Chapter 15
“Beau? Thank the…” Ivy came rushing toward him. He caught her in his arms and brought her into an embrace.
“We shouldn’t be out in the open,” she said to him, her voice shaky from what sounded a whole lot like exhaustion and fear.
He didn’t like the sound of those words or the fact that Chloe was nowhere around. Her vehicle was parked in the lot.
“Let’s get to the truck,” he said to Ivy as questions mounted. Answers would have to wait until he could ensure they were safe. Plus, he needed to let the family know Ivy was safe, and he hadn’t yet laid eyes on Chloe. At least he’d found one of them.
“Okay.”
He reached for her hand and braided their fingers together before moving to the truck as fast as he could move his body. He helped Ivy into the passenger seat before claiming the driver’s side. “Should we go back to the parking lot to wait for Chloe?”
“I don’t know where she is.” The admission, the tremble in her voice, ripped his heart in half.
“Do you know if she’s safe?” he asked, more panic tightening the knot forming in his chest.
“No. But you have her number. Can you text her?” She glanced around nervously, no doubt expecting trouble. Or should he say more trouble?
“Let’s get to a safer spot first.” That way, they could focus on finding his sister without fear of someone walking up to the truck without their knowledge or catching them off guard with a bullet.
He started the engine and put the gearshift into drive, half expecting someone to call the cops in this quiet neighborhood. There weren’t many places like this in downtown Austin, so they would stick out.
“Should we take a drive past the parking lot one more time before we head to a better lit area?” he asked.
“That’s probably a good idea in case she circled back.” Ivy issued a sharp sigh. “Do you want me to text everyone with your phone?”
“In a minute. Let’s see if we can find her first. No use worrying everyone for nothing,” he said. No news didn’t always mean good news. It depended heavily on the scenario. In this case, he feared it was a bad sign.
Ivy nodded as he navigated onto her street. She sank as low as she possibly could and still see out the windows. Since these bastards were most likely after him, too, he wasn’t sure if the move did any good. If it offered her some kind of reassurance, he certainly wouldn’t complain.
As he drove past the parking lot, a sense of dread settled over him.
“Should we check nearby hospitals?” Ivy asked.
“Why?”
She gave him a quick rundown of what happened as he navigated onto Lamar Street. This was more of a main road, and traffic picked up even in the middle of the night. There was always traffic in downtown Austin. In this case, it was comforting to blend in with other vehicles.
“Look up the closest ER,” he said, handing over his cell.
Ivy did.
“Found it,” she said a minute later. “Should we show up or call?”
“Let’s call first,” he said. “The bastards after us shouldn’t know her name, and if she is there, she will check in as herself.”
“Got it.” Ivy made the call and soon had someone on the line. Her face paled as she sat upright in the seat. “She’s there.”
“Give me directions and call Travis.” Beau didn’t look forward to being the one to tell his brother-in-law that Chloe was in the ER, but the man deserved to know.
Beau’s first thought was that something bad had happened to the baby.
He would never forgive himself if she lost their child because of something related to him.
Travis would never forgive him, especially considering this baby was a medical miracle.
“Do you want to be the one to talk to him?” Ivy asked after making the call.
“Yes,” he said, “put it on speaker, please.”
She did.
“Hey, man. I have news, and I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but I wanted to update you.”
“Okay, I appreciate it,” Travis said.
“Chloe is in the ER, and we don’t have any other details aside from that, except that we are on our way right now.” He glanced over at Ivy.
“Two more blocks,” she said.
“What’s the name of the hospital?” Travis asked, the fear in his tone palpable.
Ivy rattled it off.
“As her husband, they’re more likely to give me information about her condition and the reason she’s there in the first place,” he said.
Beau’s mind was already running wild with possibilities. “We’ll let you go so you can make that call.”
“Thank you for the heads up, Beau.”
“No problem.”
Ivy ended the call as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. Based on her tense expression, she feared the worst.
He parked and stopped her from exiting the truck with a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, whatever we find out in there is not your fault,” he said to her.
“Why does it feel like the opposite is true?”
“I never should’ve gone with Kade, and then neither of you would’ve been put in the position of needing to make the drive together,” he said.
Ivy compressed her lips into a frown. “If I don’t get to take the blame for this, neither do you.”
“But I—”
“Made the right call in choosing to back your brothers,” she said, interrupting his protest. “Chloe and I decided to make the drive here together. So, you can’t take the blame for what two grown women decided when they didn’t include you in the process.
I just thought I’d be here and back before you could miss me, and I knew you needed to rest.”
“Okay,” he said. “Fine. You make good points, and you are both grown and stubborn women who are capable of making your own choices.”
“We agree then?”
“Some part of me is always going to want to take the blame for anything that goes wrong,” he said. “I think I learned that as a kid with my mom’s condition. I blamed myself for setting her off into depression.”
“Funny how kids have a way of blaming themselves for everything that goes on in adult lives,” she said. “I’ve experienced it personally, and I see it with my patients when there’s discord in families.”
“What do you tell the kids?”
“That it’s not their fault,” she said.
“Funny how we tell others that so easily and don’t let ourselves off the hook when we probably should.”
Was he being too hard on himself?
If Chloe lost her baby, he couldn’t imagine a world where he didn’t feel responsible. They were about to find out.
Ivy talked a good game, but she was just as guilty about blaming herself.
“Shall we go inside?” he asked.
“Yes, let’s go.”
Beau came around and opened the door for her despite the fact he was in considerable pain. She saw it in the deepening creases in his forehead every time he lifted his shoulder or twisted a certain way. The man had to be beyond exhausted at this point.
“Promise me you’ll get some rest soon,” she said to him, taking his arm and looping it around her shoulder to give him a boost of support.
