It’s been hours, and apart from being ushered into a waiting room, I’ve not heard anything. I can’t get the image of her strung up and bleeding out of my head.
Fuck!
He tortured her, sliced her up like a fucking animal. His death was too easy, he got off lightly. If I hadn’t been so terrified about Peyton I would have drawn out his death. I would have made him suffer for days, weeks, and I would have savored every moment.
A middle aged man comes rushing into the waiting room. He looks like he’s just got out of bed, his sandy hair is mussed and his eyes are bleary; his skin still has a pillow crease on his cheek.
“Bennett?” he croaks as he approaches me.
“Yes,” I confirm, not sure who this man is.
“I’m Derek.” He holds his hand out, which I take and firmly shake. “What the fuck happened? I’ve just got the voicemails from the ER department. They let me know as soon as you brought her in, but I was asleep and didn’t listen to them until now.”
“Sh-she’s, fuck—” my voice breaks as sobs wrack my body, as the thought of her not surviving truly hits me. “She has to make it,” I rasp, “she has to. I can’t live without her.”
“Hey.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into him, my head comes to rest on his shoulder as my body still shakes. “She’s got the best team looking after her, but I need to know what happened.” I take a few minutes and pull away, feeling awkward at having fallen apart on this man I don’t know.
“He took her," I swallow thickly. "The guy from the parking lot, the one that crashed into her. It must have been deliberate, a way to get her outside and alone.” I’m piecing it together as I tell him what I believe to have taken place. “She has a tracker on her car.” I ignore the raised eyebrow directed my way. That fucking thing is the reason I found her, I will never regret it, nor will I ever remove it. I’d put one under her skin if I thought she’d let me.
“I found them at an abandoned farm several miles from here. He had her—” my voice cracks again at the memory of how I found her, of the horror I felt when I walked into the barn. “He had her strung up, and was carving her up like a piece of fucking meat. She lost consciousness in my arms and I rushed her here. They’ve been working on her for hours, but I don’t know anything. I don’t know how she’s doing, I don’t even know if she’s still alive. Fuuuuuck!” I roar in anguish.
“Christ!” Derek mutters as he collapses into one of the waiting room chairs, his head drops into his hands, his elbows rest on his knees. “Where is he?” Our eyes meet across the small expanse of space. I just shake my head at him, and his own eyes widen in understanding. “Good,” he nods as he accepts my words. I don’t think there are many people that would disagree with him being removed from the face of the earth.
“Let me see if I can find anything out.” He rises from his seat and grasps my shoulder on the way out of the room. “She’s a fighter, don’t give up on her. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I think it’s time for me to phone my parents.
Derek walks back in as I hang up the phone to my crying mother. My father is chartering a jet as we speak and they’re heading here as soon as they can.
“She’s still in surgery.” His face is grim, but I breathe out a slight breath of relief. She’s still alive. “They’ve stabilised her which is good, although she’s nowhere near out of the woods yet. He’s done a lot of damage to her, she’s bleeding internally and lost a lot of blood. The next several hours are crucial. We’ll know more once she’s out.”
“Thank you.” I sit back down in my seat and wait. There is nothing I can do and I hate it.
There’s a flurry of activity outside the waiting room and I know without a doubt that my parents have arrived; my mother can’t do anything quietly.
“Where is he?” she stresses as she walks into the waiting room. She envelopes me in her arms immediately and squeezes me to her. She’s much smaller than me, but her hug is firm and exactly what I need.
“Son.” My father’s hand lands on my shoulder and squeezes hard. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s still in surgery.” My mom’s arms are wrapped around me and I don’t think she’s letting me go anytime soon. “We won’t know more until she’s out. Derek, her boss, has just gone to see if he can find out anything more.” He left about five minutes ago, both of us were going stir crazy. I’m surprised he’s stayed here this long, but I guess Peyton has that effect on a lot of people. She’s loved by many, testament to that is the amount of people who have stopped by to find out if there’s been any update.
“And how areyoudoing, son?”
“Ask me again when she’s out of surgery.” He nods at me, understanding that until I know how she is, I am far from okay.
“That horrid man. I hope they lock him up and throw away the key.”
“They can’t, he’s dead,” I state.
“Dead?” my mother whispers in shock.
“I killed him.” My father’s gaze shoots to my own. He nods his approval, he would have done the same.
“Oh, what you’ve been through, what you’ve both been through,” my mother mutters.
“They’ll be questions,” my father says, “from the police.”
“I’ll be prepared for them. It was self defence and my woman’s life was on the line.” I pull from my mom’s arms as Derek approaches with another doctor.
