Chapter 24
Lauren
I adjusted the bag of ice on my throat and curled into Jase’s side as I listened to the conversation swirling around me, when Tony’s name caught my attention.
“How is he?” I gasped. With everything that had happened, I hadn’t realized he’d been injured.
King answered, “One of the paramedics checked him over while her partner worked on that fucker who attacked you. His vitals are stable, but his pupils are enlarged and he was having some double vision. She said the docs will likely do a CT scan to rule out anything else, but he has a concussion at the very least. They’ve called for another ambulance to transport him. ”
I nodded, relieved to hear that he was going to be OK.
“Lauren, I’m Detective Randy Hayes, with the homicide division.
I’m also Abby’s dad, by the way,” he said kindly.
“I understand that you’ve been through a traumatic event, and I’m very sorry about that.
I know that your throat hurts, but I need to ask you at least a few questions now, if you’re up to it.
We can have you write down your answers for us if that’s easier for you. ”
I nodded, then replied softly, “I’m OK to talk.”
Jase didn’t look very happy with my answer, but he didn’t object. The detective pulled up a chair next to the couch and took a seat.
“When Rome called me, he said you mentioned that the suspect had killed someone?”
I closed my eyes as the horror of that moment washed over me.
“Yes,” I croaked, then stopped to clear my throat as Jase reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“His girlfriend. I think it happened a long time ago because he mentioned something about school. He was…I’m not sure how to explain it,” I whispered.
“Nothing he said made sense, almost like he’s lost touch with reality.
He acted like he thought I was her, that she’d been reincarnated as me or something.
He said he was happy that I – or she I guess – had come back to him. ”
I shook my head in frustration at not being able to explain it more clearly. “It was so bizarre. He apologized for hurting me, but he was talking about hurting her, I think. He called me Nadia at one point.”
Randy made notes as I talked, occasionally exchanging worried glances with the other men in the room.
I swallowed, and my throat felt like I’d been gargling with glass. I adjusted the makeshift icepack again, then reached for the bottle of water and took a small sip.
“He’s the one who attacked Dustin, too,” I told him. My voice was reduced to a quiet rasp, and I was starting to think I needed to write all of this down after all. Then I remembered the recording.
I sat up, dislodging Jase’s arm from my shoulder. “I was in the middle of a session when JD came in. I was so shocked to see him that I didn’t hit the button to stop the recording.”
That got everyone’s attention.
“Can you tell us how to access it?”
I nodded at Abby’s dad. “It’s on the laptop in the sound booth, I can show you.” I started to stand, but he stopped me at the same time Jase reached for me.
“That room is part of an active crime scene, Lauren. I can’t let you go back in there. One of my officers will need to collect it and log it into evidence before we can listen to it.”
He asked if they needed to do anything special to back up the recording before unplugging the laptop, and I explained that it automatically saves everything to cloud storage. My voice gave out just as I finished speaking.
“That’s it, darlin’. We need to get you to the hospital to be checked out. That fucker could have damaged your windpipe, or crushed your esophagus, or who the fuck knows what else. The cops can listen to the whole thing, and then Randy can get with you later to ask any more questions.”
I didn’t bother arguing, mainly because I couldn’t make a sound without causing myself more pain.
“He’s right, Lauren,” the detective said. “The suspect isn’t going anywhere so there isn’t any imminent danger. We’ll be here for hours collecting evidence, so any questions I have can wait for a little while.”
The second ambulance arrived then, and Bull said he would follow it to the hospital and stay with Tony until they made sure he was OK.
Jase helped me to my feet. I swayed slightly, and he scooped me up against his powerful chest, then carried me out to my car.
I was startled to see news vans from two local TV stations parked on the other end of the lot, with a police officer standing by to make sure the reporters and camera crews didn’t get too close to the building.
I cringed as I thought about this nightmare being broadcast to the entire city.
As if reading my mind, Jase said roughly, “Don’t worry about the reporters. Let’s just focus on making sure you’re OK.”
As I got into the passenger seat, I glanced questioningly at his Harley, which was parked next to me.
“One of the guys will bring the club’s van to collect it.”
