EroticReverie

Cherlynn…three days later 

I sit in the chair next to hospital bed, where I’ve been for the past three days. My chin propped on the back of my hand that holds Maddox’s as I look up at him. He’s out of the woods. So they say. 

The guys that broke in shot him three times. Once in the shoulder. Once in the chest. Another in the abdomen. Then they threw me onto the hotel bed. When the one nurse had told me I was “lucky” and it could have been “so much worse.”  It was all I could do to not smack her. Yes. The men could have done much worse. I suppose being smacked and punched and then choked till I passed out was “lucky” to her. Considering they could have done a lot more. But it wasn’t me I was worried about. It was the man in the hospital bed who I was concerned for. This, watching someone you love nearly die ? Not lucky. 

They had him in surgery for hours upon hours. Repairing the wounds that not only punctured his lung, but his heart. If help hadn’t gotten to us when it had, he might not be here. The doctor told me Hunter and Zane this morning that it was a miracle Maddox was expected to make it through. The surgery went as best as it could have and there was no damage to any main arteries. They’d been able to repair the damage, but had him on drugs that would allow him proper rest and keep him knocked out. 

I listen to the hiss of the oxygen they have him on for his lungs. I slip my hand under his, and my cheek to his palm. While they said he was out of the woods and they haven’t noticed any post surgery complications. There was still a chance there was something they missed, or a chance that maybe he wouldn’t wake up, at least that’s what my mind was telling me. Not until his eyes opened and I could hear his voice would I feel better. 

“You need to get some sleep.” Hunters voice carries to me from the door as him and Zane walk in. I lift my head and force my eyes to stay open. I have slept. Not much. But I have. Brief trances where I’m still somewhat awake , still can hear the beeps of the machines that monitor his vitals. 

Zane just gives me a soft smile and holds up a cup carrier with actual coffee and not the stuff found in the cafeteria or nurses station. He also holds up a bag of food and I’ve barely eaten but my stomach grumbles only for the coffee. I think my brain and energy grumbles too. 

“Thank you” I sigh as I sit up and Zane walks over and Hunter sighs as I take one of the coffees. 

“I just told her she needs sleep. And you feed her caffeine.” Hunter grumbles and Zane shrugs. 

“She’s not going to sleep. I’m just being supportive you dickhead.” He says and I drove a small smile as they bicker as they have been. Trying to make this situation as normal as they possibly can. 

Zane dips down and kisses my head. Then I take a sip of my coffee and swallow and hum. Zane’s hand reaches under my chin and lifts it. 

“You DO need to get some ACTUAL sleep Duchess.” He says and I smile softly again and nod as I placate him. 

He gives me a soft peck on the lips. I give him one back. My hand still under Maddox’s on the bed by his side as I look at Hunter as he drops a bag onto one of the chairs. 

“Brought you more clothes.” He says and I smile warmly. 

“Thank you.” I say softly and he walks over and leans down and I lift my chin for him and let him kiss me too. Then he kisses my forehead and then the top of my head and I laugh as he drags Zane’s chair that he just sat in beside me , away. And pulls another in between and sits down. 

“Dick!” Zane says and Hunter ignores him as he placed a hand on my knee.

“He’s going to be okay Cherlynn.” He says gently and I force my smile and nod. 

“I know.” I lie. Because I didn’t know. Not till I could talk to him. Not till I could see his eyes looking back at me. 

 Zane clears his throat and I turn my head and catch him giving Hunter a silent look of communication.

“What?” I ask as Hunter shakes his head at Zane. 

“What?” Hunter asks turning back to me and plastering on a fake smile that’s worse than mine. 

“What are you coughing and glaring at each other for , what is it? Oh god, is he not going to be okay?!” I cry in a panic. 

“What?! No!” Zane and Hunter both say at the same time. 

“No , god, it’s not that, he IS going to be just fin Hunter says. 

“Then what?!” I say in a surprisingly quiet but panicked voice. 

“Well I was going to just wait till he was awake to tell you both at the same time.” Hunter says. 

“What? Tell me what?” I ask as my eyes dart between them both. 

“Fucker.” Hunter hisses at Zane before turning to me. 

“They got the guys who attacked you both, and you’ll never guess who they have connections to” he says the last part sarcastically. 

“Alec?” I ask. Naming his father. My step father. The man who’s been god damn stalking me. The man who tried to hit on me and touch me while living under his roof. 

“Yup.” Hunter says and shakes his head. 

“They were going to hold off on the warrant and seizing his shit, but since the attack, they decided not to wait.” Hunter says, meaning the people from the FBI that we were working with. 

