Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-two
Peyton
I hear a roar like an animal is in pain. I know I’m not in a good place right now, but I really don’t think that’s me.
I lift my head from where it had fallen forward to rest on my chest and see my captors eyes widen before he spins around towards the door of the building we’re in.
The door flies open and my man comes storming through, a look of pure rage and fear on his face.
His nostrils flare with every breath he takes and his eyes rove over my body, an expression of horror takes over his features.
“No,” he rasps as he staggers forward. “Oh God, no.” I’ve been stripped down to my underwear and the white fabric is currently soaked red. I must look awful, not that I feel much better, but I imagine I look like death hanging here.
“Bennett,” I whimper, “knife.” My voice is little more than a whisper, but it’s enough to move his attention to the other man in the room, the man currently brandishing his knife towards the love of my life.
An animalistic growl leaves his lips and he charges at him, my heart is in my throat as my man takes on an armed maniac.
“You’re too late,” he taunts Bennett. “You can’t save her now, she’s too far gone.” The knife slashes towards his midsection and I scream; panic like I’ve never known, not even for myself, seizes my body. He can’t die.
My feet aren’t tied, they’re hanging limp, but lose below me.
Using every ounce of strength I have left, I lift my right foot and push it into the psychos back, it’s not much, but it’s enough to catch him off guard; giving Bennett an opening.
His arm slams down on the hand with the knife causing it to clatter to the ground, and his fists begin to fly.
Punches rain down on the man that caused me so much pain.
He falls to the floor but Bennett follows him down, his fists connecting with his face again and again and again.
He’s going to kill him. As if he hears my thoughts he grabs the knife that was dropped and plunges it through his heart.
It’s over.
Knowing he’s safe, that he hasn’t been hurt, relief swamps me and with it the little energy I had drains and my body sags.
“Sweetheart, fuck, my love, what did he do?” His voice is raw, the pain evident in every word that leaves his mouth.
He uses the knife to cut the bindings that hold me up.
With the amount of time my hands have been strung up above my body, there should be pain when they come down, when the feeling rushes back into them, but there’s nothing.
I feel nothing. I can feel myself slipping away, darkness hovering at the edges of my vision as I’m cradled in Bennett’s arms.
“You came,” I croak, my voice barely audible.
“Of course I came. Fuck, sweetheart, I will always come. I will always find you.” My lips form what I hope is the semblance of a smile.
“I love you,” I wheeze, “so much.” My eyes begin to close, they’re too heavy to keep open any longer, and besides, I told him. At least I can go now with him knowing I loved him.
“Peyton, no! Hold on, sweetheart.” My body jostles as he rises with me in his arms and he begins to run. “You fucking hold on, I will not lose you, too.” But it’s already too late, darkness closes in and my body goes limp.
Bennett
I can feel the life draining out of her, I literally see it as the color fades from her face before my eyes. I cannot lose her, not her. I won’t survive a world without her in it.
I reach my car and gently lay her in the passenger seat, reclining it as far as it will go; then I’m sprinting to the drivers side and pulling away within seconds. The hospital is fifteen minutes away at the speed I’ll be going, I just hope I can get her there soon enough.
I come to a screeching halt outside the doors of the ER and jump out of the car with the motor still running, but I couldn’t care less. Someone can have my car if they want; my only priority is Peyton.
“Help me!” I shout as I barrel through the sliding doors of the ER, Peyton’s ER. “She needs help now!” Bodies come rushing towards her and a gurney is pushed in front of us. I slowly lie her down on the bed, careful not to cause her any more injuries.
“She’s one of you,” my voice is hoarse. “It’s Peyton, it’s Peyton Lawson.
” My statement is met by gasps and looks of horror.
I don’t care about their feelings, though.
I just need them to do their jobs; I need them to save her.
“Save her, you have to save her.” My voice breaks and I collapse to the floor as they wheel her away.
As they take away the woman I love, the woman currently fighting for survival.
It’s been hours, and apart from being ushered into a waiting room, I’ve not heard anything. I can’t get the image of her strung up and bleeding out of my head.
Fuck!
He tortured her, sliced her up like a fucking animal. His death was too easy, he got off lightly. If I hadn’t been so terrified about Peyton I would have drawn out his death. I would have made him suffer for days, weeks, and I would have savored every moment.
A middle aged man comes rushing into the waiting room. He looks like he’s just got out of bed, his sandy hair is mussed and his eyes are bleary; his skin still has a pillow crease on his cheek.
“Bennett?” he croaks as he approaches me.
“Yes,” I confirm, not sure who this man is.
“I’m Derek.” He holds his hand out, which I take and firmly shake. “What the fuck happened? I’ve just got the voicemails from the ER department. They let me know as soon as you brought her in, but I was asleep and didn’t listen to them until now.”
“Sh-she’s, fuck—” my voice breaks as sobs wrack my body, as the thought of her not surviving truly hits me. “She has to make it,” I rasp, “she has to. I can’t live without her.”