When we got to the hospital, we learned that Abby’s dad had contacted them requesting that I be treated immediately, since I was a victim of a crime that they were investigating. Because Tony had been brought in by ambulance, he was able to go straight into an exam room as well.
Jase left my side only when I was taken to radiology for an X-ray and CT scan to check for bone and soft tissue damage and he was pacing back and forth in the exam room when I was wheeled back into the room.
As soon as the nurse locked the wheels of the hospital bed in place, he pulled up a chair next to the bed and reached for my hand.
“Once the images are read, the doctor will be in to speak with you. In the meantime, she did write orders for you to have IV meds for the pain, since we don’t want you to have to swallow pills.
It will help with the inflammation as well,” the nurse said, pulling supplies out of the cart in the corner of the room.
Within minutes, she’d inserted an IV into my right arm.
“We’re also going to give you fluids through the IV to make sure you stay hydrated, and you can have ice chips to suck on if you’d like. ”
“Thank you,” I rasped, and Jase squeezed my hand.
“Don’t talk, darlin’. You can use my phone to type notes to us.”
I raised my brows questioningly, and luckily he understood what I wanted to know. “Your phone is still back at the studio, along with your purse. Randy said they’ll get it back to you as soon as they clear it for evidence.”
I nodded, then rested my head back on the thin pillow. He pulled his phone out of the pocket in his cut, then laid it next to me on the bed.
“I need you to keep this on your finger, so we can monitor your oxygen levels.” The nurse clipped a small device onto the tip of my left index finger.
She got out two ice packs, draping one against the side of my neck where the worst of the redness was.
She used an elastic bandage as a makeshift headband to secure the other one in place over the bump on the back of my head, then said she’d be right back with the ice chips, a warm blanket, and an extra pillow.
“Let’s make you as comfortable as possible while you’re here.”
As soon as she stepped out of the room, Jase stood up and leaned over the bed, then gently kissed me. He rested his forehead against mine for a fleeting moment, and took a deep breath, then sat back down and took my hand again.
“I’ve never been more fuckin’ scared in my life, darlin’. I’m so sorry I didn’t keep you safe.”
His hazel eyes glistened with a sheen of tears, and I shook my head as I awkwardly reached to cup his jaw.
“Not…your fault.” I managed to whisper.
He closed his eyes, causing a lone tear to trail down over his cheek.
The nurse bustled in at that moment, and Jase surreptitiously wiped under his eyes as she sat a cup of ice chips down and draped the warm blanket over me.
He took the pillow from her and carefully placed it under my head, and I reached for his hand as he sat back down.
“You have some visitors, Lauren, but I’m afraid we can only allow two people back at a time.”
“I’ll go see who’s here,” Jase said, slipping from the room.
The nurse told me to press the call button if I needed anything before she left as well.
Jase came back a few minutes later with King, who immediately came to the side of the bed and leaned down to brush a kiss on my forehead. He looked me over carefully, his mouth flattening to a grim line as he took in the redness and bruising already forming around my neck.
I tried to ask about Tony, but as soon as I opened my mouth. Jase chided me. “Type it on the phone, darlin’. The code is zero-nine-one-zero-seven-zero. Mom’s birthday,” he added gruffly.
I squeezed his hand, then duly typed Tony’s name and a question mark into the phone, then flipped the screen around to show it to King.
He glanced at it, then told me Tony had a concussion.
“They’re gonna keep him here for observation since he was unconscious for a while, but he’s gonna be fine.
He has one helluva headache, but he’s more worried about you than anything else.
He’s feeling guilty as hell that you got hurt on his watch. ”
I frowned, then typed out, “There seems to be a lot of that going around.” I flipped the phone around, then looked pointedly at Jase.
King nodded, then explained that JD had told Tony that he’d come to the studio after receiving an alert that the back door leading to the supply room had been opened. “That’s the last thing he remembers.”
He only stayed for a minute or two more, since Jagger, Rome, and Lucky were waiting to see me, too. Jase handed me the cup with the ice chips and urged me to have some. I did, mainly because I knew it would make him feel better.
