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Leo: There are only five people left in the bar. It looks like they are fixing to leave. When they walk out, you guys need to come in swiftly.
We waited for our cue. Out walked a couple and in we go. No time was wasted. It needed to be swift. If we could walk up on them without them detecting us, then it would be done. They would be in handcuffs and going to jail in a matter of minutes, but that was not the case. Somehow, they saw us coming. They tried to run, but there was nowhere to go. Both exits were covered.
“There’s nowhere to go. Put your hands behind your back, now!” Leo screamed, jumping up from his stool next to them.
Drew smiled. “You think it’s going to be that easy to take us in? Not quite.”
His evil grin made me want to shoot him right then and there, but I didn’t want to make it easy for him to get out of this.
“Get on the ground!” I screamed.
Shawn took a step toward me. “Do you want to know why this happened? Why your girlfriend is lying in the hospital right now?”
I bit my lip because my fingers were shaking, and the trigger might accidentally go off. “Why? Why would you do that to her?”
“She threw me out like trash. Broke up with me when she moved here. I meant nothing to her. Hell, it didn’t even take a month before she was sleeping with you already. She broke my heart, so I’m gonna take hers,” he explained as he pulled a gun out of the waistband of his pants and pulled the trigger. The police officers fired on him, and I saw his body fall to the ground.
“Noooooo!” I screamed. I didn’t want him to get off that easy. He was a coward.
Leo ran over and confirmed he was gone. “Hudson, these kinds of things almost always end with suicide by cop. We tried to avoid it, but he fired. We had no choice.”
Thankfully, he was a horrible shot. The bullet missed me and went into the wall behind me. I closed my eyes and found solace in the fact that I could tell Laurel that he would never be able to hurt her again.
Drew, caught off guard by the gun, was now in handcuffs and being dragged out by Leo. He didn’t get off so easy. That guy would be going away for a long time.
After putting Drew in the car, Leo stopped me before I left. “You never did tell me how you figured out his location?”
“Do you want to know? You don’t have a guess?” I laughed. He knew how good Chris was at his job.
“Never mind. I’m sure I already know. Get back to the hospital. I’ll be over there after we book him.” He tapped the hood and sent me on my way.
Chapter 28
Hudson
Many people were in the waiting room when I arrived, including my sisters, most of my employees, and my mother. As I walked in, everyone turned and looked at me like she was gone. I didn’t appreciate that. She was going to pull through. She must. I hadn’t had much time with her yet. I demanded more time. All I could think about were the things I wanted to do when she was better, like showing her just how much she meant to me. Without her, I never would have gotten out of my douchebag, pent-up ways. Without her, I never would have realized I deserved to be happy. Although, I still didn’t admit how I felt on the day I had met her at this very hospital. The instant attraction had been there clearly, but since then, she had shown me that I needed someone like her in my life. Someone who was going to tell me when I'm a complete dick, making bad decisions, or distancing myself again. She had physically and metaphorically been my rock.
I didn’t care that my mom finagled up some plan with her to change me. Honestly, if anything, I was glad she did. In my mind, it was one of the best things that had happened to me. It gave me the extra push to acknowledge her. Normally, before her, one-night stands didn’t stay after the night or have my number to call me. Blowing off women had been easy. I was only there for the mutual fun. However, when Laurel came storming into my life, there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it. My mom vouched for her. Boy, was I glad she did.
My mom came over and gave me a massive hug and told me everything was going to be okay. Funny thing, I didn’t need to be told. I already knew. No way was she going anywhere, nor Lacey for that matter. They both had so many things to do in life before they were taken.
Leo came rushing in, and only I knew why he was here. Poor Leo didn’t know the extent of Lacey’s condition yet. Hell, the only person that knew they had been seeing each other was me. I couldn’t pretend it wasn't awkward, but again not my business to tell. Lacey would tell Laurel on her terms. Until then, I’d keep my big-ass mouth zipped.
Leo was in a daze much like I had been when seeing Laurel. I couldn’t wrap my mind around how someone could do this to her. He was thinking the same things most likely. I saw his fists clench. “I just had this guy. Why didn’t I rough him up? I should have. Why would he do this?”
The answer I wanted to give was he was a police officer, so he couldn’t just rough someone in custody up. There was enough of that all over TV. Instead, I replied with, “Because you had to do your job. Which you did because he is in custody. That’s what matters. Remember that.”
He looked at me like I was crazy. The look that I’d gotten so many times before. People sometimes didn’t make sense, hell, the world even. That was one of the most substantial reasons why I stayed to myself for so long. I didn’t want to think about all the bad people and things happening around me every day. If I just stayed in my bubble, then everything would be fine. Now, here I was outside of that bubble, and shit had hit the fan. Laurel and Lacey had both been attacked twice. Something had to give. Why did these girls deserve so much pain?
I started toward the man in scrubs. “I’m her brother-in-law.” The doctor looked straight past me to the large group huddled behind me.
“Lacey has a fractured cheekbone, cracked ribs, and several stab wounds. Fortunately, it missed all vital organs.” He went on describing other things, most of which were very minute. All of us were waiting to hear the four most important words that came from a doctor. “She will be fine. She’s in her room now.”
At that point, I was furious. Why couldn’t he say that in the first place? Leo put his head in his hands, and I could hear him praying. All he wanted was for her to wake up. I didn’t realize they were already so close. At least I knew she had a good guy by her side. He would never do anything to hurt her. If anything, he would protect her with his life. That was just the type of man he was.
“Doctor, what about Laurel?” I asked eagerly.
He put his finger up and walked to the receptionist desk to ask her. “She is in a room. Would you like me to take you to her?”
