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Chapter Six

DREW

“What the actual fuck? When can I get out of here?” I look over at Kayce, and he blows me a kiss. In turn, I flip him off. God, he gets on my nerves sometimes. It’s a good thing he’s like a brother to me. Well, good for him. Otherwise, I would pummel him.

“Maybe if you didn’t go running into buildings to play hero, you could be at home now.” Phoenix steps into the room with a smirk on her face. “Look, you can’t see her right now, but come back tomorrow and you will be able to. Hopefully.”

“Mommy’s grounding you.” Kayce laughs and slaps his leg at his own fucking joke.

“I swear to fucking God, Anderson. Do you have a mommy fetish?” Phoenix throws her hands up in frustration.

“Hey, don’t kink shame. Plus, mommies always have snacks. Don’t they, Mommy ?” Kayce waggles his eyebrows at her. “Mommies are yummy.”

“Dude, did you fall and hit your head and forget who her husbands are?” I scowl at him. They will kill him. Rip his skin from his body and gut him like a fish.

Kayce shrugs. “Maybe I’m a masochist who likes snacks.”

“Remember who signs your checks, Anderson,” Phoenix growls.

“Sorry, Mommy .” Kayce howls with laughter.

I roll my eyes. “Ignore him, Phoenix. I will kick his ass later.” I flip him off again before turning my head back toward her. “But seriously, when can I go?”

“I don’t know how you deal with that man child.” She shakes her head.

“Alcohol. Hard alcohol,” I respond sarcastically.

Phoenix clears her throat. “Doctor will be in here in the next few minutes. You will get released. The dick behind me can take you home. Straight fucking home, Drew. I’m dead serious.” She levels me with a stare.

“Okay, straight home. Got it. But I want to come back and see her tomorrow.”

She smiles at me, “Drew, that’s fine. But you need to rest, and I’ll make sure she gets some help. I need you focused, okay? I already have a call into John; he will be by tomorrow afternoon. He is going to help get her a place to stay and figure out where she came from.”

“All right. Then home it is.” Just as I finish my sentence, a doctor walks in and takes in my very crowded room with wide eyes.

“Well, isn’t this the fanfare. I’m Dr. Park. Do you all mind leaving the room while I talk with the patient?” She stands at the foot of the bed, a smile stretching across her face at the view in front of her.

“We aren’t going anywhere,” Tristan mumbles from his seat. His head tips back against the wall, his eyes closing. I was sure he was sleeping up until he mumbled that.

I shake my head and grin, turning back toward the doctor. “They’re fine to stay here.”

Her lips purse, but she nods. “Okay, then. Well, Mr. Spencer, you are cleared to go. However, I want you to be aware of any shortness of breath, headaches, or dizziness. If you experience any of those symptoms, you need to come back into the hospital. Do you have any questions?”

“Am I cleared to play?” I raise an eyebrow at her.

“As long as you have no problems breathing or any of those signs I mentioned, I don’t see why not. I would get with your team doctor and keep them in the loop.” She smiles at me. “Any other questions?”

“Nope. Just want to get out of here.”

“The nurse will come in with your discharge papers, and then you can go. Good luck at your next game.” She nods to me before turning to leave.

“Hey, uh, Doc, do you like baseball?” Kayce offers her a sly smile. “Because I can get you some special tickets. You can be my special guest.”

She hums. “Not a huge sports fan. But my husband is an avid Wildcats fan, so he would love free tickets to your next game against his favorite team.” Dr. Parks grins ear to ear as Kayce’s lips turn down. His face turns red with embarrassment.

“Sorry, ma’am,” he murmurs as he looks down at the floor.

Dr. Parks lets out a chuckle. “Remember, if you start to feel short of breath, come in. Enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. Spencer.” With that, she turns on her heels and heads out of the room.

“Thank fucking God. I’m itching to get the fuck out. Dude,”—I nod to Cameron—“did you bring me my change of clothes?”

He tosses a bag toward me. “Here ya go. I made a call, and your car is back at your house, too.”

“Thanks.” I quickly throw on the T-shirt and basketball shorts he brought me.

All I want to do is crawl into my bed and get some sleep.

Well, that’s a lie. What I really want to do is go see how that girl is doing.

Find out why she was unconscious and naked in a burning house that had barely any signs of someone living in there.

But that will have to wait until tomorrow. For now, I need to rest and sleep. Because if I don’t, Phoenix will more than likely kill me. Or bench me, and I don’t know which would be worse.

