Page 27

Colt

I’m going to rip that motherfucker apart.

As soon as I answered Nova’s call, I heard his fucking voice. I knew he was up to something, so I jumped in her piece of shit car, screaming and cursing while flooring the gas pedal to get to her. This death trap won’t go fast enough, and I beat my fists on the steering wheel, losing my fucking mind. I shout into the phone over and over, but she can’t hear me.

He tells her he’s coming for me, and I hear a loud thump, and the horn blares as she cries out.

“Nova!” I shout. “Nova!”

She whimpers twice before the line is quiet.

Fuck!

Running the redlight, I take the turn into the parking lot on two wheels, desperate to get to her. I see the truck and stop in the middle of the aisle, jumping out and I start running. Snatching the door open, my fucking chest caves seeing her slumped over the wheel, unconscious.

“It’s okay, baby. I’m here.” I whisper, lifting her into my arms, running to the passenger side, placing her in the seat gently.

I could call an ambulance, but I don’t have time to waste. I can get her to the hospital faster. Climbing inside, I crank the truck, throwing it into reverse, smashing into her car.

I don’t give a fuck.

She can be pissed at me later.

It’s a piece of shit and it’s going to the scrap yard.

People jump out of the way and stare as I speed out of the parking lot.

Her long hair covers her face, and I push it behind her ear, seeing the blood on her forehead, running down her cheek. There’s a trail leaking from her nose, trickling over her lips. “Hang on, baby.”

I run every light and stop sign until I screech into the emergency room parking lot. Slamming on the brakes in front of the entrance, I jump out, running through the doors, cradling her in my arms.

The receptionist stands quickly.

“Her face hit the steering wheel. She was unconscious when I found her.”

A gurney appears with two nurses, and I lay her down carefully. They begin wheeling her away and I try to follow, but the receptionist stops me. “Sir, are you her husband?”

“Not yet.” I grit out.

Her eyes fill with sympathy. “You can’t go back there. I’m sorry.”

Fuck!

I pace the floor in front of her desk when she comes around, holding out a pen and a clipboard. “Could you fill these out, so we’ll have her information?”

Clenching my jaw, I take the paperwork from her. “So, I can’t go with her, but I can give you her personal information? That makes a lot of damn sense.”

“I’m sorry, sir.” She turns to go back to her desk.

I’m too wired to sit down.

I need to punch someone.

Or mutilate them.

Standing by the doors they wheeled Nova through, I fill out the medical papers. I’m pissed at myself that I don’t know her social security number.

Why would you know that?

Because she’s fucking mine!

She doesn’t have insurance, so I leave that part blank. I’ll pay the damn bill and won’t think twice about it. Signing my name as the responsible party, I head over to the desk, giving the clipboard back to her. “When can I see her?”

She smiles politely. “The doctor will come talk to you when he’s finished examining her.”

“How long does that take?” I grit out.

She sighs. “When she’s stable, he’ll come out to speak with you.”

Glancing at the clock on the wall, an hour has passed without a word on Nova. I try to sit down, but I’m up within a few seconds, wearing a hole in the floor. The other people in the waiting room are staring at me with pity in their eyes, and I don’t fucking like it.

She’ll be fine.

He’s just checking her out.

She’ll be okay.

Another hour passes before the double doors whine behind me, and I spin around to see a male doctor. “Nova Bradley.”

I rush to his side. “Is she okay? Is she awake? When can I see her?”

He puts his hands up, nodding his head. “She’s fine. She’ll have a lump on her head, some bruising and a few migraines, but she’s alright. I’ll take you to see her now.”

He leads me down a sterile hallway that smells like disinfectant and it gives me the creeps. I need to get her out of here as soon as possible.

We stop in front of a door. “She’s in this room. As soon as the nurse brings in the discharge papers, you can take her home. There are two prescriptions. One is for pain, and one is for the migraines she’ll have. Make sure she takes them when needed.”

I nod. “Thank you.”

Opening the door, I step inside, closing it behind me softly. My heart stops when I see her.

Her face is scrunched up in pain, bruises already forming around the top of her head and above her right eye. I immediately flip the light off, since the asshole doctor didn’t bother to do it.

Coming up beside her, she sighs. “Thank you, Colt.” She rasps and it kills me to see her like this.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I grip her hand in mine. “I won’t ask you how you’re feeling. I can see it on your face.”

“I tried to call you, but I had to be sneaky about it.”

“You did call me, baby. I jumped in the car and was on my way to you.”

She barely opens her eyes. “They told me some irate man brought me in.”

I smirk. “That would be me.”

She tries to smile and it’s pitiful. “My head hurts so fucking bad.”

Squeezing her hand, I stop myself from running my fingers through her hair. It always comforts her, but Max took that from us.

He will die.

There’s a knock on the door and the light flips on. I shoot off the bed, meeting the nurse before she makes it to us. “Turn the fucking light off. Her head was bashed into a steering wheel.” I growl and her eyes widen, flipping the switch quickly.

“H-here’s the discharge papers and her prescriptions.” She stammers.

I take the paperwork from her, folding it and sticking it in my back pocket.

“Does she need a wheelchair?” The nurse asks.

“No.” Lifting her into my arms, she groans, and I carefully guide her head to my chest. “I’m taking you home, baby.”

She whimpers and I imagine all the ways I’m going to make that motherfucker suffer for what he’s done to her. Passing the nurse on the way out of the room, she steps back quickly to put distance between us. I stride down the hallway, trying my best not to jostle Nova in my arms. We reach the truck, and she groans, the sun intensifying the pain in her head.

Opening the passenger side, I set her in the seat, reaching inside the console. I pull out a pair of jet-black sunglasses with black out lenses. They make it seem like nighttime. “Can you slide these on? They’ll protect your eyes and help your head.”

She takes them slowly, grimacing as she slides them on her face. I close the door as gently as possible. Once I’m settled in my seat, I squeeze her thigh, letting her know everything is going to be okay. “I’m going to take you home and get you settled and then I’ll go get your prescriptions filled.”

“No!” She arches out of the seat, gripping my wrist. “I want to go with you. I’ll wait in the truck.”

“Okay, baby. You can go.”

She slumps back in the seat again and I watch her for a few moments. My heart slams against my chest, my fist clenching around the steering wheel.

She’s terrified.

Glancing down, I notice a dark stain on the truck emblem in the middle.

It’s her fucking blood.

It feels like my bones are breaking and my muscles are ripping apart. There’s a transformation happening inside me and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt.

I’ve killed many people.

Some of them for Nova.

She’s been assaulted and mistreated over and over by this world.

But, never have I seen her shaken like this. The evidence of her attack is staring me in the face and I’m slowly turning into the devil people think I am.

I need to get her home and safe because I don’t know how long I can cage this beast.