Chapter 50
Remington
She was right, of course. A shower, long and hot, was really nice.
It would have been nicer if she were with me, but hospital rules and all that would probably frown on that wish.
I lingered under the hot spray, letting it loosen my tight, sore muscles longer than I intended to.
My thoughts got lost in the steam, swirling down the drain with the soap and grime from the fire.
Exhaustion swept over my limbs as I toweled off the water droplets from my body as quickly as I could.
Pulling on Eli’s grey sweatpants, an FGFD T-shirt, and my gym shoes he picked up from my locker at the fire station, I felt like a new man.
Clean and ready to climb into that shitty hospital bed, wrap Lainey safely in my arms, and hold her all night.
Walking back down Lainey’s ICU hallway it’s quiet and calm, but I feel uneasy. I can’t explain it, but something in my gut is screaming at me to move faster. Looking ahead, her door is unguarded.
Unguarded. Where the hell is the cop?
Dread. Panic. Fear.
I drop my bag and sprint down the hall, catching the attention of the nurses at their station. They call out after me, but I ignore them.
Bursting through Lainey’s hospital room door, I can’t believe what I am seeing. I don’t even have time to process it fully before I am moving.
I lunge, tackling Calvin to the floor, and then I unleash myself on him. Every ounce of rage that has been pooling in my veins pours out through the bone-crushing punches I deliver.
His eyes.
His nose.
His jaw.
His cheek.
His ribs.
It doesn’t matter where the punches land, as long as they inflict maximum pain and damage to this piece of shit.
He had his hands around Lainey’s neck. He was choking her, killing her.
I can’t stop. I don’t stop until staff members yank me off of his still body. He’s breathing, but completely fucked up, and I don’t have a drop of sympathy.
Spinning around, I rush to Lainey’s side.
God please don’t take her away from me after all of this. She deserves better.
Her breathing is a thin whisper in the room. The pale, delicate skin on her neck is already darkening with bruises where that son of a bitch wrapped his hands around her neck, trying to steal the very breath that gives me life.
The commotion in the room is like the buzz in a hive to my overstimulated mind.
Lainey is surrounded by doctors and nurses, her care being their main priority.
A group of staff members lifts Cal onto a stretcher, assessing his many wounds.
The kind nurse that helped Lainey shower guides me to a chair.
Carefully, she starts to clean the wounds on my hands that I hadn’t even noticed were there.
“I almost lost her again,” I say softly to her.
“I know, sugar. I know.” She hums. “But you got that bastard. And your Lainey is going to be more than fine, because you are her hero—so many times over.”
Looking up I see the cop in the doorway, the one that was supposed to be guarding Lainey. Fury ignites all over again, and I jump up.
“Where the fuck were you!?” I scream at him. His eyes go wide, confused and afraid.
“I went to get a coffee. Her brother was here for a visit, said he would make sure nobody would come in and bother her.” The young cop’s face is as white as the walls surrounding us.
“He just tried to fucking strangle her to death, you useless piece of shit. Stand outside that door and don’t move an inch. I am calling Danny.”
“Remington?” The softest, whispered cry of my name comes from the hospital bed, and I am next to Lainey instantly, pulling her into my chest. Her sobs are nearly silent because of all the trauma to her throat over the past forty-eight hours.
“I’m here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.” I gently rock her body, holding her tighter, needing to not let her slip out of my grasp.
“It was Cal,” she states, shocked and broken.
“I know. I know, and I am so sorry. I don’t know why he would do something like this, but I will never let him hurt you ever again.” She gives me one tiny nod as I swipe away her tears.
“I know.” She gingerly touches her neck and whines. “Why.”
“Don’t talk yet, okay? Let’s wait for Danny to come so you only have to say it once?” Again she nods.
Fate. Angels. Miracles. Whatever was on our side, letting me get to Lainey not once, but twice before it was too late?
I am so fucking grateful. I can’t even let myself think about the “what ifs” of that timing being off.
My arms firmly wrapped around her trembling body in this moment are the only things keeping me from falling apart from the magnitude of what just happened.