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Chapter One
Riggs
This is not where I thought our night would end up. Being with Alayna tonight was one of the greatest moments of my life. We watched a movie under the stars, tucked away in our own little oasis. The chemistry was out of this world, our hands barely able to stay off of each other. Alayna even confessed she wanted more, she wanted to take the plunge with the three of us. It was fucking magical and a night I thought for sure would never be outdone.
There’s always another shoe to drop though, and did it fucking ever. Dead bodies, a fucking killer stalking Alayna, and then Rhys delivered the final blow by uttering that name. Kevin Jennings, the man who destroyed both Declan and Alayna. If I thought Alayna was pale from finding a dead body in her bed, I was wrong. The last of all the colour drained from her face the moment that name came out of his mouth.
“He’s supposed to be dead,” she murmurs, hugging her arms around her body. She repeats it over and over again, the words almost a mantra in the wind.
Alayna is so unbelievably strong, but this is breaking her so completely. All we can do is stand by while she attempts to pull herself together, her body language telling us she needs the space. My arms twitch with the need to hold her and protect her. This is a living nightmare, and the woman I’m coming to care deeply for is caught right in the fucking middle of it.
An incessant buzz starts from Lay’s pocket, all of our gazes moving towards the sound almost on instinct. The lights and sounds of the emergency vehicles around us are drowned out as we watch Lay pick up her phone. Moving to surround her once again, I clench my fists at my side as she swipes to answer the call. Turning up the volume, she holds the phone between us, the sound of his voicing stirring the rage inside of me.
“Hello, Alayna.” The creep practically purrs her name, his obsession clear in his voice even with the distortion he’s using. “I’ve missed you so very much. Tell me, do you find the smell of lavender and decay as arousing as I do?”
His laughter carries over the phone, the sound sending all of us into a frantic storm of anger and disgust. Rhys catches the phone just as Lay releases it, her hand going limp just before her whole body collapses.
“Alayna!” Adam shouts frantically, his arms flying out to catch her before she falls. Her eyes roll back in her head, the stress and fear causing her to shut down completely.
“Help!” I yell out, gesturing for the paramedics and police. “We need help over here.”
Adam sits on the ground, holding Lay in his arms like she’s the most precious possession. His eyes are glistening with unshed tears, his hands stroking her long black hair. A paramedic rushes over as his partner grabs the stretcher. Standing out of the way as best I can, I breathe deeply, doing what I can to not lose it.
“Wake up, Beautiful.” Adam’s voice cracks, the sound bringing my own tears to the surface that I am desperately trying to hold at bay. “Please, wake up.”
Rhys is gesturing animatedly with police, his voice raising as he shoves Lay’s phone into their gloved hands. The paramedics are moving Alayna from Adam’s arms, the oxygen mask over her face making my heart stop with fear. Rhys runs back over, pushing his long, messy blonde hair out of his face and standing beside me with a determined scowl.
“Can you three please back up and give us a little space to work?” The one paramedic gestures to the side of the lawn, a frustrated look on his face. “We know you’re worried, but we need to do our jobs and that means we need space.”
Rhys helps Adam up, all of us taking a few steps back even though it feels like it’s tearing my heart out to do it. They need to help Lay though and that means we need to stay back.
“Her blood pressure is seventy over forty,” the female paramedic states to her partner, her eyes darting between her various machines she’s pulled out. “Heart rate is forty eight beats per minute. It’s low, but holding steady.”
The male paramedic nods at us, his eyes bouncing between the three of us. “Are any of you coming with us? If so, we’ll grab more information on the way to the hospital.”
“I’ll come,” I volunteer quickly, beating the other two by mere seconds. Looking at Rhys and Adam, I remind them of what they can do while I’m with our girl. “I’ll call you guys when we reach the hospital, that way you can figure things out with the police and find us a new place to stay.”
“I’ll go speak with Jarrod. He just showed up,” Rhys mumbles, his scary, stoic face on. “Adam, can you find us somewhere safe, but relatively affordable, to stay for upwards of a few weeks?”
Walking away from those two, I follow closely behind the stretcher that holds my entire future. My heart is beating so fast as I climb into the ambulance, the smell of antiseptics stinging my nose, bringing back memories of another time. This isn’t Hannah, and Lay is going to be okay. I won’t be losing anyone else that I love, especially not the one I just found.
Holding one of Lay’s hands in my own, I look at the man sitting across from me with an expectant look on his face. Shit! He must have been talking to me while I was trying not to freak the fuck out.
“Sorry, can you repeat that?” I ask, my voice low and gravelly from the emotion clogging my throat.
“What’s her full name and age?” He looks at me expectantly, his pen balanced on his page.
“Alayna Morgan and twenty eight,” I murmur, squeezing her hand in my own to remind myself that she’s still here.
“Can you give me a bit more information about what happened so I can radio the hospital with it? Is she diabetic? Any conditions they need to be aware of?” He speaks slowly, maintaining eye contact the entire time.
“She’s not diabetic, and as far as I’m aware, she doesn’t have any major health problems. She does suffer from c-PTSD and depression. She’s in therapy and taking medication for it.” I run through my mind, making sure there isn’t anything I could have missed her say about health conditions. “She had a traumatic phone call after an equally traumatic night, that’s the gist of what happened.”
“Alright. Do you know the name of the medication she’s taking?” he asks in between relaying the information to the hospital.
“No, I’m sorry. I’ll get one of the others to bring it to the hospital with them for the doctors.”
Nodding his head, he gives me a weak smile before turning away from me. With a small sigh of relief, I thank whatever powers to be that exist, that the questions are over. Looking down at Alayna, I brush some of her black hair away from her face, my eyes filling with tears that can’t be held back. Seeing her like this, so lifeless and pale, makes my chest tight with fear.
