Chapter 43 Kipp
Kipp
Hospitals weren’t anyone’s favorite place, but they had become my least favorite since Hattie was currently lying broken in front of me. Yesterday, when she’d been brought in, she’d been unconscious, and they stabilized her, but they’d immediately had to take her for surgery on her ankle.
She’d been on some pretty heavy-duty pain meds and had faded in and out all morning, not really waking up.
She had a laundry list of injuries from head to toe, some from the beating she’d taken and some from the auto accident.
There was a concussion from either the accident or something in the altercation, but the doctors weren’t sure.
All of her cuts and scrapes were stitched, cleaned, and bandaged. It was better to do that while she was out anyway. Her ankle needed a pin, and her shoulder was dislocated. Then her throat was nearly crushed by that fucker. No doubt about it, she was in bad shape.
My chair was pushed against the side of her bed, where I had dragged it, so my hand could stay wrapped around hers on the thin sheets. Maggie had brought her a quilt from the farmhouse so she didn’t have to use a scratchy blanket.
Hattie looked smaller than she should in the bed.
Her blonde hair looked limp on the pillows and, even though we had cleaned it the best we could, I could still see flecks of blood in it.
There was only so much you could do without a good shower or soak.
Bruises bloomed on her throat and her collarbone like splashes of watercolor pansies, fingerprints burned into her skin.
Bandages wrapped her shoulder and her ribs, thick and clinical.
The hallways buzzed with the voices of nurses and staff as they pushed carts or spoke with doctors.
Rubbing my thumb between my eyes, I lowered my head into my hands.
My siblings were supposed to come by soon, but nothing felt real.
Outside, summer was winding down, but inside it felt too cold, the artificial air conditioning and the fluorescent lights dulled by the evening shadows creeping in through the window.
Her fingers moved first, tightening gently around mine.
Her eyes were clearer this time as she came to.
They’d lowered her pain meds and said that she’d be coming around.
Thank fuck. As I pressed the call button for the nurse, just as instructed, I started talking to her.
“Hattie? I’m here, baby. You’re okay. We’re at the hospital. ”
Eyelashes fluttered over her gorgeous eyes, opening slowly, initially unfocused, then locking onto my face. A crooked smile tugged at her mouth, stubborn even now with her lips all swollen from where he’d punched her in the mouth.
“You look like hell,” she rasped.
A rough laugh escaped before it could be stopped, forehead lowering until it nearly touched her hand. “You should see the other guy.”
Her grip tightened again, grounding everything good in my life. “Galloway?”
“Dead.” She nodded, her eyes fluttering, and I prayed that she wasn’t fading back into sleep again, but they’d told me to expect it.
Movement bustled around me as the nurse came in and fiddled with all of the buttons and dials, humming under her breath. “I’ve notified the doctor that you’re awake. He’ll be in shortly.”
Not ten minutes later, a doctor came through the door, followed by Wade and Chloe, who looked like they had chased the poor guy down. “Someone tells me that our patient has woken up?”
Hattie barely seemed to be registering, other than managing to take one breath at a time while we discussed her injuries, but she was trying. Hattie nodded grimly as the doctor reviewed her injuries, trying to explain the treatment they had given her and the pin they had to put in her ankle.
“When can I go home?” Her voice wobbled.
The doctor wasn’t unkind when he said, “We can talk about it tomorrow. Let’s see if you’ve stabilized a little after waking up. Let’s take things a day at a time. You’ve had some traumatic injuries. The hospital is the best place for you right now.”
“How are you feeling, Hattie?” Chloe came up on her other side, and for a second, I was mad at my little sister before I got a hold of myself.
The rush of protectiveness pulsing so hot that it was overpowering.
“Are you uncomfortable? They’ve started to cut back on the pain meds so you can be more alert. ”
“No. I’m okay. It’s manageable.” She tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace.
Stroking her hand, I found comfort simply knowing she was here and safe, where Galloway couldn’t reach her anymore.
If possible, I’d like to kill him all over again.
The shooting hadn’t been exactly justified from a police standpoint, but I wasn’t sorry.
Maybe I could have gotten Galloway to surrender to custody, but putting him in the ground was what he deserved.