“We both need to sleep at some point.”
She felt that statement in her bones. Right now, though, all she could think about was Chloe and the situation they were about to walk into. “We’ll figure it out.”
Beau nodded as they walked into the ER bay.
They must’ve looked a mess because a nurse came around to meet them, leaving the check-in counter momentarily unattended.
Her laser-focused gaze pointed to Beau. “Let’s get you into a room right away. Are you in pain? Can you walk, or do you need a wheelchair?”
“We’re here to check on my sister, Chloe Sturgess, er, Barrett actually,” Beau said. “I’m fine.”
The nurse looked him up and down with a frown. “Sir, I think you should be checked out while you’re here. There’s fresh blood on your shirt and—”
“I broke a few stitches on my way here to check on my sister,” he cut in. “But I’ll be fine. Can you tell me about Chloe?”
The nurse hesitated for a few seconds and then nodded. “Meet me at the counter, and I’ll check on your sister.”
They did. Ivy felt like it was taking forever. She tapped her finger on the counter while they waited.
“Do you want to sit?” she asked Beau after more seconds passed. “Because I can stand here while you rest.”
He was shaking his head before she had a chance to finish her sentence.
She understood. He wouldn’t want to miss a second. Seeing the nurse’s demeanor was everything when there was no other information to go on. From the opposite side of the counter, they could track her movements.
When she came back, her expression gave away nothing until she got close enough to lean over the counter.
“Your sister is going to be fine,” she said. Her nametag read: Addie. “And the baby is stable. She had a little spotting and came in to get it checked out.”
Beau exhaled a slow breath. Ivy gave herself a small smile. They were by no means out of the woods. At least Chloe and the baby would be fine.
“Can we see her?” Beau asked.
“I’m afraid not,” Addie said. “She asked me to give you a message, though. She called her husband, and he is on his way to pick her up. She wants you two not to worry about her. Said you could go ahead and leave without her.”
Beau hesitated.
“I promise she is fine,” the nurse said, lifting her hand as though swearing in court.
“Thank you, Addie,” Beau said with genuine relief in his voice.
“This next part comes from me,” Addie said, studying him. “You need to have your stitches checked out. That’s not a small amount of blood. You might as well get a doctor to take a look while you’re here. What’s the harm?”
“I appreciate your concern,” Beau said. “I really do. But this is nothing a hot shower and a good night’s sleep won’t cure.”
A shower and bed sounded like heaven to Ivy. They were close to her condo, where she had all her comforts. It was a shame they couldn’t go there. Thankfully, Chloe and the baby were stable, and she would be released soon.
“Did she mention anything about what we should do with her car?” Ivy asked before they headed out.
“No,” Addie said. “I can go ask if you need me to.”
“That’s okay.” Ivy figured Chloe would have given instructions if she needed help. She turned to Beau. “Ready to get out of here?”
He nodded. His skin was pale. She needed to get him somewhere she could check his shoulder. They needed sleep and maybe some food. If not food, certainly sleep. It would work wonders for both of them.
After they turned to walk out, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. His injury had to be more serious than he was letting on, and that worried her. Not just because Clay and Royce could take advantage of his weakened state, Beau could lose consciousness while driving.
“Why don’t you let me drive us to a hotel? I know the area, and I have the perfect place in mind.” She hoped he would take her up on the offer.
It took him a few seconds to respond.
“All right,” he said. “But I hate that you’re having to drive, and I can’t.”
“You’ve done enough driving for one day, and I have yet to be behind the wheel.” She bit back a yawn. “Plus, I don’t have my ID or credit cards so we’ll need to use yours. See, you’ll be doing your part.”
He walked her to the driver’s side before taking the passenger seat and buckling in. “Do you need me to pull up an address?”
“No, I have this on lock,” she said. “We’re in my stomping grounds now.
” At least she had that. Knowing the area would give her an advantage, had given her an advantage.
As much as she wished Chloe was already safely on her way back to Saddle Junction, she was resting in a secure facility.
That was something to be grateful for in addition to the health news. “You can rest your eyes if you want.”
“I’m good.” He’d leaned his head on the headrest.
“We’ll be there in five minutes.” At least at this time of night, traffic wasn’t a complete tangle of vehicles. She hoped it was safe to assume Clay and Royce were somewhere sleeping or, better yet, had left Austin altogether.
Why were they here in the first place? Wouldn’t they just torture their parents to get information out of them?
Or, was it possible Clay and Royce were searching for her father and Beau’s mother? Were the pair together? Had they escaped?
Wouldn’t her father reach out if that were the case? Or Beau’s mother?
Not necessarily. They could be too scared to involve their children. Maybe it was time to dig deeper into a possible connection between the two.
Did her father know Beaumont Sturgess? What dealings would her father have had with a horse racing operation owner?
It dawned on her that her father’s former gambling problem might have been an issue and a possible point of connection with horse racing. Who knew what he’d done when he was under the influence? By his own admission, he was a blackout drunk. Would he even remember what he’d done?
Ivy pulled up to the hotel while questions swirled. She was too tired to figure anything out tonight. Shower. Sleep. Then, breakfast and coffee. She might feel human again if she could secure those things in that exact order.
The valet came around to her side. No way was she going to take the time to park the truck herself. The extra spend would pay for itself if it meant a few more minutes of sleep.
The attendant welcomed them with a smile, opening her door.
She handed over the key fob and walked into the hotel side-by-side with Beau.
The blood on his shoulder was catching attention, so she helped him to a chair in the lobby and then went to check in by herself. The fewer questions asked, the better.
It took all of five minutes to secure a room and have the key in hand.
When she turned to signal Beau, she panicked.
He was slumped over in the chair.