A few hours of shut-eye won’t be a big deal.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

I let out a groan as a consistent buzzing wakes me from my nap.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Fuck, that is annoying.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Goddamnit. I roll over and fight to open my eyes. I’m beyond exhausted, and my body feels like I went twelve rounds in a ring.

I grab my phone just as the buzzing starts up again. “What?” My voice is hoarse and dry when I pick up, and I see Kayce on the other end of the screen.

“Hey, it’s Kayce. Um, so your mystery woman, well…”

I let out a sigh. “I know it’s you, I can see you. Spit it out, Anderson. I would like to at least get a couple of hours of sleep.”

“Couple of hours? Dude, it’s tomorrow already. You must have been sleeping since you got home yesterday.”

“Wait, what?” I immediately sit up in my bed. “What do you mean? Why is it tomorrow? What the hell?”

“Because the world keeps turning. Um, because time flies. Um… That’s all I got. But yes, you apparently have been sleeping since we dropped you off yesterday. Which is evident that you needed it.” He laughs through the phone.

“Well, shit. Wait, why did you call again?” I furrow my brows, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Oh right, yeah. That chick.”

I wait for him to continue, but he doesn’t. “I’m gonna need more information than that to understand what it is you’re calling about, Anderson.”

He lets out a sigh. “She’s… gone.”

“What the fuck do you mean, ‘She’s gone?’” I jump out of bed and start running toward the door, only stopping when I realize that I’m in my boxer briefs. Shit.

Clothes would probably keep you out of the tabloids, Drew.

“She ran. Nurses went to check on her, and she was gone,” he huffs through the phone.

“Well, are they looking for her?” I place him on speaker and jump into my jeans before throwing a T-shirt over my head.

“No. They’re saying she left against medical advice, and they are moving on with life.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? She was naked in a room! In a house that was burning down around her. Something bigger was at play, and they are just letting her go?! What the fuck?” I run a hand through my hair, my heart beating out of my chest.

I’m well versed on people not giving a shit about someone. Phoenix needed help back in the day at Darkwood, and adults—hell, even other students—turned a blind eye to her torment. Someone who was in that bad of condition should be protected. She needed help. And the hospital let her down.

“They apparently don’t care enough or just don’t want the trouble. Who the fuck knows?” Kayce sighs, running a hand through his hair.

“I need to call John. He’ll know what to do.” I hang up the phone and dial the man who saved Phoenix and me all those years ago. A man who has become family to us.

“Agent Steele,” John says as he picks up the phone, obviously not looking at the caller ID and seeing that it’s me.

“John, it’s Drew.”

His tone perks up. “Drew, how are you feeling? Phoenix gave me a rundown of what happened. Are you okay?”

I let out a sigh. “Yeah, I’m alright. A little smoke inhalation, but I’m fine. Hey, that woman I found?—”

“What the hell were you thinking of running into a burning building?” John scolds.

“Really?” I throw up my free arm in exasperation, even though he can’t see. “I was making sure someone wasn’t in there, and what do you know? Someone was !”

“Son, you could have been seriously hurt. There’s a reason firefighters have gear they put on. To protect themselves.”

“Yeah, I get that John, but… I just had to.”

“I know, I know. You have a good heart, Drew. You’re a good man. Don’t ever change.” He blows out a breath. “Now that I got that out of the way, to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?” he asks.

“The woman I found. Do we know who she is? She took off from the hospital.” I run downstairs and find my keys to my Mustang sitting on the counter, swiping them and heading toward the garage.

“She left? AMA?”

“Kayce said the nurses went in there for something and found the room empty. She ran. Or at least, I hope she did. Do we have any information on her that would tell me where I can find her?” I jump in my car and slam the door.

“No. I have nothing. I can call local PD and see if they got anything from her, but this isn’t a federal case.

I don’t really have jurisdiction. Last I knew, all we had was her first name.

Raelyn. And I’m not sure if that’s even her actual name.

Outside of that, I don’t think there is much we will be able to do,” he sighs into the phone. “Sorry, Drew.”

“Well, I can’t just do nothing.” I lean my head back against the headrest.

“You may have to, kid. Sometimes, there is nothing we can do. In this situation, you have to accept that. Accept that you saved someone’s life and move on.”

“Sure. Thanks, John.” I click end on the screen and sit there defeated.

I throw the phone down into the seat next to me and run my hands over my face.

Fuck it.

Like John said, I saved someone’s life and need to move on. But something in the back of my mind won’t let me just be happy with that. I need to find her. I need to make sure she’s safe. Above all, I always need to trust my gut. It’s gotten me this far. And it’s screaming at me to listen to it.

She’s not out of danger yet.