“Did Casper pick up Barry?” Hattie asked, suddenly startling us.
“Casper’s going to talk to you later to see if you have any information about why Chief Galloway attacked you like that.” Wade’s words were careful.
The truth was, I hadn’t had much time to worry about the legal details of the Finch case, and we knew who had attacked her. Hattie’s eyes were wild now, and she was trying to shift in the bed, groaning as she realized this wasn’t a good idea. We all quickly sprang into action.
“Keep still, Trouble. We’re here to listen. You want us to call Casper to come now?”
“Yeah. Is there water?” Her lips were dry, and I was sure her mouth felt like it, too. I leaned forward and fed her a few ice chips. We were supposed to be stingy about them, but she sighed gratefully. The anesthesia had probably made her feel like her mouth was full of cotton.
Wade was already nodding and texting. “I’m on it.”
Chloe sat on a chair with a coffee she wasn’t really drinking, but was instead warming her hands with and bending toward to breathe in the smell.
She’d been up all night with me, bothering the hospital staff and watching Hattie’s vitals when they weren’t.
Both of us had our fair share of crappy hospital coffee, and I guessed that she’d rather skip drinking the stuff.
“He’s on his way.” Wade pocketed his phone. “He’ll just be about a half-hour.
The door cracked open, and Sage poked her head in, a smile lighting up her face when she saw that Hattie was awake. She had a plant in one hand and a balloon in the other, plant tendrils catching on her hair as she set it on the windowsill.
“Well,” Sage said, voice wobbling beneath the humor she refused to let go of, “this is one hell of a way to get presents. I brought you company. You want to give it a name, or you want me to?”
A breathy laugh slipped from Hattie. “I love presents. Can we name it later?”
She already looked exhausted, even under all the bruises and the swelling.
Sage sniffed hard, dragging her sleeve across her eyes. “You scared the absolute shit out of us. Just thought you should know.”
“That wasn’t on purpose,” Hattie murmured.
“Next time,” Sage said, pointing at her with gentle authority, “we do Sunday dinner. Or cards. Or literally anything that doesn’t involve attempted murder. And you missed bingo night because of that asshole.”
Wade let out a long breath. “She’s got a point. No more of this. Pretty sure Kipp has ten grey hairs since yesterday.”
Sage came over and started combing through my hair. “Stop.” But Hattie was giggling even though she was grimacing.
“I’ll bet she’s going to find some,” she teased with a little laugh, and it was the best sound in the world.
A knock sounded before the door pushed all the way open, and Casper filled the doorway, his expression serious.
He’d come by yesterday to check on Hattie, but he’d said he’d come back when she woke up.
I’d known that he needed to speak with her, but there was no way I was rushing anything.
Hattie wanted to get it over with, and I could respect that.
He paused, taking in the crowded room and the way everyone gravitated toward the bed.
Right behind him was Rhodes Collins, whom I’d only seen for about three minutes this morning before he went to find Casper. He’d flown in from Seattle after yesterday’s dramatic call we’d had. His eyes bounced around the room from Hattie to Chloe to Sage and back.
“Looks like we interrupted a family meeting,” Rhodes said.
Guy was huge, built like a brick shithouse. Taller than East, I’d guess, and muscular, like he’d beat someone up in a fight ring or behind an alleyway if they looked at him the wrong way. Intimidating didn’t even begin to cover it. Certainly not a man I would want to meet in the dark.
Wade straightened. “You always do seem to show up at just the right time.” He gave Rhodes a little smirk. Whatever favor it was that Rhodes owed Wade, it must be good. Wade had never been willing to share, and I knew we were all dying to know all about it.
Casper’s mouth twitched, but he looked unfazed. “Good to see you awake, Hattie. This is Rhodes.”
Hattie’s fingers tightened again. A squeeze before answering, “Thanks for coming. I needed to talk to you about what happened.”
Every word seemed to cause her pain, and I knew that she had some broken ribs along with her other injuries. Watching her struggle was pissing me off, but if this was something she needed to do, then I’d support her.
Casper studied us, eyes sharp. “Walk me through it. Official version.”
