Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
SHAW
I tried to focus on skating. All I could think about was Cat and the feeling of unease that crept up my spine the moment she walked out the door.
I could have ignored it, but I'd learned in the past that ignoring my instincts led to regret.
If there was anything in life I didn't have time for, it was regret.
Make a choice and live with it, that was how I did things.
That didn't stop me from grunting with annoyance as I changed my skates back to sneakers and threw them into my bag. I swung the strap onto my shoulder and flicked off the lights before I stepped out, locking the door behind me.
I peered across the dark car park. A flash of movement caught my eye. I swivelled my head to look down to that back corner. I saw nothing but darkness and a car still parked in the lot.
Why was Cat's car still here? The back of my neck prickled.
I stepped closer. A faint groan broke the silence. Soft enough for me to wonder if I'd heard it at all.
I hesitated for a moment. If she wasn't alone…
I squashed down the rising anger. There wasn't time for that now. I needed to be in control, like always.
Another groan, fainter this time. That was not a sound of pleasure.
Fuck.
I dug into my pocket for my phone and turned on the light.
Fucking hell.
"Cat?" I ran the few steps to her and dropped to my knees beside her. My bag slid down my arm and hit the gravel. I jerked my wrist out of the strap.
Cat lay on the ground, hair fanned out behind her.
Her face was a mess of blood and bruises.
Her hoodie was covered in blood. One of her legs lay at an angle, the fabric of her leggings torn.
What I could see of her leg looked smashed up.
At first, I thought she was dead. A tiny whimper slipped out from between her lips, but her chest barely rose and fell.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
"Cat," I whispered. "What the hell? We need to get you to a hospital." I smoothed the hair off her face while holding the phone in the other hand to make the call. Every strand was wet with blood. So much fucking blood. Too much.
"They won't be long." I shoved my phone back into my pocket and sat down beside her.
Every instinct told me to gather her up and hold her close, but common sense prevailed.
I couldn't tell how injured she was. If I moved her, even a little bit, I could kill her.
All I could do right now was whisper soothing things and stroke her temple.
"Please don't die," I said softly. "Why would anyone do this to you?" Why hadn't I listened to my instincts sooner? I might have been able to stop this from happening. I remembered the flicker of movement. Was that who did this to her? I must have just missed them. A couple of minutes earlier…
"I'm so fucking sorry." My voice was a harsh sound in the quiet night. The only sound apart from the occasional passing car. Otherwise, we could have been alone in the world. I wanted that, but not like this. Not when she might…
I swallowed. "Don't fucking die. Hang on for a bit longer. The ambulance is coming."
The sirens were audible in the distance, quickly getting closer. I willed them to hurry up. It felt like an eternity passing by for every second that ticked over.
I thought about looking for whoever beat the shit out of her, but even if I could tear myself away from her, they'd be long gone by now.
They ran when they saw me. If I'd come out of the rink any later, they might have used whatever they used on her leg on another part of her.
They might have killed her. They might have raped her.
As far as I could tell, her clothes were still more or less intact. That was a small fucking mercy.
I was still going to rip them apart when I found out who they were, and caught up with them.
It was bad enough, Cruz and Easton were always hovering around, trying to screw her or screw with her.
The things they said about her made me want to punch them both in the face.
Her returning to Melbourne would have gotten her away from them.
That was best for her, even if it meant she was away from me too. I could only stand to lose her if she was also away from those assholes.
Or so I thought. Now, I didn't know what to think. If she died…
"This is bullshit," I told her. Nothing about this was random. I wasn't sure who did this to her, but it was one of the guys on the team. My team. I wasn't close to any of them, not really, but we were supposed to work together. None of them were supposed to do shit like this.
Before I could contemplate any further, the ambulance pulled into the car park and headed over to us. I raised my hand in front of my face to keep from being blinded by the headlights. And to wave, to show them where we were.
"Help is here. They're going to make this better."
It was a flat-out lie. They could take her to the hospital and make her physically well, but nothing was going to make any of this better.
Someone targeted her and beat her. That would fuck anyone up.
She was going to be scarred from this forever, even if she made a full physical recovery.
Memories of the attack would always linger in her mind.
I stood and moved out of the way as the ambulance crew got to work.
"Shit, is this—" One wheeled over a gurney. Her badge read Kendall.
"Yeah." Her partner was assessing Cat's injuries. "We'll need to let Doctor Ryan know." He glanced up at me. He obviously thought I had something to do with this. I didn't give a shit. I just wanted him to do his job and stop her from dying right here, on the cold fucking ground.
