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Chapter Three

KAYCE

“What the actual fuck, man?” I come bursting through the curtains separating his room from the rest of the place.

“Dude, this is a hospital, not a bar. Keep it down,” Drew scolds me.

“Yeah, a hospital, not a library. So, I ask again, what the actual fuck?” I fold my arms over my chest and narrow my eyes at him as monitors throughout the floor beep and buzz with life, the smell of antiseptic strong.

“How did you even know I was here?” Drew scoots back against the hospital bed a bit more. Before I can answer, Cameron and Tristan come waltzing in.

“What the fuck, dude?” Cameron chastises.

I swing my arms out. “That’s what I said!”

Tristan grumbles something that sounds like, “This fucking is bullshit,” and then goes to sit down in the seat along the wall.

“Is the whole team showing up to this party?” Drew runs a hand through his hair.

“You’re just lucky coach isn’t here,” Tristan grunts.

Drew rolls his eyes. “Well, then I’ll ask again. How did you know I was here?”

“Social media, Pitch.” Cameron takes out his phone and shows him the Instagram and Facebook stories of him running out of a burning house carrying a girl.

He curses. “Shit. Fucking hell. If Phoenix gets wind of this?—”

“If Phoenix gets wind of what? That her pitcher is in the ER after stupidly running into a fire?” Her voice causes me to look over to see Phoenix standing at the curtain with it partially open. “It’s a little too late for that.”

She steps into the room. “What the fuck, Drew?” She narrows her eyes at him, and he winces.

“That seems to be the question of the hour.” I smile as I turn back toward Drew. “Mommy is mad.” A small hand slaps the back of my head.

“Watch it, Anderson,” Phoenix scolds as she walks past me and looks straight at Drew. “This is not going home to rest. What happened?” Her voice turns to one of concern.

I know her and Drew have a past, nothing sexual, but one like brother and sister. Or at least, that’s how he passes it off. I personally think he has always had a crush on her, but she friend-zoned him.

Also, her husbands are scary as fuck. Nice guys, but they will kill to protect her. And I don’t think Drew wants to be on the end of that.

Drew and Phoenix went through some shit back in the day. Drew has told me bits and pieces of it, but he keeps most of it close to the chest. They have a bond that no one can break, so I can understand her worry right now about his stupid run-into-a-burning-building move.

“I was driving home, and I saw this thick black smoke. I don’t know, something told me to go investigate it.

And I did. When I got there, everyone was just standing outside recording.

It took me a minute to get someone to tell me they called 9-1-1.

But no one was sure if anyone was inside.

That’s when I went in to investigate.” His eyes widen.

“Oh my God, is she okay? The woman I found?”

Phoenix shakes her head. “I have no idea. I came to find out how you were doing. Give me a few and let me go ask.” With that, she turns and walks out of the room.

“So, you found a woman in there?” I frown, recalling the videos.

He nods. “Yeah, and the fucking condition of the room she was in… it was bad. Like, I wanted to vomit bad. And I need to be careful with what I say around Phoenix because of the time she was kidnapped, but I think this woman was taken and being held against her will.” Drew runs a hand down his face and blows out a breath.

“Are you serious?” Cameron creeps closer to the bed.

“Wow, that’s… fucked.” I lean against the wall, waiting for more of the story from him.

Nodding, he purses his lips. “She was naked and looked like she hadn’t showered in at least a week. There was God knows what on the carpet, and the room reeked. There was a shitty mattress on the floor and bars on the window. It was fucked.”

Listening to all this, it’s upsetting me. Making my stomach turn. Hearing how she was left, possibly to die in that fire. She would have died alone and in the worst condition. I need some air.

“Let me go see if I can help Phoenix.” I head out of the room and turn my head to see if I can spot Phoenix. Walking out of the hall, I look at the nurses’ station and see her with Mason and Daxon.

Tilting my head to the side, I motion for Daxon and Mason to step over toward me. When they get to me, I whisper as quietly as I can to them. “The girl that Drew saved, she may have been kidnapped.”

“Whoa. Are you serious?” Mason’s eyes go wide.

“Serious. Drew said the conditions were really bad. I had to step out. The shit he was describing…” I blow out a breath.

Daxon rubs the back of his neck. “Okay. We need to call Jonathan. He might be able to help. But also, Phoenix…” he trails off.

“That’s what Drew was concerned about. Considering she has a past, he was afraid it could trigger something,” I say honestly to them.

“He’s always protecting her.” Mason smiles.

