Page 53 of Racing Dirty Trilogy Box Set

Izzy

I’m sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, once again.

The sun is rising, filling the waiting room with a blinding red fireball.

I’ve been here for three hours waiting, pacing, and worrying.

The smell of bleach and Pine-Sol invade my nose and this time the one who helps me through the bad memories, my rock, my other half, isn’t here to push me past it all.

The hard plastic chairs are too uncomfortable to sit in, so I stand up and pace back and forth. The last time I was here, I was waiting for word about my dad. Now I’m here waiting for word about Xavier.

James, Ana, Nolan, and two out of the four men who were with us at the old farmhouse are here with me.

The other two are standing outside, watching for any threat that might come our way.

Christian is upstairs with Mia and Ashley.

They both have severe concussions. Mia is suffering from three broken ribs, a broken nose, and a sprained knee.

Ashley has a broken wrist and bruises along her face.

When Marie let Mia and Ashley go, Mia drove my jeep away from the house.

The ruts in the road were excruciating to Mia’s broken ribs and she was falling in and out of consciousness.

She found my cell phone and called the cops.

She stayed alert long enough to give them our location.

Her pain was too much for her body to handle and she passed out, hitting the ditch.

Instead of pulling over and waiting for the ambulance, she was determined to get her and Ashley to the hospital.

The cops found them on the side of the road about four miles from where I was held.

The EMT’s treated them on the scene and brought them both here for overnight observation.

As I pace the waiting room, I think back to the last few minutes of the scariest time in my life.

It hurt to say those things to Xavier, but I had no choice.

If we wanted to get out of this alive, Marie needed to believe we meant nothing to each other.

I remember her losing her hold on my throat and the gun wavering from my head.

It was my only opportunity to get away from her and I took it.

I broke free from her hold and pulled my gun out.

She never searched me for it and I had it pointed steadily at her head, ready to shoot to kill.

I remember Xavier coming up behind me and putting his big hand on the small of my back.

The warmth of his hand gave me reassurance and strength.

Marie’s eyes turned cold and deadly from Xavier touching me and she pulled the trigger.

I prepared myself for the white-hot sting to penetrate my body, but nothing came.

Xavier shoved me out of the way and took the bullet meant for me.

Marie dropped her gun when she realized she shot Xavier instead of me and came at me, rage filled her cold, black eyes.

Before she could reach me on the ground, bullets flew over my head, knocking her back against the wall.

Nolan and the four men with him charged into the house, firing their guns at Marie.

They each hit her with a bullet, but she died when one shot hit her in the head.

I crawled over to Xavier and tried to stop the bleeding on his right side. The bullet struck just below his ribs and there was a lot of blood. I watched as he succumbed to the darkness. A faint whisper floated across his lips. I leaned in and kissed his cold lips one last time.

I wipe away the tears that keep on falling as I repeat his words over and over in my mind. He whispered, “I’ll see you on the other side." Then he was gone.

The EMTs shoved me out of the way and started working on him.

One barked out, “We’re losing him, get him hooked up to the paddles. Get an IV started. He’s fading fast."

Then Nolan pulled me away from the scene unfolding in front of me and took me outside.

Red and blue lights swirled in the night, blinding me, as we made our way down the rickety front porch.

My body was numb to everything. The police questioned me about what happened, and I told them everything I knew.

Craig Williams escaped police custody, which no one is saying how, and went to the farmhouse. When Xavier, Nolan, and the other four men came in to rescue me, they shot him dead.

I played Marie and Craig against each other, telling Craig about all the times Marie tampered with my car, trying to kill me.

I finally untied my hands before Xavier, Nolan, and the other four came in.

Marie was standing above me, her gun pointed at my head as I reached for my gun.

Before I could pull it out, shots fired into the house.

Craig was shot and killed, and Marie yanked me in front of her, using me for a shield.

A set of hospital doors whoosh open behind me, pulling me out of my memories.

I whirled around, wiping my tears again.

My heart is pounding in my chest, and evil hands of anxiety are clawing at my throat.

Instead of the doctor, it’s Nurse Maggie pushing my dad in a wheelchair, heading right for me.

