowl. “You need to take what happened today a whole hell of a lot more seriously. This isn’t a joke.”
“And I’m not joking about it,” I threw back harshly.
“You think I don’t know how serious that shit was?
I’m well aware. I’m the one it happened to, Micah.
All I’m saying is I’d be more comfortable if I got to go home.
And doesn’t comfort play a big part in healing?
” I looked to Tempie for confirmation, hoping this was one of those scenarios where women stuck together.
“I’ll just give you guys a bit of privacy,” Tempie muttered. “Push the call button if you need anything.” With that, the coward hustled out, leaving me alone with one seriously pissed-off detective.
“Thanks a lot,” I called after her with as much sarcasm as my voice could muster. She shot a smile over her shoulder and gave me a little finger wave. Jerk.
“Jesus Christ,” Micah grunted, raking his hands through his hair. He sighed heavily while he rubbed at the muscles in the back of his neck with one hand and braced the other on his hip. Everything about his stance screamed defeat, and I hated seeing my friend that way.
“I’m okay, Micah. Some bumps and bruises, but I’m all right. Look.” His eyes came up, and I offered him a huge smile that made my battered face scream, but I powered through for him. “I’m right here. Alive and kicking.”
“The situation could’ve played out a lot differently if your neighbor hadn’t come home when she did.”
At the mention of my neighbor, concern clutched tight at my chest. “How is Ms. Weatherby?”
She had saved my life today. I wasn’t sure if there was anything I could do or say that would accurately express my appreciation for what she’d done. That was a debt I’d never be able to repay.
“Shaken up, but all right, I think. Fred Duncan and a couple other officers went to check on her after you were carted off. Said they got stuck drinkin’ some of the worst lemonade they’d ever had.”
My giggle morphed into a sharp gasp at the razorblade of pain in my ribs. “Damn,” I panted. “Even laughing hurts.”
“Charlie,” Micah said, his voice devoid of all humor. When I got a better hold on the pain and looked back up at him, he was staring down at me intently. “You didn’t recognize anything about this guy? His voice, any distinguishing marks?”
“No, I’ve already told you,” I said on a long exhale.
“And this ‘she’ he kept askin’ about—”
“I don’t know who he was talking about,” I insisted. “Have you talked to Marin? Maybe that guy was someone involved with the asshole she used to date.”
“We did,” he answered, his features going hard. “I’m still beyond pissed at you for doing something so goddamn reckless, by the way.”
I sighed, resting my head back on the reclined bed. “Yeah, well, get in line,” I grumbled.
“It wasn’t him, and I feel confident sayin’ he wasn’t involved.
” There was a brief pause like he was gearing up for something big, and when he spoke next, his words carried a heaviness that threatened to crush me.
“There is another possibility. One I think is already dancing around in the back of your mind, but you’re just too damn stubborn to consider it. ”
My head came up fast, regardless of the pain. I threw daggers with my eyes as I clipped, “No. It’s not possible.”
“You can’t know that for sure. If there’s someone lookin’ for your sister, it would make sense they’d come after you for answers.”
“It’s been eighteen years. No one in her world even knows I exist.”
“You can’t know that for sure. Just because you kept your sister a secret from everyone in your life doesn’t mean she did the same.
” The expression that washed over his face and the tone of his voice was full of admonishment, like he was disappointed in me for not opening up about this big secret.
And damn if that look didn’t hold more power over me now than it once did.
A hardness slipped over me that I hadn’t felt in a long time; it was the attitude I used to coat myself in like Teflon to mask the fact that the life I lived left me in a constant state of fear.
I hadn’t needed that defense mechanism in some time, but now it was back, making my muscles seize.
“You know, I’m really not in the mood for a lecture right now.
You promised you wouldn’t say anything, so just drop it. ”
I could see it in his eyes, he was just about to snap back when the curtain flapped open and a straight-faced Dalton came walking through.
Instead of the usual swoop of excitement I felt in my belly every time I laid eyes on him, I was eaten up with anxiety, worrying about the changes to the man who’d not only scaled the walls I’d built around myself but had torn them down, brick by mortared brick, until he held my heart in his hands.
“Just saw Tempie outside. Your room’s ready.” His flat, emotionless voice betrayed absolutely nothing.
I saw Micah move from the corner of my eye and forced my attention off Dalton just as he reached the side of my bed. “That’s my cue.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead, even though it was clear that he was upset with me. “I’ll check on you tomorrow. Try and get some rest, yeah?”
“All right,” I muttered, knowing full well there was no rest in my near future.
As he passed, he and Dalton exchanged chin lifts, then he disappeared through the curtain, taking with him the only buffer I had between this new, unrecognizable Dalton and me.
Dalton
My whole world had stopped the moment I got the call from Micah telling me Charlotte had been attacked. I wasn’t sure I’d pulled in a single full breath the entire time it took me to get from Alpha Omega to her.
Worst-case scenarios ran through my mind in a constant loop. Then I stormed into her apartment. I saw her sitting there, beat to hell, bloody, unrecognizable, and the earth fell out from beneath my feet.
It didn’t matter she was sitting on her own, conscious, alive. Seeing her in that state had transported me back in time. Once again, I’d failed to keep her safe. Once again, she’d been hurt on my watch.
The gnawing guilt twisted in my gut, leaching its poison into me until I couldn’t speak. Hell, I could hardly think of anything other than how badly I’d fucked up . . . again.
Everything from the time at her apartment all the way to the hospital was hazy. It was as if I’d moved on autopilot the whole time. I couldn’t even be sure how I got from point A to point B.
I stood there helpless as she replayed everything that had happened, and piece after piece of me broke off and shriveled into nothing. Then she told the officers about feeling as though she was being watched and the haze cleared up, replaced by white-hot rage.
I knew my anger was misplaced. I knew everything I was feeling, all those sick, vile emotions that were twisting me up inside, were completely irrational, but I couldn’t seem to get my brain to cooperate.
I was mad at myself for failing her, mad at the asshole who felt he had the right to put his hands on her, mad at her for ignoring her instincts.
I was just plain fucking mad, and I didn’t know where the hell to direct any of it, so it sat in my gut, festering.
I felt like I was coming out of my skin.
It was tight and itchy like it didn’t fit over my bones the way it was supposed to.
There was a beast lurking inside of me, clawing and snapping its jaws, trying to break free so it could find the fucker who’d hurt my Charlotte and make him suffer.