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Once Simon left the room to make his call, we all went quiet, lost in our thoughts, and worries for Blake. She had been unconscious when I’d briefly seen her earlier, and covered in soot.
“We need to find out who is doing this and stop them. Blake can’t keep going through this. How much more can her body endure? Not to mention what all of this is putting her through mentally! It has to end. We have to end it!” I growled.
“It has to be Abby. Trent’s right. That can’t be a coincidence. She’s been close by twice now just before an attempt is made on Blake’s life,” Tom reasoned and I had to agree. She was definitely capable of it – the psycho bitch. Plus she had the resources. She worked at a car repair shop, and had several of the guys who worked there drooling after her. She could easily have convinced them to mess with Simon’s brakes. She could also have used a car from the garage in the hit and run. And arson? I was pretty sure there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do if she felt she was being slighted.
“I never should have brought her into our lives,” Trent whispered and I knew he felt responsible.
“Don’t do that, bro. You had no way of knowing just how crazy Abby is. She hides it pretty well,” Grey told him and I nodded. As pissed as I was, I didn’t blame Trent. He had been hurting when he got with Abby and I understood that need for comfort he’d had.
“Why does she have to go after Blake? Why not me? I broke up with her, for fuck’s sake! I can handle her bullshit, but Blake…she’s been through too much. I just want to keep her safe but I…I can’t,” Trent said, his voice breaking towards the end as tears slipped down his cheeks. “I keep telling her that we have her…that sh-she’s safe, but she’s not. She almost fucking died in that room tonight! I can’t protect her and it kills me.”
Trent’s words felt like they were being plucked from my own thoughts. I was beating myself up inside for once again failing her. I had assured her she was safe and protected, just as Trent had, and it had been a damned lie. As long as this crazy psycho was on the streets and pursuing her, she would never be safe and I knew it.
It terrified me. If I wasn’t so determined not to leave Blake when she needed us, I’d be out hunting fucking Abby down. I had never in my life hit a woman, but I was starting to think I could make an exception for Abby if she was the one who had almost cost me the lives of the woman I loved, my brother, and the closest thing to a father I had ever had. It had to stop, and if no one else was willing to do it, then I would. I didn’t care what it cost my soul, as long as Blake and the people I loved were safe. It wasn’t like I had a whole lot of my soul to cling to anyway, not after the crappy life I had lived as a kid. Losing what remained would be worth it if it kept Blake at my side. She didn’t know it yet, but she would – there was nothing on this earth that would stop me from protecting her. Nothing.
CHAPTER 18
BLAKE
“Her chest x-rays came back clear and there’s no indication of any swelling in her airway. We’re waiting for her bloods to come back, but I don’t anticipate there being anything alarming.” I heard a voice I didn’t recognise when I started to come back to consciousness. My throat felt like it was filled with glass and I was dreading opening my eyes, since they already hurt while they were closed.
As I took in how exhausted I felt, the events that had transpired started to come back to me – the fire and me being trapped. Dad and Trent getting me out.
“So she’ll be alright?” I heard Trent ask.
“Her oxygen levels are a little low, so we’ll need to keep her on oxygen and under close observation for a while, but yes. I’d say she has been incredibly lucky all things considered.” The voice, who I was assuming was a doctor, explained.
“Oh thank God,” I heard my dad gasp. “You’ll let us know as soon as the blood tests come back?”
“Of course, Mr. Rivers. Try to let her rest. It’s the best thing for her as we try to improve her oxygen levels,” the doctor advised. I listened, not daring to open my eyes and feel the pain there, as Dad and Trent thanked the doctor and then I assumed he had left.
“I need to update the guys. They’re losing their minds with worry back there,” Trent said. The idea that my guys were worrying that much was enough to have me forcing my eyes open, even though they felt like they were full of sand.
“Trent?” I gasped as the bright lights of the room had me slamming my eyes closed again. I tried to open them more gradually as I felt a hand wrap around mine.
“Don’t try to talk, tiny. The doc said your throat might be pretty sore for a few days from all the coughing. Dad and I are here. You’re in the hospital,” he told me softly.
“My eyes,” I tried to say as I forced them open then fought not to blink, because every time I did it hurt more.
“Here sweetheart. The doctor left some eyedrops to rinse them out once you woke up. Can I try them?” I turned my head slightly and found my dad holding a small bottle up for me to see. I nodded, not daring to speak since that hurt too. Dad smiled softly as he leant over me and held my eyelid open enough to drop the cool eyedrops into each eye. I blinked a few times and the pain eased some.
“Again, Dad…please,” I whispered hoarsely and Dad repeated the process in each eye. The relief was great and I was finally able to keep my eyes open long enough to look around the room I lay in. It was a private room with a large window, through which the sun was shining. Trent stood on my left and Dad was on my right.
“D-do you h-have some of those for my th-throat?” I asked. My voice was so scratchy that it failed to come out in some places.
“Stop talking. You’re making it worse, short stack,” Trent scolded.
“Try some water,” Dad said and when I turned to him he was holding a plastic beaker with a straw sticking out of it. I lifted my head a little, desperate for a drink and couldn’t believe how much the small movement hurt. That made me aware of the tube that was clipped to my nose. I reached up to touch it and realised it must be oxygen.
“Leave it, Blake. It’s giving you some much needed oxygen,” Trent explained. I nodded once then leaned a little toward Dad for a drink. He held the straw and moved it to my lips.
“Small sips, sweetheart,” he instructed and I tried to follow his guidance, but the cool water felt so good against my throat, even if swallowing it did hurt.
“Thank you,” I whispered as he pulled away the almost empty cup and set it on the table beside him. “Are y-you both okay?” I asked as I looked between them.
“Us? Fuck Blake! You’re the one who almost died! I almost had a freaking heart attack when I realised you were trapped,” Trent cried dramatically. “We agreed we wouldn’t return to this God forsaken place for at least one year and here we are again, less than a month since you were last almost fucking killed!”
“What Trent means is we’re fine. Just worried about you,” Dad chuckled, though I could see the worry in his expression, and knew he was trying to put a brave face on for me.
