Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81994 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
I lean my head back, saying a silent thank-you to whoever answered my prayers before looking at the doctor again. “When can I see her?”
“Right now, she’s being moved to the ICU. After we get her settled into her room, we will let you know when you can see her.”
“Thank you,” I mumble.
“She will only be allowed visitors for fifteen minutes at a time, and no more than two people in the room with her.” I nod and he keeps going. “Her recovery is going to be a long one. The amount of damage to her jaw alone will take months to heal. I have to tell you…if it weren’t for the man who attacked her assailant, this conversation would probably be a lot different.”
“What?” I ask, wondering what the fuck I missed over the last few hours while I sat here feeling like my world was ending.
“A man named Sidney Sharp was there when the attack occurred. He was shot in the chest but was able to make it to your fiancée and somehow stop her assault.”
What the fuck was Sid doing here? “The gunman?” I ask aloud.
“He got away. The police are looking for him.”
I take a breath, letting it out slowly. I need to keep it together long enough to see that Autumn gets better, but then I’m going to track down the stupid fuck and kill him.
“Did Sid make it?” I ask.
“He’s in the ICU now but is expected to recover as well.”
“Thanks, Doc.” I shake his hand then go back to my seat. I lean my head back and close my eyes. Whoever did this is going to fucking die, and I don’t give a fuck who or how many people I have to kill to make that happen.
Chapter 10
The Slaughterhouse
Kenton
“They agreed she was off-limits,” I remind Justin, sitting back in my chair.
We were going over what happened at the hospital after watching the tapes from the night of the shooting. I hated seeing the video of Autumn getting shot, but it was the only way to know exactly what happened. The video footage was grainy and the images distorted, but I could still make out what happened. Autumn is adamant that the shooter from the club is the guy who shot her, and I will always trust her over anyone else.
It’s been two weeks since everything went down. I’ve been working leads as they come in, but most of my time has been spent with her since she woke up from the medically induced coma they’d been keeping her in. She can’t talk because they have her jaw wired closed, but she does recognize everyone and has been able to write things down, and that’s the most important thing in all of this.
The first time I saw her after I was let into the ICU, it took everything in me to stay upright. Her head was wrapped in gauze, only her lips and eyes visible. She looked like a science experiment gone wrong. There were tubes and wires attached all over her body, leading to the machines that were surrounding her bed.
I used every muscle in my body to get my legs to move me to her. When I reached the bed, I fell to my knees at her side and dropped my forehead to the top of her hand. I stayed like that for a long time, just thankful to feel the warmth in her hand and hear the sound of her breath.
When I lifted my head and my eyes looked down at her empty finger, I knew I would put my ring where it belonged, where I should’ve put it months ago, but I had been concerned that I was moving too fast for her. Now, I don’t care. I know she loves me, and I know that the love I have for her is something I’ve never felt for another person and what that meant for us.
So that night, I talked to my mom and she gave me my grandmas’ ring, the same one that’s been in our family for generations’. The oval-cut sapphire ring has diamonds around the center stone and down the band. It’s the ring I knew would sit on the finger of the woman I love since I was old enough to understand its meaning.
I went to the hospital the next day, and like it was meant to be, I slid the ring on her and it fit perfectly. I knew that, when she woke up, she would have a long road to recovery, but I also knew that we were going to go on with our lives together and there would be no more putting stuff off until tomorrow.
“Man, he’s the only person I can think of who would have the balls to hurt her,” Justin says, bringing me out of my head.