When we finished, I needed to kick everyone out so she could rest some more, because I noticed her skin had paled a little.
“Sage, Lila, and I were going to meet in Wildwood Meadows to talk about something.” She shot Sage a secretive smile. “So I was on my way into town.”
“Okay. Go on.” Casper leaned against the wall, trying to seem unobtrusive, but it didn’t seem to bother Hattie that she was crammed into a room with six people. I kept waiting for hospital staff to come and kick some of us out, but Chloe might have bribed them to let us stay for a while.
“A truck came up behind me pretty fast. I think he pulled out from one of those logging roads because I hadn’t seen him following me from the cabin.” Her fingers trembled imperceptibly in mine.
Brushing my fingers across hers, I said, “Take your time, sweetheart.”
“I tried to pull away, then thought they might pass me, so I moved a little to the side.” Rhodes almost scoffed, and I frowned at him.
What an asshole. “Then they hit me and knocked me off the road. Crashed right into me. I tried not to go over, but we were going too fast. Next thing I knew, the car was going over the side. I guess I need driving lessons, huh?” She shot a wry glance at Sage.
“Yeah, that was totally avoidable, girl.” Sage joked.
“What happened then?” Casper prodded.
Hattie flinched a little, and all my protective instincts roared forward. “Give her a minute,” I growled. Fucker.
“It’s okay, Kipp.” Gritting my teeth, I lowered my head to her hand and let my lips touch the skin there, even though her scent was faint now from all the hospital smells. “When I woke up, that’s when I knew I was in trouble. Things hurt pretty badly, and then Galloway was there.”
“What was it he wanted?” Casper asked quietly. “You asked Wade if we’d picked up Barry.”
“He didn’t really want anything except to hurt me.
He was angry about everything—about me poking my nose into the case.
Apparently, Allison had been meeting him and Barry on the side.
They’d been paying her, it sounded like for sex, but I don’t want to assume.
He said that Allison told them she was leaving, but she had videos?
” Her nose scrunched up like she was trying to remember.
“It sounded like she was blackmailing them, but it also sounded like he was mad that she was even trying to leave. He said that they killed her, though.”
Casper had perked up. “Both he and the son?”
She nodded. “He said Allison had brought a knife and tried to defend herself, but they had stabbed her, and she bled out in the car. They could have helped her, and they didn’t.”
“Did he say where they met her?” Rhodes had prowled a little closer, close enough that Sage scowled at him.
“Back up, Sasquatch.” She made shooing motions at him, startling him enough that his eyes widened in surprise. “She doesn’t need you so close.”
Wade choked out a laugh. “Sasquatch, Goddamn if I’m not calling you that from now on. New contact name for you.”
Hattie smiled at Sage. “No, he didn’t say anything else. He was really mad after that, and then things got pretty fuzzy.”
“Okay. That’s all we need. We’ve got it from here.
My team found her burner phone and an account she kept on a cloud server, but we’ve been waiting for the warrant to be served on the video files.
I’m guessing what we’ll find there are the incriminating files that Galloway was talking about.
” He snorted. “She had the money in her account.” He shook his head sadly.
“I’m not sure they would have let her walk away anyway, but …
” he trailed off. “You coming, Collins? I got a perp to catch. You too, Wade.
“Yeah, yeah. You need me for anything, Kipp?” Wade gave me a questioning look.
“No, brother. What we need is for you guys to close this case.”
“That’d be good,” Hattie said tiredly.
“That’s our cue. Let’s get out of here and give these lovebirds some peace. Hattie needs some rest so she can heal up.” Sage hurried Lo Lo toward the door, her eyes narrowing at Rhodes. “Move, Sasquatch.”
“You can squeeze past,” he snapped.
Wade just laughed and shoved Rhodes through the doorway. Hattie rolled her eyes as the Holt train left the station.
“I’m so glad you are okay.” My lips ghosted over her cheek, careful not to press into her bruises. “Let me call the nurse so you can get another dose of pain meds.” Pressing the call button for the nurse, I scooted my chair even closer to the bed while we waited.
“Thank you for coming for me. I knew you would.” Her eyes closed, and I thanked every star in the sky that I’d made it in time.