Rome came in first, although I only knew it was him because of the cherry blossom tattoo that peaked out over the neckline of his T-shirt. There were subtle differences between him and his twin, but I still couldn’t tell them apart unless Rome’s ink was visible or they were with their wives.
Jagger came in next, and kissed my cheek just as Rome had, only Jagger went for the left side, and Rome had gone for the right. I was silently amused, because Molly had mentioned once that they were mirror twins who had a bit of mental telepathy at times that freaked her out.
Lucky came in last, bending to give me a gentle hug before telling me he was glad I was going to be OK.
“This guy has been worried sick about you,” he said, thumbing over his shoulder where Jase was sitting.
He left after a few moments, leaving me alone with Jase once again.
“He’s right, you know,” Jase said softly, rubbing his thumb absently over the back of my hand.
“I tried calling both of you to let you know I was finished early and would meet you there. I wasn’t too worried when you didn’t answer since I figured you were in the middle of recording, but I freaked the fuck out when Tony didn’t answer any of my calls either. ”
He chuckled grimly, then told me he’d probably broken every traffic law on the books trying to get to the studio.
I squeezed his hand, tugging him closer as I sat up and leaned over the edge of the bed rail. He got the hint and met me halfway so I could give him a kiss.
“Thank you,” I whispered. My voice sounded scratchy as hell, but my throat didn’t hurt nearly as much, so the pain meds had apparently kicked in.
“Lauren,” Jase warned, but I placed my finger over his lips.
“Meds are working. Doesn’t hurt much.” I wasn’t up to using complete sentences, but I could at least speak in verbal shorthand without too much strain.
He smiled and shook his head fondly, then pressed a quick kiss to my lips.
“Lie back and rest, darlin’. You need it after the night you’ve had.”
The meds were making me feel a bit drowsy, so it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep. I woke when the doctor came in, and I was surprised to find that not quite an hour had passed.
She told us that she’d just looked at the scans, and the results were better than she’d expected.
“You have some swelling to the soft tissue of the pharynx, which is what’s causing the pain when you speak or swallow.
That should resolve by itself over the next few days, and you’ll be able to manage the pain with over-the-counter meds.
The good news is that the cartilage and ligaments are intact in your larynx and trachea, and there’s no damage to the hyoid bone.
I have every confidence that you’ll make a complete recovery with no lasting effect on your voice. ”
Jase slumped back in his chair in relief, and I took a deep breath, finally acknowledging the fear that had been building in the back of my mind every time I tried to speak.
“Now, your oxygen level is good and holding steady, but we are going to keep you overnight for observation to make certain that the swelling doesn’t worsen to the point that it blocks your airway and affects your breathing. If all goes well, we can likely send you home tomorrow afternoon.”
“That’s great news. Thank you, doctor,” Jase said, standing up to shake her hand.
“I understand from the nursing staff that you plan to stay with Lauren?”
“Absolutely,” he answered firmly, and the doctor nodded.
“Someone from transport will be along shortly to move you to the observation unit just down the hall.” She smiled warmly, then patted my arm.
“The beds there are a little more comfortable than the ones we have here in the emergency department. There’s also a chair that reclines for your friend, although,” she cautioned as she gave Jase a head-to-toe glance, “I’m not quite sure how well he’ll fit on it. ”
I snickered as Jase assured her it would be fine, then thanked her again for her help.
“Get some rest…both of you,” she instructed before leaving.
True to the doctor’s word, a man showed up a few minutes later to take me to the other unit. He insisted that I had to ride in the wheelchair he’d brought, even though I felt perfectly capable of walking.
“Get in the chair, darlin’. Did you forget you’re wearing one of those hospital gowns that flaps open in the back no matter how tightly it’s tied?”
Jase smirked as I scrambled to sit down, and to his credit, the man pushing the wheelchair tried not to laugh.
It didn’t take long to get settled into the new room. Jase pulled the recliner as close to the side of the bed as he could get, and as the doctor predicted, his legs hung off the end by a good ten inches.
He clasped my hand through the bedrails, and I closed my eyes and relaxed as I started to doze off.
My eyes fluttered open a few minutes later when I heard him whisper into the darkness, “I love you, darlin’, and I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.”