“And?” I ask. 

“Good news or bad news first?” Hunter sighs and looks at me. 

“Hunter just tell me.” I say impatiently. 

“They got his computers , seized a bunch of shit in the office too. The man we’ve been speaking to says he can’t tell us much, but that they have enough to evidence to put him away. For a long ass time.” Hunter says and I feel my heart stop knowing there’s still bad news coming. 

“What’s the bad part?” I ask and Hunter looks to the side at Zane and sighs. 

“They can’t put him away, till they find him”  Hunter says and I feel my jaw clench. Of course he fucking ran. I expected that. We all did. 

“They think he’s already outside the country. They knows he went down to Mexico, but they don’t think that’s where he’ll stay. They’ve flagged him and put him on the do not fly but that doesn’t mean he won’t find a way. They think he’s already assumed another identity , and probably had one ready to go for quite awhile from all the shit he’s been into. But they’re using all the information they already have on a few of the contacts he speaks the most with, ontop of the information they’re finding out from the shit they seized. And they’re hoping they can use that to figure out where he’s going, what name he’s using. They’re pretty optimistic about finding him. They said he’s smart. But he’s still a little sloppy. That they’ve had people on the run that left zero crumbs for them and they were still able to locate them. And the good thing is, Alec has left crumbs. Which should make finding him easier than someone who covers their tracks entirely” Hunter says in a long winded run on explanation.

“Do they think there will be more people after us?” I ask. 

“They can’t rule it out. But they think he’s done messing with us. For now at least. He’s scared shitless. He’s going to go into sec preservation mode and lay low. Or if he’s stupid he won’t and he’ll just give them more shit to track. We can’t be entirely sure. But they’ve already got people watching our place, and his.”

“And my mother?” I ask, and watch Hunters face fall slightly. 

Because he knows what I’m asking. How guilty is she? Did she know? Did she do the right thing and choose her daughter over money and the man she chose to fall in love with? Or did she go with him? 

“Some of her things were gone from her closet. Lots of her jewelry. They believe she went with him.” Zane says , not making Hunter say it. 

I take a long inhale. Then exhale and close my eyes and nod. Because , what did I expect? 

“I’m sorry Cher” Hunter says softly and I nod. Then I shake my head. 

“It’s fine. What did I really expect right?” I huff a humorless laugh and then open my eyes. Thankful that I can manage to hold back the tears that want to fall.  

“Why don’t you go take a shower, hmm?” He says softly and squeezes my knee. 

I did need a shower. And I did need time alone to process that my mother chose the side of a fucking criminal over her own daughter that the same had threatened and stalked. How much did she know? Did she know anything? Or was she just following him because she was in love with him and his money? 

“I’m just going to drink more of my coffee. Then I’ll shower.” I say softly and look back to Maddox, still silent and asleep and I realize , that I don’t care what my mother did. In the grand scheme of things, I had three guys who loved me. They’ve put my through fucking hell, but we’re all getting through it. I’m giving them the chances they might not deserve , but I know that the only people I can trust, are here in this room with me. That the only people who would do anything for me, are right here. I’ll never forget the ways they were cruel to me, I’ll never forget Hunters hatred for me before he started to come around. I’ll never forget any of it. But sometimes forgiving people, is what they need to be better. Not always. And sometimes they’ll fuck those chances up and take advantage of your kindness. Maybe it made me naive to fall in love with the three of them. Especially Hunter. He’d hurt me more than he’d ever really know. But, I believed he loved me. Deep down. I knew he did.  He just needed someone who wouldn’t give up on him. No matter what. They all needed that. 

I take a few sips of my coffee and my eyes burn from the lack of sleep. But I know I need to shower. It’s been three damn days. 

“Don’t leave his side, get me if he wakes up” I say to them. But still hold Maddox’s hand.

“We will” Zane says and I nod and stand. I grab the small bag of toiletries that a nurse gave me yesterday. 

“I brought your stuff from home.” Hunter says and nods to the bag of clothes and the other bag inside. 

“Thank you” I say with a sigh. Needing my own shampoo and conditioner and soap right now. 

I take one look back at Maddox laying there in the hospital bed. Afraid that walking away , he’ll wake up and then something bad will automatically happen and I’ll never get to tell him again how much I love him. It’s dramatic and highly unlikely, but only the worst case scenarios go through my head the past few days. 

“Get me if he wakes up” I say again. 

“We will Duchess” Zane says and Hunter nods and I sigh. And go in the hospital room bathroom and shut the door gently , and cry quietly to myself as I undress and get in the shower.