The Jonathan they are talking about is Special Agent Jonathan Steele with the FBI. They have been good friends with him, from what I understand, since their days back in high school. Drew occasionally talks about how he owes Jonathan his life.

“Have we heard anything about this woman? Know where she is?” I ask Mason.

He shakes his head. “No. Phoenix is trying to find out now.”

“I am tempted to just go up and down looking for a room with cops coming in and out of it. No doubt a naked woman who was pulled out of a fire is going to raise some eyebrows.” I frown.

Daxon puts his hands in his pockets. “Did he mention a name?”

“No. He didn’t mention it.”

“Hey,” Phoenix’s voice pulls us away from our conversation as we watch her walk over to us. “She’s in room 529. But they won’t let her have any visitors right now. I’m going to call John.” She turns on her heels and heads off to do what she said she was going to do.

“Let me know what your friend says. I’m gonna let Drew know she’s in a room. I’ll see you guys later.” I pat Mason on the shoulder and nod to Daxon.

Making my way back into Drew’s room, I pull the curtains back and slide into the very crowded room. And then I spot Coach Bertelli.

Shit.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?” Coach stands there with his hands on his hips, glaring down at Drew.

“Yeah, Coach, I do. But I couldn’t stand there and risk someone being in there, and someone was. Who knows if Fire and Rescue would have gotten there in time?” Drew answers back.

“You could have gotten hurt! You are an amazing pitcher, and you risked throwing all that away for someone you don’t even know.” Coach throws his hands up in exasperation.

“Coach, he was just trying to do the right thing. That’s all,” Cameron jumps in.

“It was fucking stupid, and he had no business doing it,” Tristan grumbles from his seat in the corner.

“Of all people, Evan agrees,” Coach snaps.

“This is going insane on them social things you kids are always on. It’s a mess.

And I don’t know what type of publicity will come from this.

” He pauses and shakes his head. “Now, I know they have doctors taking care of you and checking you out, but I want Dr. Nichols to examine you and make sure you are fit to play. Understood?”

“Understood, Coach,” Drew agrees, staring at his lap.

“When they release you, these three,”—he points to me, Evans, and Davis—“will make sure you get home this time. No more playing superhero. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir. No more hero.” Drew sighs and tips his head back against the pillow.

Coach grumbles something unintelligible and heads out of the room. I glance over at Drew, seeing that he looks lost in his thoughts.

“Talk to me, Spencer. What’s going on in that mind of yours?” I wonder.

“Nothing.” Drew frowns.

“Liar. Now, talk,” I push.

He lets out a loud sigh and runs his hand through his hair.

“I just can’t get that room out of my mind.

I can’t get the image of her battered and bruised body lying there, lifeless.

Dirty. It’s fucking killing me. What if I had decided not to go there?

What if Fire and Rescue didn’t get there in time?

Who is she? Why was she there? You want me to keep going? ” He side-eyes me.

“Nope, I think that is good enough. Look, I talked to Daxon and Mason. They are going to talk to your FBI friend and see if they can figure out what happened,” I assure him.

“Did you find out what room she is in?” he asks.

“I did. Room 529. But no one is allowed to visit right now.”

Drew immediately starts to remove the covers from the bed, and Tristan gets up and stares him down. “Sit back down,” he orders.

“I need to go talk to her, Evans.” Drew glowers back at him.

Tristan clenches his fists at his sides. The guy is basically a brute. He says so little, but one stare can put the fear of God in you. Sometimes I wonder how he even gets pussy. But women flock to him. I don’t get it.

Drew smartly falls back against the bed again. “The minute I can, I’m getting out of this bed and heading over there,” he mutters.

“Let’s just get you better, Pitch. Right now, let’s focus on that.” Cameron pulls Drew’s attention. “You can check on her later. I am sure that FBI agent will be able to help you see her. Just rest and make sure you’re okay. You did just go into a burning building.”

“Yeah, okay,” Drew sighs.

“Look, I don’t think you have a choice. If you don’t, you will make Evans Hulk out, and that could be dangerous for us all,” I chuckle, earning a sidelong look from Tristan.

Drew keeps the frown on his face and closes his eyes. I get it, he’s not sure if he made the right move, but he knows he did what he naturally had to do. He risked his career with that move. But that’s who Drew is. He’s a protector.

He’s the kind of guy who will jump in front of a bullet to save a person. Today, he went into a fire to pull that woman out. He just has that natural instinct to run toward danger.

Sometimes I think it stems from his trauma that he went through when he was younger. His need to protect.

And one day it could get him killed.