“Niamh,” I beg, moving my hand to her throat as I press two fingers to her pulse point. Time seems to stop ticking; everything goes silent as I wait and I wait and then —there!Her pulse is beating steadily under my fingertips.
“Niamh, baby,” I try to wake her as I shift her body, trying to get a better look, “Sweetheart, wake up.”
“They’re on the way,” Silas says, suddenly at my side. “You shouldn’t move her.”
“I’m not fucking leaving her in there,” I growl, “How long?”
He doesn’t answer me, and I already know it’s going to betoo long.
“Help me,” I snap at him, trying to keep Niamh as steady as possible as I adjust her so I can get her out of the damn truck. He takes her legs when they’re more accessible, and we get her to the road, but I’m not waiting for the ambulance when I can get her help quicker than they can get to us. Taking her fully from him, I cradle her to me as I get back to my truck, laying her down in the backseats before I get back behind the wheel, Silas getting in beside me.
“Her brake lines were fucking cut!” I explode at the officer taking notes by the window in the private room we were given after Niamh was taken away for treatment. She still wasn’t awake by the time we got to the hospital, which had sent me into a fucking spiral. Now I’m barely hanging on. It’s been an hour since they took her, and I’ve not heard a single peep from a nurse or doctor about her condition.
“Sir,” The officer attempts to placate me, “I just need to understand why you think that.”
My head snaps to him. “This isn’t fucking happening again. You failed my mother; you will not fail her too.”
“Roman,” Silas steps up, blocking the officer from view, “Not now.”
“I’m not wrong,” I hiss. “They did fail her. He’s still free because they refused to even investigate it. I’m not letting this one go, though. Not this time. I’m not losing my fucking wife.”
“I understand your concern,” The monotone response from behind Silas has my blood heating even further. I’m on the fucking edge right now, and this moron isn’t helping. “We have officers investigating the scene.”
“And you’ll find no skid marks,” I say to him, “No ice. A nice clear fucking road. He tried to hurt my wife, and he will do it again if you don’t do something about it.”
“Who?”
“My father.” I hold his stare, “Jenson Knight.”
It still pisses me off that he has my mother’s surname — something he calculated, even back then when they got married. He came from nothing, married into something, so why not take the surname that has power?
The officer hesitates for a moment before he writes the name down on his pad and then flips it closed. “I will need to speak with Miss Calloway when she’s more stable.”
“Mrs.” I correct.
“Mrs.Calloway,” The officer says, “Someone will be here when that time comes. If you have any questionsor can provide any more information, please call this number and cite your reference.”
When the officer finally leaves, I slump into a chair and grip my head in my hands, staring down at the cold linoleum floor beneath my boots. He’ll get away with it. He won’t stop, not until he proves a point or gets what he wants.
And we all know what he wants, what he has always wanted.
Knight Falls Ranch.
Silas’s hand lands on my shoulder before he gives it a squeeze. “She’ll be okay, brother.”
I shake my head. “She won’t be safe though. She’s his new target to get to me. How could I have let this fucking happen?”
It’s a cruel twist that he fucking cut her brake lines. I’ve no doubt that’s what he did with my mother too.
The door to the room pushes open, and a nurse pops her head around the corner. “Mr. Knight?”
I’m immediately on my feet. “Is she awake?”
“She is,” She smiles softly, “You can see her now.”
Chapter 29
Ouch.