"I'm not finding anything life-threatening," he said finally. "Let's get her on the gurney and get her to the ER."
"I'm coming too," I said. I didn't give a crap if my car got stolen out of the parking lot while I was away. A piece of metal wasn't important compared to her.
When they loaded her into the back of the ambulance, I climbed in and sat beside her.
"Are you related?" Kendall asked.
"I'm her boyfriend," I said. Let them think whatever they wanted to, they weren't getting me out of here without dragging me. None of us had time for that.
The only thing that mattered right now was getting Cat to the hospital.
She was so pale and still. They'd wiped enough of the blood off her face for me to see scrapes and bruises, mostly over the left side of her face.
The asshole who beat her was probably right-handed.
That only ruled out a couple of guys on the team.
As far as I was concerned, the rest were under suspicion until proven otherwise.
Kendall climbed in and sat on the other side of the ambulance before the door was closed behind us with a thud.
"I found her like this," I said softly. "But it's my fault.
I had a feeling something was wrong and I didn't act on it sooner.
" I didn't know why it mattered, but for some reason it did.
I didn't want anyone to think I'd do this to her.
I'd sooner beat Cruz, Dean and Easton to a pulp to keep them away from her than hurt a hair on her head.
"You'd be surprised how often I hear that," she said. "But it's not your fault. You found her in time to call us. If she lay there all night in the cold, this might have had a very different outcome."
I nodded. My stomach turned at that thought. If I hadn't skated tonight, I might have arrived at the rink in the morning to find her cold, dead body. No one deserved to die alone like that, especially her.
Correction, whoever did this to her deserved to die alone, and in agony. After I broke every bone in their body.
"I just wish…" A couple of minutes could have made all the difference.
Although, should I have seen this coming before tonight? Most of the team, Cruz in particular, were pissed at having to share the rink with her. He, Easton and Dean wanted to take her down however many pegs they thought she needed to go. I couldn't put this past any of them.
"What she needs right now is your positive thoughts," Kendall said. "Focus on her getting better. Let the police deal with the rest of it."
"Yeah." I'd never felt so powerless in my life. I'd do whatever I had to do to help her heal, but I'd never shake the thought that I could have stopped this before it happened. I should have been meaner. If I had, maybe she would have stayed in Melbourne. Then this wouldn't have happened.
I sighed to myself. Yes it would. She was stubborn. She would have returned just to piss me off. There was nothing I could have said or done. Nothing but listen to my instincts sooner. That was going to live with me and her for the rest of our lives.
"Have you known her for long?" Kendall asked.
"No," I said honestly. "A few weeks. It feels like I've known her for years. She's that kind of person, you know? She's like a magnet."
Kendall smiled softly. "I only know her through her father. She seems lovely, but he might be slightly biased."
"Nope, not biased," I said. "She is lovely." That wasn't a word I used often. Or at all. Fucking gorgeous was more accurate. Smart, beautiful, sexy as hell. But lovely would do.
"I can see you care about her a lot," Kendall said.
"I do," I said. "The moment I saw her." I didn't believe in love at first sight until I lay eyes on Catalina Ryan.
My heart wanted to leap out of my chest and my cock out of my pants.
Fucking Cruz spoke to her first. I stood back and listened, wanting to punch him in the face.
Instead, I glared at her, wanting to make her uncomfortable enough to stay away. For her own good.
Warning Cruz would have had the opposite effect. He would have gone after her harder. Bad enough that I had to hear about him touching her, making her come. Then Easton, tracking her down in Melbourne. He told us all the details and had a good laugh.
Asshole.
He also told us about her run-in with her ex. I could get behind Easton warning him off her. Ironic though that was. None of them should have been anywhere near her. Not even in the same room. Not the same city. They didn't deserve to breathe the same air as her.
"That's so sweet," Kendall said.
I blinked a couple of times, trying to remember what I last said. My thoughts certainly weren't sweet. Right, I'd said something about the first time I saw her.
I shrugged. "When you know, you know."
"I can tell you care about her very much." She smiled. "Don't worry, we'll do all we can to help her to a full recovery. Our main concern is concussion and the state of her leg. It looks pretty smashed up."
"Yeah, it does." My gaze drifted to her leg, even though it was covered with a sheet and a splint. I didn't want to think about the implications of that injury. I'd see her through it. Whatever it took, I'd be by her side. Then I would destroy the person who did this to her.
They should enjoy breathing while they could.