His gentle smile aimed right at me. His leg is out of the cast, his cheeks are sunken in and he’s lost weight from being in his coma.

He just came out of it yesterday, so I’m surprised the doctors let him come down here.

He still looks weak and sore, but I’m grateful he is here right now.

Nurse Maggie wheels him over to me and I take a seat, so we’re face to face. He reaches a hand out and takes mine.

“He will be OK. He’s strong, healthy, and has a lot to live for.” Austin says.

Tears blur my vision, and my throat closes up. I clear it and wipe away my tears.

“Thanks, Dad, I appreciate that. What are you doing down here?" His hand tightens around mine and tears glisten in his eyes.

“Nurse Maggie agreed to bring me down here for a few minutes so I could check on you,” he answers. Nurse Maggie grunts from behind him.

“More like I was forced to bring him down here. He wouldn’t quit removing his IV or heart monitors.

He kept hitting the emergency call button too.

He was being quite the pain.” She says this last part with a smile while looking at her watch.

“Austin, we have to get back up there before someone notices you’re missing and I get into trouble. ” She rests her hand on his shoulder.

“Yes ma’am,” he answers her. He turns to me, “Keep your head up baby girl, he’s going to be fine."

“Thanks, Dad. There was a lot of blood though.” I answer him.

“It looks worse on the scene than it is, so think positive,” he tells me. He leans up in the wheelchair and kisses me on the head. The action leaves him winded and tired.

“Get some rest Dad so we can take you home. You have to kick Xavier’s ass when you’re healed.

” He gives me a questioning look. I bring my fingers from my right hand up to touch the ring on my left finger, but it’s missing.

Memories of Marie yanking it off my finger and placing it on her own create a shudder to race down my spine.

“Xavier asked me to marry him the other day, but now I’m not so sure he still wants me,” I answer, voicing one of my fears. The wrinkles in the corners of Austin’s eyes appear as he smiles brightly.

“I figured it would only be a matter of time before he pulled his head out of his ass and did the right thing. I just wish you two found your way back to each other without all the drama. That boy was so messed up when you left. He wouldn’t tell me anything, but day in and day out, he would be either working on his car, racing or working on your car.

" Austin takes a deep breath. “I walked in on him in his garage one day. He was working on the engine of your car. He had no idea I was there, and he was talking to himself about what an idiot he was for getting drunk and ruining everything he ever wanted. Then he started crying and I quietly left. He beat himself up for years over that night. That’s when I knew baby girl, I knew he loved you with everything he has. I’m happy you found each other again. "

I squeeze his hand as more tears form in my eyes. “Thanks, Dad. I’ve never stopped loving him either.” I choke out through the tears.

“I know," he answers, gently rubbing my arm.

Nurse Maggie clears her throat. “Mr. Jones, we need to get back."

“Ok. If you hear anything, let me know," Austin says.

“I will dad. Thank you for everything." I hug him one last time and Nurse Maggie wheeled him away. I watch the doors until he disappears.

The outside doors open and the two men, who were outside on guard, come in. One has a phone up to his ear, talking to someone. I watch as they approach Nolan.

“Boss, you have a phone call,” he says. Nolan takes the phone with a questioning look.

“Yeah, Ryan here.” His voice’s clipped and formal.

He listens to the caller on the other end nodding his head now and then.

I let out a giggle as I watch him, finding it funny because they can’t see him do this.

He always nods his head or does some kind of gesture while he is on the phone, completely unaware he does this, and I finally crack.

Nolan pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a breath of agitation. His eyes catch mine and a look of sympathy crosses his face. He hangs up the phone and approaches me.

“How are you holding up? How’s your face feeling?" he asks. I finally stop giggling and shrug my shoulders.

“I hate hospitals and the wait is killing me. It shouldn’t take them this long to stabilize him or tell us something. My face is fine. I’m not worried about it right now.” I answer. My face is swollen and bruised from Craig hitting me. I’ve kept ice on it, but right now my focus is on Xavier.

“Hopefully soon we hear something,” Nolan says, reassuring both of us.