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“Not that you would want to know, but Zeke is going to be fine. He took a bullet to the stomach and they repaired the damage in surgery. Doc says he’ll make a full recovery.”
“You’re right. I don’t want or need to know about Zeke.” The words come out flat because I don’t give a rat’s ass about Zeke right now.
“Didn’t think so, but he did try to stop them. That’s got to mean something.”
“Listen, I’m not trying to have a kumbaya moment for the mother fucker that shot one of my brothers and orchestrated an attack on my wife. If he wants brownie points for getting shot during his own plan to get revenge against me, he’ll be waiting until I put him in his grave.”
“Understood,” Hawk replies, knowing there’s nothing he can say to redeem that fucker in my eyes.
Nodding their heads, they continue on their way out without saying another word. Which if they had, I would’ve left them standing there. If I don’t see Lizzie soon, I’m going to lose my shit. Reaching the information desk, I give them my wife’s name and a nurse comes to escort me through the sliding doors. Pulling a curtain aside, I’m stunned into silence as I look at my wife. There’s so many black and blue marks that I can barely see her beautiful face. Blood seeps through bandages placed around her arms and there’s a cast on her right wrist. Once she sees me, her eyes fill with tears that spill down her battered face.
I don’t hesitate going to her because as much as anger boils in my soul, my wife needs me.
“E. Our baby is gone!” She chokes out. The words penetrate my heart as Lizzie sobs uncontrollably into my chest. I would give my life to take this pain away from her. The only thing I can do is console her and assure her that I will get our daughter back.
“Shh. Baby, I promise you with everything in me that I will get Harper back. Can you tell me anything about the men who took her?”
Taking several deep breaths to calm herself, she answers,
“I didn’t get a look at their faces. By the time I got my seatbelt undone, they were in the SUV and I couldn’t make it to them before they sped away. One was bald and the other had dirty blond hair. I did get a look at the license plate though before I blacked out.”
“Do you remember the number?” I ask with renewed hope.
“Yes. It was a Nevada plate with the license number 85V 066.”
Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I quickly text the number to Gearhead. If anyone can get a lead on that plate, it’s him. Waiting for him to get back to me, I hold Lizzie as gently as I can, trying not to cause her more pain. I admit when I first saw her, tears burned the backs of my eyes, but there’s no way I’m breaking down in front of her. She needs me to be strong but seeing her like this hurts like a bitch. My hands twitch with deadly urges for the fuckers that took my nugget. Lizzie doesn’t need to hear the twisted shit I have planned, she just needs to know that I won’t rest until I place our daughter back in her arms the same way I did when she gave birth to her. My phone buzzes with an incoming text and to my disappointment, the license plate is a fake and untraceable but he’s tapping into the traffic cameras to see if that black SUV went through town. More than likely they stayed off the main roads, but it’s worth a shot.
The nurse comes in with discharge papers and changes Lizzie’s bandages. While she goes over aftercare instructions with her, I hesitantly shoot a text to Eagle letting him know that we’re going to stop at the vet hospital to check on Saint. Maybe my anger is misplaced because I’m on autopilot, but he promised he would keep my girls safe and he didn’t. I’ll have to think about that later because all I want is to get Lizzie out of here, visit Saint, and get to the clubhouse to start looking for Harper. Although Janie and Caleb are there, he’s a member of our family and I know Lizzie won’t rest until she sees him. When Eagle messages me back, he lets me know that they’ve already started planning the search for Harper and will keep me updated on any leads they come across until I get there.
Helping Lizzie off the bed and into the awaiting wheelchair, the nurse leads us toward the exit. As we pass the nurses station, the doctor who tended to Lizzie is standing there writing in a chart, so I decide to ask her about Nitro. I’m not sure if she knows anything, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Telling the nurse to give me a second, I go over and tap the doctor on her shoulder,
“Excuse me, doc. Do you have any information on Brooks Levine?”
“I’m sorry, are you family?”
“Technically, no, but he’s like a brother to me and he was injured while protecting my wife. After the day we’ve all had, I would really like to know if he’s going to be okay,” I express with a pleading in my voice that brings an empathetic look to the doctor’s eyes.
Grabbing another chart, she looks through it in silence, then says,
“What I can tell you is that Mr. Levine was rushed into surgery to repair several internal injuries. He’s been placed in a medically induced coma to allow his body time to heal.” As far as specific injuries and other details, you’ll have to speak to his family.”
“Thank you, doc. I appreciate you letting me know. I’ll speak to his family when they arrive in town.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Phillips, and please make sure your wife takes it easy for the next few weeks.”
“I will and thanks again,” I mutter as I walk away to rejoin Lizzie and the nurse. We proceed down the hall in silence as Lizzie reaches out and grabs my hand. Finally making it to the automatic doors, we exit the hospital with an uncertain future. Both of us no doubt thinking about whether or not Harper and Saint are a part of said future.
17
Ephraim
Before I know it, we’re pulling up to the vet hospital. It’s almost as if there’s been a wrinkle in time, a time jump that happens and I just appear in the next scene. Every reel displays the devastation that has become my existence. I have no control and that shakes me to my core. Gently taking Lizzie by the arm, I’m careful as I help her out of the SUV. We slowly make our way through the door as Krack stands outside keeping an eye on our surroundings. For all we know, the threat is still out there. Who’s to say that Lizzie wasn’t also the target and the only reason she wasn’t taken is because she was trapped? So many questions, but not many answers as my mind continues to try and piece together what the fuck went down today. Less than twenty-four hours ago, my girls and Saint were safe.
Once again, I’m face to face with medical personnel getting escorted to a room that houses part of my heart. I’m pulled up short when we enter the room and my eyes fall on a crying Janie resting her head against Caleb. His arm is wrapped securely around her and although I know this is innocent, Caleb’s old lady, Rue, would lose her shit if she saw this. She doesn’t care what the situation is, she is very territorial. They pull apart when they see me and they’re eyes go wide when they see Lizzie. Janie immediately comes over and wraps Lizzie in her arms to comfort her, while Caleb comes to me and tells me what he knows about Saint. My mind is all over the place with possible outcomes. The perfect world we tried to build has been flipped upside down on its axis, spiraling out of control and I feel helpless. How the fuck can I fix this without going back to the unfeeling son of a bitch that I used to be? Lizzie has changed me and makes me feel more human, but now it’s costing me. My muscles tighten as if I have a Charlie horse rippling through my entire body causing me to physically ache in addition to the stabbing pain in my heart.
The person who escorted us proceeds to go over to record Saint’s vitals and check the IV hooked to one of his hind legs, while the other is in a cast. His front legs are bandaged and his underbelly is covered in a bandage as well. In some way, I’m avoiding the inevitable of going over to the large kennel that houses him. His large body is so still that this all seems unreal. The once jovial Cane Corso that actually smiles when he’s happy, is silent and unmoving. As my mind begins to spiral again the doctor walks in and we all turn to him, hoping to receive good news despite Saint’s unconscious state.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Schaeffer. You must be Saint’s guardians.”
