Killer: A Bad Boy Romance (29 page)

I shook my head. “Lady, you don’t get this. Stay out of my fuckin’ business,” I snapped. “You have no idea who I am.”

She looked at me smugly. “You’re Chase McIntyre, ex-con,” she said. “I know that much. You were found without a wallet, but there was ID nearby that matched your description.”

I flashed back to those asshole thugs in Nefertiti’s hideout yanking my pants down and going through my shit. At the time, losing my wallet hadn’t seemed nearly as important as losing my gun, or getting groped by some crazy gangster bitch.

“Yeah,” I said, looking away. “I lost it. Sorry.”

The doctor rolled her eyes. “Probably too busy thinking about crank,” she replied. “I bet that’s it. You detoxing?”

I shook my head. “I don’t fuck with that shit anymore,” I said. “I’ve been clean for a long time.”

“Good for you,” she snapped. “By the way, do you know a Laurie?”

I shook my head. Then it dawned on me. “Lacey? What the fuck? Is she okay? Is she hurt?”

The doctor gave me a strange look. “No,” she said slowly. “She’s fine. She was here to see you, but you didn’t wake up in time to catch her. She spent the whole night sitting by your side and crying.”

A weird feeling washed over me. It was desire and want and tenderness all mixed together, and I had to shake my head to clear it rapidly. “She’s my friend,” I said slowly. “Did she say that she was coming back?”

“She said that she was working or something, and that she’d stop by after her shift.”

“Did I come in with a cell phone?”

The doctor blinked. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I can go check your personal possessions, though,” she added. “Can you wait or do you need it right now?”

Considering how bitchy she’d been before, I was pretty impressed. “Now,” I barked. The doctor looked angry. “Sorry,” I amended. “Whenever you have time, but as soon as possible. Please.”

Her expression softened. “Wait a second,” she told me. “I’ll have one of my interns bring it in.”

The doctor breezed out in a cloud of disinfectant-smelling perfume. It felt like an excruciatingly long time before a younger, cuter doctor came back in. She was carrying a white plastic basket and she dug through it, finally finding my phone and putting it in my lap.

“Now, you’re not supposed to strain yourself,” she said carefully. “I’ll have to stay here and watch you talk, okay?”

“Can’t I just keep it in my room?”

The doctor shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said, blushing. She bit her lower lip in a way that reminded me of Lacey and suddenly, my loins were on fire. She leaned closer and whispered confidentially, “Sir, I have to inform you that this case is being treated as criminal. We have to take all precautions since you were brought in with a gunshot wound. Once we found out how and why you were shot, you may be free to go. But right now, we’re working with the authorities.”

“Shit,” I muttered softly. “Fuck.”

The doctor looked upset. “I’m sorry, sir,” she said in a more professional voice. “It’s our policy to inform you, that’s all. I’m afraid there’s nothing else I can do at this point.”

I closed my eyes and let my head flop back against the hospital bed. Pain shot through my body and I winced. “Can I have some medication?”

The woman bit her lip. “Sir, that’s the other thing. Since you were found at the site of a massive opiate drug deal, we cannot give you any medication right now. If you’d like me to bring you a packet of ibuprofen, I could do that, but I’m not allowed to give you anything stronger.”

If I’d had a gun, I would have shot myself. “Fine,” I snapped. “I want to use this now.”

The doctor shifted from foot to foot. “As I said sir, I have to stay with you,” she said. “Would you like me to wait behind this curtain?”

I rolled my eyes. Even the smallest gesture of contempt filled my body with torment. “Fine,” I said. With shaking hands, I dialed Lacey’s number and hit ‘call.’ It rang and rang and rang and eventually cut to voicemail. In irritation, I threw my phone at the ground. The screen had already been cracked but this final act sent it shattering into tiny pieces of plastic. I laughed until it hurt my chest too much to keep going.

“Sir,” the doctor said. Caution was evident in her thin voice. “Are you okay? Is something the matter?”

“Oh, nothing,” I said sarcastically. “I’m in a lot of pain and I can’t get any good drugs, my girlfriend isn’t answering the phone, I’m shot, I’m possibly going back to prison, and I don’t even fucking remember how I got here!”

