Caught: In A Case by C.M. Steele
Chapter 17
I walked to the side of the bed and let the tears flow. I didn’t give a shit if anyone saw. Lying in the bed, broken, was the woman I was supposed to protect, and it was clear as fuck that they were going after her to get to me. I hoped Mike had some insight into who the fuck chased them down. Some nurse brought me a chair and I sat, holding her hand for what seemed like forever, waiting for her to come through; to tell me it was going to be alright. I wanted my kisses she promised me, damn it.
The same nurse was on duty. She seemed to be there solely for my girl, which was good, because I wanted her to get all the attention she needed to be given, at all times. The woman was about fifty, stocky, with shockingly red hair. She looked at my girl funny; sort of shocked and with sadness, at least twice now.
Half an hour later I was visited by two detectives, a Thomas Reid and a Pamela Bell. The fuck was looking at me with suspicion, and I wanted to punch him in the face. I didn’t have time for this. My girl was hurt.
“Mr. Blake, we need to ask you and your wife some questions.” He said “your wife” in a fucked up tone, like he didn’t approve. Fuck him.
“As you can see, she is not able to talk to you right now. I don’t know what happened. Until I talk to my wife and the rest of those in the car, I have shit to give you.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” said the fuck.
Not in the mood for his questions and shitty attitude, I barked, “What the hell do you want to know?”
“We are not your enemies, Mr. Blake. We are just trying to get the person who attacked them,” Detective Bell said trying to diffuse the tension that her partner was letting loose.
“You don’t think I want this bastard, too? He tried to kill my wife and my family,” I shouted.
“Do you have anyone against your marriage?” he asked.
“You seem to be against it.” I looked like I was about to drop the motherfucker, and he reddened.
“I can’t understand why a grown man would want to marry a child,” Detective Reid said, letting his feelings be known.
“Who the fuck do you think you are? It’s none of your business. I married my wife because I love her. We are both adults, so I don’t give a shit who has a problem with it.”
My dad and Milo heard the raised voices and came into the room. “What’s going on, son?”
“Nothing, Pops, the cops here are seeing if my marriage made me any enemies. Detective Reid seems to think our age difference is a point of contention. Detective, there is someone who does not agree with our marriage, but they’re in Seattle, and they do not know about the wedding since we got married in Vegas a few days ago.”
“What about your business partner, Thompson’s daughter?” Milo asked.
“Yes, that is true. Her name is Samantha Thompson. She has been trying, for years, to be with me.”
“We will look into it and if she is guilty, she will be charged as soon as possible.” That’s the first time I agreed with the fuck, he seemed attached to this case, like it was a priority. He made it seem personal. They said they would return when Elizabeth was awake and ready to talk.
It had been over two hours when I finally felt her hand move. I jumped up from my seat and stood over her face. “Buttercup, baby, talk to me! Oh god, I thought I lost you!”
“Jackson, my arm hurts…” I yelled for the nearest nurse to come over and do something to make it better. “Please tell me their okay. Please.” She was in tears.
“Yes, babe, they’re going to be fine. My mom was just in here to look in on you. They’re all going to stay at the hospital, in the room they put Zoey in. Mike is trying to get out of the bed to check on you girls. I need to speak with him, and the detectives want to speak to you soon, Elizabeth. I told them they had to wait until tomorrow.”
“I love you, Jackson. I’m sorry that this happened to your family. If I wasn’t there they would be fine,” she sobbed.
“Don’t you dare say that again! You are my family. We love you, and I can’t be without you.”
I kissed her chapped lips gently. “Jackson, can I have some water?”
“Here you are, Mrs. Blake.” The nurse who had been there in the recovery area held up a large pill for the pain and a cup, with the straw to her lips.
“Thank you,” she whispered and laid back.
“Don’t you worry miss, we will take care of you. You are going to be moved into a room now. Before you do, though, the doctor will be in to see you.” She walked away, and I returned my eyes back to my girl who was visibly upset. I can’t blame her, she had a hell of a day and almost died. Just thinking about it makes me choke in anger.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry that I didn’t protect you, and that someone is trying to hurt you to get to me. Can you forgive me? I brought this into your life. I pursued you and now this has happened.”
“Come here.” I bent down to get closer to her face. “Don’t, for one moment, buster, think that you have anything to be forgiven for.” She pulled my head, with her left arm, and kissed me hard. That was it, fuck, I needed to know she was going to be okay. A kiss that was supposed to make a point turned into a passionate intense kissing session. It was the knock of the doctor on the wall that made me jump back. “You, miss, should be resting instead of accosting your husband.” I smiled at her.
“Can you blame me? You are so handsome, and I thought I would never see you again.” I watched her smile falter as the tears came. “Oh, babe, you are alive, and I’m never letting anything happen to you again.” I held onto her until they moved us to a room. The doc had said she was doing well and would probably make a fast recovery.
We spent the next four days in the hospital, to make sure there were no hiccups with their recoveries. I hadn’t asked my girl, again, what had happened. The first time, she freaked out and began to cry. I was going to have to talk to the guys alone, today. I didn’t want to leave my girl’s side for a moment, I was paranoid that she would disappear if I left. Zoey was wheeled in to see us, by Mike. Despite his injuries, he was still tending to her. There was something going on between them, and I wasn’t sure I liked it. I mean, he was my guy, I can trust him with anything, but she was my sister. Maybe it was just that he felt like he failed us in not protecting them. Hell, they would be dead if it wasn’t for him; according to police, from the tire tracks, and eyewitness encounters.
~~~~~~
Mike and Milo had been having discussions. The police had been trying to talk to my wife, but since her breakdown, they had decided to give it time. Once we got home, I took my wife to her bed and put her to sleep. My mom said she would look in on her while I had a discussion with the men.
“Now, damn it, before I go fucking insane, what happened?”
“Too late for that son.” I think this had been an eye opener for Pops. He almost lost his whole family. I say whole because I wouldn’t have survived losing my girl, my mother, and sister. I was sure he would be looking for revenge, as much as I was.
Mike spoke, “We were leaving the salon when the girls wanted to stop and pick up a treat for you. We had just exited the store when that broad from the other night came up to us and told Elizabeth that she just had amazing sex with you at the office. No, no, don’t trip boss, your girl handled that shit.”
I was fucking fuming. I’d gut the bitch for that alone. “She told her, ‘So, good, now you know what my pussy tastes like’. It set that other chick off. She tried to smack your wife, but I put a stop to it, real quick. Then her father came up behind her and took her away.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“She asked me not to and seeing that it was really personal to her, I didn’t think it was good to have that conversation in public. Well, we got in the truck and headed down the road, back to the house, and the ladies were laughing about a silly story of you as a boy. Then we were hit from the side. At first, I was dazed and about to get out and check on the situation, but gunfire opened up. I jumped back in the truck and sped off. They gave chase, but Elizabeth had already been shot. I drove toward town and the hospital and tried to dodge them. I did shoot the motherfucking bastard, so he must be at some hospital. But the police haven’t got a lead since no one but your wife came in with a GSW. The car was one of them old tough sons of bitches, a beige Chevrolet Impala.”
There was a knock at the door, interrupting Mike’s breakdown of events. “Sweetheart, Lizzy is asking for you.”
They understood that my girl came first. “We will start the search and figure out how to deal with the cops.”
“Thanks, fellas.”
