Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Icheck the location of Hayley’s air tag. She’s still at her salon. She’s not answering her phone and neither is Andre. Something isn’t sitting well in my gut.
“I gotta go,” I tell Colton.
“What’s up?” he asks.
“Something’s wrong. I can’t get ahold of Andre or Hayley.
” I’m already walking out of the club and over to my car.
We’ve spent all morning interrogating low-runners on the street, trying to get intel on who the fuck is targeting me.
It took us going through twenty guys until we got one who would actually fucking talk.
Colton jumps in the passenger seat of my car. That’s the thing about my best friend. As fucking annoying as he is, he is the first one there when shit goes down. Always having my back without me asking him to.
“I’m sure she’s just busy doing whatever it is hairdressers do,” he says.
“You ever get your hair done by a hairdresser?” I quirk a brow at him.
“I go to the same barber you do,” Colton tells me.
“Hayley washed my hair last night. I’m never going to a barber again.” I laugh.
“I’ll have to book an appointment with her,” Colton says.
“Over my dead body,” I grunt. I know what he’s doing. He’s distracting me from the fact that I know something’s wrong.
I don’t know how many road rules I break to get to Hayley’s salon. The entire time, Colton tries to reach Andre without success.
As soon as we pull up out front, I spot Andre’s car. He appears to be asleep.
“I’m going to fucking kill him…” I grumble under my breath as I jump out of the driver’s seat. But when I get to the window, I see the blood splattered across the glass. Andre’s head is slumped against the steering wheel. More blood is darkening his legs.
My head snaps up to the shop, and I run.
“No!” I yell, pushing through the door. “Hayley?” There’s a dark red trail on the floor.
I follow it to the back of the shop and shove the storage room open.
“No, no, no!” My knees hit the ground as I fall next to Hayley’s lifeless body.
“Hayley, wake up, baby. Wake up.” My fingers feel around her neck, and I thank God when they find a pulse.
“Fuck.” Colton stands in the doorway. “I’ve called the ambulance. They’re on the way,” he says. He reaches above me, grabbing something off the shelf, and then lowers himself to the ground. “We need to stabilize this,” he says, wrapping a towel around the knife handle.
His voice snaps me out of my fog. My first instinct is to yank it out. But we both been stabbed enough times to know better. Instead, I scoop Hayley into my arms, stand, and walk out into the main area of the salon.
“What the hell happened? Hayley?” Jade comes barreling through the door.
“Contain that,” I tell Colton.
“Contain that? Fuck you! What the fuck did you do to her! I’m going to kill you myself, motherfucker.” Jade lashes out at me, and Colton wraps his arms around her shoulders and pulls her away. “Get the fuck off me.” Her head jolts backwards, connecting with his face.
“Fuck.” He doesn’t loosen his grip. “You need to stop before you hurt yourself. In case you forgot, you’re a little bit pregnant,” Colton tells her. “He didn’t do this.”
“I’m not pregnant, asshole. I just like to eat cake. Fuck you!” Jade attempts to throw her head back again, but Colton expects it this time and manages to dodge the blow.
And then the paramedics come rushing in with their gear.
“She has a knife wound to the abdomen,” I say while carefully setting Hayley’s body on the stretcher. My hand still holding the now-soaked towel around her wound. “You need to save her.”
“Sir, you need to step aside. Let us do our job,” one of them says.
“Her name is Hayley. Hayley Wade, my wife. I’m August Wade.” I wait for recognition to sink in. She’s not my wife, but if it will make these assholes care about actually saving her, I don’t care about this lie. “If she loses her life, you’ll lose yours,” I tell them before stepping back.
“What the fuck!” Jade is still yelling.
One of the paramedics looks over at her. “Are you okay, ma’am?”
“My best friend has been stabbed. What do you think?” she hisses. Colton still has his arm wrapped around her. He’s whispering something into her ear, the palm of his hand stretched out over her stomach, and then I watch her relax a little.
I follow the paramedics out to the ambulance and climb into the back. I’m not leaving Hayley.
“We’ll be right behind you,” Colton says, guiding Jade to the car.
I don’t give a fuck if her friend hates me. Hayley is mine, and I’m not moving aside. I send up a prayer to anyone who could be listening, begging them to save her. I just found her, and I’m not losing her.
I am going to find the fucker who did this, and I’m going to fucking make them pay.
Hayley is rushed into an OR as soon as we make it to the hospital, and I’m left sitting in the fucking waiting room. Her blood all over me. This is my fault. Whatever happened to her is because of me. I’m aware of this, and yet I’m still not prepared to let her go.
“Who would do this?” Jade asks, her voice much quieter now. She sounds defeated.
I don’t answer her. I don’t think it would help her if I did.