Page 53 of Knox

I get out of bed, and like Roe, I pull on some sweats. Before I reach the top of the stairs, there’s someone knocking on the front door. “Not the police, please not the police,” I say over and over as I get down the stairs as fast as I can without breaking my neck.

Yanking the door open, I see Drake on the other side. “Oh, thank god, I thought you might be the police. Maddox has gone missing.”

“That’s why I’m here. He sent me an address about an hour ago. I didn’t want to go without you. If this is who I think it is, he’s not safe. Go and get dressed and we’ll go.”

Drake drives like a demon, hardly slowing down to take corners or stop at traffic lights, which all seem to be green. “Knox, call the others, start with Saint. Roman, you need to call the cops.”

“That’s his car.” Ollie points it out; Drake drives up and parks directly behind it. I’m out before the engine is off, the boys following me.

“Wait!” Drake shouts. “I’ll kick it down.”

“Maddox, Maddox?” Drake shouts out, stepping past the door that’s now hanging crookedly on the frame.

“In here,” he shouts, then lets out a scream of pain.

From there, bedlam descends. The room fills with police and paramedics. “It’s okay, baby. It’s all going to be okay,” I say as I sweep the hair from Maddox’s forehead. Ollie is holding his hand, kissing the knuckles.

Drake is with the police, head-to-head telling him everything he knew about Tyrone. He had found out a lot once he had the confirmation of his identity. Tyrone stood defeated as he was read his rights and handcuffed. I didn’t spare him a second look as he was escorted out.

I let Ollie go in the ambulance because I want to hear everything Drake knows. Unfortunately, most of it comes under the official secrets act. It will be going to court; we may not be able to hear it all then too. When we get parked and into the accident and emergency department, we are surrounded by my family. Pops has his arm around Ollie, stroking up and down his arm, soothing him the way he has always done. Dad is talking to Saint and Royal, and Finn is with Noah, whose eyes are as red as Roman and Ollie’s.

I really do have a wonderful family. I go to Ollie and take him gently from Pops and thank him for comforting him. “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. Maddox is tough; he’ll get through this.” I look around. “What the news?”

It’s Dad who answers. “He gone straight to surgery. It was a very deep cut from the back of his calf and got close to the two bones making up his shin.”

“So just the muscle?” And knowing how fit Maddox is, there’s no fat surrounding it.

“They think so, but if it has hit a tendon, then it’s a lot worse. Anyway, they took him off quickly. I think we could be in for long wait.” He smiles, but it’s a sad smile. “He’s a good man, Knox, I’m glad you have him back in your life.”

My throat thickens, the strain of the past few hours, the epic scene at Bound, and lack of sleep has me swallowing the lump that’s about to make me cry. I need to be strong for Roman and Ollie; they’re both going to need my support. “Yeah, me too.” I sniffle, only one kind word away from crying.

After another hour of no word, Saint and Noah leave to get to work. Royal and Memphis leave with Finn. It’s just Drake and my dads staying with us.

Finally, my name is called by a tall, slender woman in lilac scrubs; my knees, stiff from being still for so long, shake.

“That’s me. Is it okay? I mean, Maddox, is his leg okay?” My voice is as wobbly as my knees, everyone has stood up, all waiting for good news. Dad puts his hand on my shoulder as I clasp Roman’s trembling hand and put my arm around Ollie’s shoulders. Everyone looks like they’re holding their breath; I know I am.

She’s smiles and gives me a nod. “This was a nasty wound; the cut was long, and the knife must have been very sharp to cut so cleanly and deeply. We’ve cleaned out the wound and had to repair some blood vessels that were severed and checked for nerve damage. We repaired them as we found them. The worst part is the severing of his lower knee tendon, the patella tendon. After suturing it back together, and putting his leg in plaster, we will be closely monitoring it for any signs of infection or swelling. He needs rest now, and then it will be a rigorous physiotherapy. He’s lucky that he’s so fit; he will do well with physio. It’s not a quick fix; this is the start of a long road ahead.”

“Can we see him?” Pops asks, taking the words from my mouth.

“He’s getting settled in his room as we speak. As soon as he’s sorted, yes, you can visit him. Keep to two at a time, keep him calm and still. I will be popping in and out to keep an eye on him. He’s very lucky. If it had been his thigh, it would’ve been a lot worse. The nerve grafts he had before would have made it a tricky operation.”

“Thank you for everything,” Pops says and shakes her hand.

“Just doing my job,” she smiles again and leaves us.

It’s ten more minutes before a nurse approaches. “Hi, you’re waiting to see Maddox Levin?” he asks, then introduces himself. “I’m Luke, and I’ll be his nurse today. Come with me.”

We follow him down the corridor to a bank of lifts; one opens as soon as the call button is pressed. “Maddox is on the third floor. When you come again to visit, you’ll be able to use the main entrance.”

We walk silently down the corridor of the third floor with rooms on each side, and as we approach the fourth room, Luke stops and opens the door on the right side. “I can only have two in at a time; it’s not a large room.” But when he sees I’m holding up two distraught men, he allows the three of us.

Dad nudges me. “You all need to see him first; we’ll wait.”

I walk in, Roman gripping my hand so tight I have to flex my fingers to get some blood flowing. “Sorry,” he whispers and lets go. The sight of Maddox has me gasping. He looks so vulnerable, pale, even with the colourful tattoos; they now look muted. I walk up to the side of the bed and lean over to kiss his forehead. “Hi, baby, we’re here for you. How do you feel?”

Ollie moves to the other side of the bed and kisses Maddox on his cheek. “It’s a good job I love you so much, because I want to kick your arse.” It would sound more convincing if his voice hadn’t cracked and he was crying again.