The doctor looked taken aback. “Sir, that certainly is a lot,” she said. “And you know, we may be able to give you some pain meds. We’ve tested your blood for drug content, and once the tests come back negative, we’ll be able to help you feel a little better. How does that sound?”

I nodded. “Great,” I muttered. “Just fuckin’ great.”

“Good!” the doctor chirped. “I’ll go check on those, and I’ll be back really soon!”

I closed my eyes in defeat. Even with my lids shut, the bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling penetrated into my skull. Everything was blindingly painful. I knew that it would be ages, probably hours, before the doctor returned. Any time someone said they’d be back soon, I knew it might be days before I saw them again. When it came to time management, hospitals sucked.

I looked at the pieces of my shattered phone on the floor and cursed myself for not being able to withstand the urge to destroy whatever I had in my hands at the time. And ‘my girlfriend’? Why the fuck had I said that? I wasn’t Lacey’s boyfriend. But all the same, thinking about Lacey made me feel a little better. I pictured the concern written on her pale, heart-shaped face, her grey eyes wide with love. I knew that we didn’t have any business being together. But that didn’t mean that I didn’t honestly miss her sometimes. I imagined being in her apartment, with her sweet smell all over, and I felt a twitch between my legs. As my cock started to stiffen, I groaned. Just like everywhere else on my body, it hurt a lot. But hey, maybe I was lucky. At least I still
had
my cock.

Peyton dead. Nefertiti arrested. Lacey at my side all night. What the fuck was going to happen now?

Chapter Thirty Nine

Lacey

Anne looked at me smugly. “I heard the news about your convict boyfriend, Lacey,” she said just loud enough for Mark to hear her. “He was arrested and taken to the hospital last night.”

“He wasn’t arrested,” I said sharply. “He was found with a wound to his arm. So of course he was hospitalized. And he’s not my boyfriend.”

Anne raised her eyebrows at me. She looked at Mark and shrugged and he looked quickly away. Ever since I’d stood him up for dinner, he hadn’t bothered to ask me out again. Instead, he was going for Anne. And she seemed to be loving every minute of it. The only confusing part was why she was so hell-bent on still making me miserable.

“I’m leaving soon,” I said.

Anne nodded. “Going to the hospital?”

I narrowed my eyes. “No,” I lied. “I’m going home.”

Mark watched me with big, sad puppy eyes. I had to look away. I hated feeling like I’d hurt him, but how many more times could I have put him off before he really understood? And of course, I hadn’t
planned
on standing him up. Chase had just showed up. And Chase was more important.

As I got to the door of Dawning Point, I spun on my heel. “Hey, Anne,” I called out. “You know what? He actually
is
my boyfriend. I didn’t want to tell you because you obviously think he’s a thug, but he’s the sweetest guy I’ve ever met. He treats me very well.”

Anne stared at me with her mouth hanging open. “Whatever,” she muttered. “Bye, Lacey.”

The way she said goodbye to me almost felt like a real goodbye, and not a see you later. I swallowed hard. I wondered if I’d ever come back to this place. My singing career was going better than expected and it did pay a lot more than working here. I loved being around kids, but I was starting to wonder if it was really for me. Maybe I could be a singer full-time. Maybe I could even go back to school and get a voice degree. The future didn’t seem like one straight line anymore. After meeting Chase, it was like everything branched out in separate directions.

I drove to Detroit Grace with my foot to the pedal. Maybe today they’d be able to give Chase some real drugs.  I’d felt so horrible after leaving last time; he was clearly in agony, even when passed out. It had hurt me to see him looking so vulnerable and alone.

Thankfully, the butch doctor who’d attended to him before had left. She was replaced by a petite Asian woman who stared at me over the tops of her glasses.

“Are you a family member of Chase?”

I shook my head. “Girlfriend,” I said after a beat. The doctor looked me over from head to toe, taking in my fuzzy pink sweater and cream jeans. “I swear,” I added.

She narrowed her eyes. “You sure you’re not one of those visiting missionaries?” she asked. “We can’t allow those in to be with patients until they’re starting to recover.”

“No,” I said with a smile. “I know how weird it looks.”

The doctor rolled her eyes. “Trust me, I’ve seen everything,” she told me. “But I have to ask, sorry.”

