CHAPTER SIXTY
UTTER DOG SHIT
I wakeup feeling like utter dog shit. My head is foggy, and I can’t figure out where I am. I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping my memory comes back. Then a pretty woman leans over and says, “Oh, good. You’re awake. Can you rate your pain for me, Sam? Ten being the most painful and one being mild discomfort.” Ah, I’m in a hospital.
I reply, “Twenty.”
The pretty nurse laughs. “Let me get you something for pain. I’ll be right back.”
“MacKenzie. Can I see MacKenzie? Is she here?” I really need to see her. Make sure she’s okay.
“I’ll see if she’s in the waiting area. Back in a jiff.”
While I wait, I roll my head to the left. My head is slowly clearing. On my left, I see a few other beds in the room. Only one is occupied. That guy is totally out of it. I can see him drooling from here. I roll my head to the right and see a long desk with monitors, computers, and a couple of people in scrubs moving about.
I lift my left arm and see I’ve got an IV in it. Above me is a liter of blood and another pouch with clear fluid running through some big contraption with a numeric display. Iremember what happened now. That freaky zombie guy stabbed me. “Fucker,” I growl.
I close my eyes, thinking about the events at MacKenzie’s place. When I ran to the door, I kicked it open as wide as it would. When I moved into the opening with my gun drawn, I didn’t see anything. I ran down the steps and looked right. Just as I was about to sweep left, I felt the sharp pain of something piercing my leg. Goddamn, that hurt.
I kept myself upright and pointed my gun at the asshole. He was on his knees, looking up at me like the lunatic he was. He started to talk in this creepy, raspy voice. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t one of the slut’s men.”
One of the slut’s men?“Get up and put your hands above your head.” When he didn’t move, I shouted, “Now! Move! Or I’ll shoot.”
He smirked at me and yanked that fucking blade out of my leg. That’s when I saw the first gush of blood; I was losing blood at a rapid pace. It makes me a little nauseous, thinking about it.
I held my ground. “I said get up. Put your hands in the air. Now! Or I’ll shoot.”
The freak started to cackle. He was the creepiest motherfucker I’ve ever seen. He started to stand, but I didn’t assume he was going to follow directions. He thought he had the upper hand. He stood and looked at me with a maniacal grin.
“Killing guys isn’t my thing, but I’ll make an exception for you.” He raised the knife and lunged for me. I squeezed the trigger of my Glock and fired off two rounds in rapid succession—head and heart.
He dropped the knife but remained standing for a couple of seconds before crumpling to the ground like a heap of fucked-up asshole. “Jesus.” I reached back and grabbed the wall near the steps. I slid down to my ass and looked down at my leg. I was getting light-headed and feeling weak. I looked around forsomething to pack into the wound, but there was nothing to use. I cleaned her place out, so there was nothing to grab. “Idiot,” I murmured. I laid my head back and hoped MacKenzie had heard the shots and called it in.
“Sam?”
I open my eyes to see the most beautiful thing in the entire world. “Baby. Are you okay?”
She laughs nervously. “You’re worried about me? Sam, you nearly died. I almost lost you, honey. I need to ask you, are you okay?”
I smile brightly. “I thought you hated me.”
“I did for a second, but I got over it. I decided I love you instead.”
My eyes mist a bit. Must be some dust in the air or something. “You still love me?”
“So much, Sam. So much.” She leans over and gives me a small kiss on the lips. If I had any strength, I’d totally go for more, but this thing kicked my ass.
“Love you…,” I say as I drift back to sleep.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
THE SHOE’S ON THE OTHER FOOT
Beinga full-time caregiver is hard work. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, I can appreciate even more everything that Sam did for me while I was recuperating from my own knife wounds. His attack caused far more damage than mine, however. Sam spent a full week in the hospital because he got a nasty infection. He was never in danger of dying, but there was concern that they were going to have to open him back up again. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. While he was in the hospital, I got to know his mom and sister really well. They are amazing, funny, strong women. Perri and I hit it off right away. Lauren was a little miffed about it at first, but she decided to join in, and after that, the three of us talked and laughed a lot.
Perri and Valerie shared tons of information about Sam. Holy moly, he was a hellion as a child. According to Valerie, Sam didn’t grow out of it until he joined the service. I wouldn’t say they were relieved he joined up, but Perri did say that he was able to focus all of that mischievous energy into something good. In private, she told me more about their father and Sam’s buddies who died in Afghanistan. She didn’t say that much about it because she felt it was his story to tell me. She did say that Sam had been devastated, and for a long time, he hadn’tbeen himself. I guess that’s what his mom meant when she told me I brought out the old Sam. It hurts my heart to think of Sam going through all of that.
Lauren ’fessed up to her budding relationship with Gill. It turns out that they’d been talking on the phone and texting one another since the blizzard. On the night of my attack, Gill called her to let her know I was taken to the hospital. Afterward, he called her—checking on me and on her. She said he was so sweet and caring—concerned about her getting enough to eat and enough rest—a complete one-eighty compared to her relationship with her ex. In that relationship, Lauren was the one who took care of Blake, making sure all of his needs were met; he never reciprocated. So, having someone do that for her for a change is a big deal to her. When I called Gill about Sam, he called Lauren and brought her to the hospital to be with me while I waited. I’m not sure where their budding romance is going, but I love the glow in my best friend’s eyes. She’s regained her spark—one I hadn’t seen for a long time. In my heart, I know she’s in love, and from what I’ve seen of Gill he feels the same. The guy is head-over-heels smitten with my gorgeous friend, and I couldn’t be happier for them both.
