Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“I need to see her,” I murmur, my eyes drooping with exhaustion.
“She’s fine,” Mom assures me. “Garrett already called your dad with an update. They’ve put her in a room, but she’s going to be okay. Why don’t we get your hand looked at first?”
“No.”
She sighs. “Stubborn boy. Fine. You can see her. Five minutes, but then you need to be seen.”
I don’t agree because I’m not sure I’ll be able to leave Charlotte’s side when I finally see her. The ride to the hospital is a blur. Dad talks to Samantha on Bluetooth, as she fills him in on how we will proceed going forward in case Michael or Ryan speak out against me, and Mom hugs me in the back seat. When we arrive, I stumble out of the car and rush inside.
The lobby is full of people I recognize. The Hoodlums. Loden. Penny and Tierra. Hollis. Jace. Ms. Frazier with a sleeping Sebban in her arms. Kelsey’s man, Mike. The only people missing are Charlotte and her parents.
“He’s going to break his other hand if he doesn’t get to see that girl,” Dad states, trotting in after me.
Hollis nods and then disappears. A few moments later, he returns with Kelsey.
“You can go on back,” Kelsey tells me, pulling me in for a hug. “Maybe Garrett can look at that hand too.”
Hollis clutches my elbow and leads me to a room. He’s still covered in her blood like I am. The fact that he flew into motion to save his sister—my fucking girl—just won him ultimate hero Hoodlum status in my book. I grab the back of his head, bumping our foreheads together.
“Thank you,” I grunt out, before releasing him.
I push into the hospital room, making a beeline straight for the bed where Garrett stands over her.
Using my good hand, I take her small hand in mine. “I’m so, so sorry.”
My sweet Charlotte is battered nearly beyond recognition. Her head and neck are wrapped in gauze. Both of her eyes are blackened and her nose is swollen from what looks like a punch to the face. Anger at those motherfuckers has my eyes flooding with tears. I want to kill Michael and Ryan both. Smashing their fucking faces in isn’t enough.
“She’s going to need a lot of rest,” Garrett says, frowning at her. “A lot of support. What they did…” His voice shakes.
“She’s strong,” I remind him, my voice fierce with conviction. “She’s fucking strong.”
Garrett’s nostrils flare and he nods. “Fire in her veins. My girl is a fighter.”
“Is she in a lot of pain?”
“They have her pretty sedated and comfortable,” Garrett assures me. “Thankfully, she’s mostly bruised and suffered superficial lacerations. A few stitches in her head from the crowbar they whacked her with that was uncovered in the snow not far from where you found her purse. Concussion. Bruised ribs. The worst of it was the laceration to her neck.” He lets out a rush of air. “It’ll leave a horrible scar, but the angle he cut along was just far back enough that he missed her carotid. It tore along her sternocleidomastoid muscle, but they were able to easily repair it.”
I reach out to touch her forehead, but wince in pain.
“Let me see that hand,” Garrett grunts, walking around the bed to my side. He gently pulls it into his hands. “So this is the weapon that caused all that damage?”
“I wish I’d killed them,” I snarl.
His eyes lock on mine. “You fucked them up. Bad.”
“I hope they’re both in agony.”
“Ryan lost both eyes,” Garrett tells me. “But from what the guys tell me, that happened when Charlotte was defending herself.”
Good girl.
“The shattered eye sockets, crushed cheekbones, and cracked mandible were all you. The missing teeth were all you.” His lips press into a firm line. “He’s lucky if he ever recovers. He’s been in surgery for at least six hours. It’ll be a long road to recovery for him.”
I still wish he were dead.
“What about Michael?”
“He’s in a medically induced coma until the swelling goes down on his brain from his fractured skull.” He scrubs his palm over his face. “If he wakes, they’ll transport him straight to OHP.”
I hope he fucking dies a vegetable, though prison for a dirty, rapist cop might also mean certain death.
“This hand is broken,” Garrett finally says. “If you promise to go get it taken care of, I promise I’ll call for you if she wakes up. You’re no use to her all fucked up yourself. Can you do that?”
I don’t want to leave her, but my hand is swelling too badly. I know I’ll need to deal with it sooner or later.
“I can do that.” Leaning forward, I kiss Charlotte’s lips. “I’ll be back, Charlie girl.”
Charlotte
One week later…
It’s snowing.
Again.
I stare out the window, shivering despite being warm inside Cal’s cabin. The snow makes me think of that night. The pain. The terror. The struggle. Each time I slip back to that horrible night, my emotions threaten to crash down on me.