She led me into Chase’s room. Instantly, the atmosphere transformed. Before, he’d looked miserable and strained. But now there was almost a floaty, happy look on his face.

“Is he okay?”

The doctor nodded. “He passed his blood work,” she said. “There was no trace of any illegal drugs in his system, so we hooked him up to a Percocet drip.”

I smiled. “Oh, god, that’s such good news,” I told her. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

The doctor looked annoyed and she blushed a little bit. I wondered how often people begged her or praised her based on her abilities to help their loved ones. It wasn’t too hard to imagine that she probably dealt with requests like that all time, especially in Detroit.

“Is there anything I can get for you?” she asked. “I’ll be back in a few hours, if you’re still here. Visiting hours are over at ten.”

I nodded. I couldn’t wait for her to leave so I could be alone with Chase, even though he was passed out. Five excruciating seconds later, she walked out the door.

“Chase!” I cried, flying to his side. “Chase!”

He didn’t stir and I reached out and grabbed one of his giant paws with both of my hands. His skin felt warm and dry, and even though he smelled like a hospital, if I leaned in close, I could get a faint whiff of cigarettes from his skin. I closed my eyes and grinned happily, resting my head on his prone chest. Just being with Chase, even when we weren’t talking, felt so good. Okay, sometimes maybe it felt even better than not talking. I giggled to myself as I thought about Chase’s temper, and his attitude. If I was being honest, I loved those things about him. I loved everything that made Chase the man that he was.

“Gaahrnn,” came a cry from the bed. I snapped my head up. Chase’s eyes were starting to open and he blinked at me very slowly. I grinned at him and sat closer.

“Chase!” I cried. “It’s me! Lacey!”

“Laaaa,” Chase replied, bobbing his head. I giggled.

“Wow, they really have you doped up,” I observed. Chase didn’t reply; he closed his eyes and flopped his head back down on the pillow. “Chase, are you okay? Are you in pain?”

There was no reply. Chase opened his eyes and focused on me. Eagerly, I leaned forward. The green orbs didn’t look any duller than before, but I could sense pain and hurt.

“Chase, I’m so glad you’re okay,” I gushed. His eyelids fluttered. “Please don’t pass out,” I begged. “Please stay with me, Chase. I love you, Chase.”

His eyes flew open. “What?” he croaked.

I squealed excitedly. “Chase! I can’t believe you’re alive!”

“I’m here,” he said slowly. “Lacey.” When he said my name, my heart fluttered and I felt butterflies. “Lacey,” he repeated, and I blushed from the roots of my hair.

“Chase, you’re gonna be okay!” I cried loudly. He winced and I felt guilty. “Sorry,” I said in a softer voice. “I’m just so happy to see you.” Hot tears burned at my eyes and I blinked quickly to clear them. I felt them spill out and down my cheeks. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

He managed a smile and I reached up to stroke his face. “Lacey,” he croaked and I grinned like an idiot. Who cared if all he could ever say was my name? I loved that. Besides, it was a lot better than him calling me a stupid little cupcake!

“I’m here,” I gushed, squeezing his fingers. Chase didn’t reply. “I’ll stay here until they kick me out,” I promised. “Do you want me to read to you? I can read to you!”

Chase looked at me dully. “Just stay,” he croaked. “Here.”

I nodded furiously. “Of course I will,” I promised. “I won’t leave your side!”

Chase closed his eyes again and for the first time in days, he looked happy. He didn’t say anything and I gently stroked his forearm with my fingertips. His skin felt softer than usual. When I looked at the bloody bandage wrapped around his arm, I wondered what kind of hell he’d been through. Maybe one day he’d tell me.

Maybe now things would be different. It wasn’t all that hard to picture. I saw Chase escorting me to and from the club; not because he had to, but because he wanted to. I saw myself buying him another, fancier coffee maker and always having coffee for him in the mornings.

“I love you,” I said again. Chase’s eyes fluttered. “I love you so much, Chase.”

“I love you, too,” he grunted. My heart swelled. “I love you,” he repeated gruffly.

“I love you,” I said quietly. This time he didn’t hear me. Slowly, relaxed with love and pain meds, he began to fall asleep.

THE END