“Hey.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into him, my head comes to rest on his shoulder as my body still shakes.
“She’s got the best team looking after her, but I need to know what happened.
” I take a few minutes and pull away, feeling awkward at having fallen apart on this man I don’t know.
“He took her," I swallow thickly. "The guy from the parking lot, the one that crashed into her. It must have been deliberate, a way to get her outside and alone.” I’m piecing it together as I tell him what I believe to have taken place. “She has a tracker on her car.” I ignore the raised eyebrow directed my way. That fucking thing is the reason I found her, I will never regret it, nor will I ever remove it. I’d put one under her skin if I thought she’d let me.
“I found them at an abandoned farm several miles from here. He had her—” my voice cracks again at the memory of how I found her, of the horror I felt when I walked into the barn.
“He had her strung up, and was carving her up like a piece of fucking meat. She lost consciousness in my arms and I rushed her here. They’ve been working on her for hours, but I don’t know anything.
I don’t know how she’s doing, I don’t even know if she’s still alive. Fuuuuuck!” I roar in anguish.
“Christ!” Derek mutters as he collapses into one of the waiting room chairs, his head drops into his hands, his elbows rest on his knees.
“Where is he?” Our eyes meet across the small expanse of space.
I just shake my head at him, and his own eyes widen in understanding.
“Good,” he nods as he accepts my words. I don’t think there are many people that would disagree with him being removed from the face of the earth.
“Let me see if I can find anything out.” He rises from his seat and grasps my shoulder on the way out of the room. “She’s a fighter, don’t give up on her. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I think it’s time for me to phone my parents.
Derek walks back in as I hang up the phone to my crying mother. My father is chartering a jet as we speak and they’re heading here as soon as they can.
“She’s still in surgery.” His face is grim, but I breathe out a slight breath of relief.
She’s still alive. “They’ve stabilised her which is good, although she’s nowhere near out of the woods yet.
He’s done a lot of damage to her, she’s bleeding internally and lost a lot of blood.
The next several hours are crucial. We’ll know more once she’s out. ”
“Thank you.” I sit back down in my seat and wait. There is nothing I can do and I hate it.
There’s a flurry of activity outside the waiting room and I know without a doubt that my parents have arrived; my mother can’t do anything quietly.
“Where is he?” she stresses as she walks into the waiting room. She envelopes me in her arms immediately and squeezes me to her. She’s much smaller than me, but her hug is firm and exactly what I need.
“Son.” My father’s hand lands on my shoulder and squeezes hard. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s still in surgery.” My mom’s arms are wrapped around me and I don’t think she’s letting me go anytime soon.
“We won’t know more until she’s out. Derek, her boss, has just gone to see if he can find out anything more.
” He left about five minutes ago, both of us were going stir crazy.
I’m surprised he’s stayed here this long, but I guess Peyton has that effect on a lot of people.
She’s loved by many, testament to that is the amount of people who have stopped by to find out if there’s been any update.
“And how are you doing, son?”
“Ask me again when she’s out of surgery.” He nods at me, understanding that until I know how she is, I am far from okay.
“That horrid man. I hope they lock him up and throw away the key.”
“They can’t, he’s dead,” I state.
“Dead?” my mother whispers in shock.
“I killed him.” My father’s gaze shoots to my own. He nods his approval, he would have done the same.
“Oh, what you’ve been through, what you’ve both been through,” my mother mutters.
“They’ll be questions,” my father says, “from the police.”
“I’ll be prepared for them. It was self defence and my woman’s life was on the line.” I pull from my mom’s arms as Derek approaches with another doctor.
“Are you Peyton’s family?”
Before I can say anything, Derek answers for me.
“As far as this hospital is concerned.” He turns to the man beside him.
“As far as you and any other doctor in this hospital are concerned, that man is her husband. Are we clear?” A look passes between them before the doctor turns to me; my heart lurches in my chest.
Please be okay, sweet girl.
“She’s out of surgery, but,” he quickly adds, “I won’t lie, the next forty-eight hours are critical.
She’s in the ICU and she’ll remain there for at least the next several days.
We had a lot of work to do on her. She had massive internal bleeds in her abdomen, she’s lost a kidney — there was too much damage for us to save it — her appendix has ruptured from where she was stabbed there several times, her liver was nicked and needed repairing.
She’s at risk of infection, especially due to her ruptured bowel, which we will be constantly monitoring her for.
She’s in hypovolemic shock from all the blood she’s lost; we’re currently giving her a blood transfusion and extra fluids to help with this.
In other words, she’s got a long road to recovery.
” He pauses and looks me in the eye. “I will say this, though, she’s one tough woman.
There’s not many people that would have even made it to surgery after what she went through. ”
My knees give out and I collapse back into the chair behind me.
She’s going to be okay.
Yes, she’s got a lot to still get through, but she survived the surgery, she survived what he did to her. I know she can survive this next part. She’s a fucking warrior. My gaze finds Derek and I can see the relief in his eyes, too, he feels the same as me. She’s going to make it.