21. True Confession

CHAPTER 21

TRUE CONFESSION

BIG D

Driving around in the dark, I lose my way, and GPS is no help. Why aren't there any street lights on these country roads? It reminds of Montana. It isn't lost on me how I've become spoiled to the well-lit highways of Southern California.

"I give up." It's like the ranch has disappeared off the map, while two more messages have come in from Marissa, each one sounding more frantic than the last.

I redirect the map app to guide me to the local hospital, and just hope it's the one Marissa is at. It's as good of a place as any to start.

By the time I arrive, a nurse tells me visiting hours are almost over. I take the stairs by two and reach the third floor. Before stepping out, I pause. This could be a trap. Jeremy could be using Marissa to get to Kallie. That's the kind of shit an unraveling man would do.

Her room 313 is just a couple of doors down the hall that smells of bleach and all the mysterious scents of a hospital. I quietly go there and peek through the rectangular window of her door, gaping at the figure hovering by her bed. It's Jeremy.

I suspect that'd be Marissa, lying in bed with her arm in a cast. Bruising appears across one swollen eye and her nose has a white strip over it. Her dark hair is pulled back into a ponytail, and I'm not sure but I think I can make out handprints on her neck. I thank my 20/20 vision for being able to pick out these details. The door is slightly ajar, and I can just make out their voices.

"…told you not to push me. Look what you made me do," he seethes, not sounding the least bit sorry.

Her eyes cast downward, not engaging with him in the slightest. What the hell do these women see in him anyway? He's nothing, a bully, preying on innocent women. My nails jab into the skin of my palms, with my fists so tight.

"Where's your phone?" He demands.

"I left it at home." That can't be right, when she's been texting me, er, Kallie's phone.

"I can't trust you. Who knows what you have on there that might incriminate me. Guess I'll have to pay your mother a little visit and get it."

"No, please." That gets a rise out of her. "I'll ask the nurse to call Mom and have her bring it here before she goes to work at noon. Come back tomorrow and I'll have it."

"Fine. Now quit meddling in my life or next time you'll suffer even worse." With that message delivered, he leaves. I scramble, turning and scooting into the adjacent room just in time for him to enter the hallway without discovering me. Luckily the room is empty, so I wait until long after he enters the elevator before I head back to Marissa. Just to make sure he isn't coming back.

Soft sobs can be heard from the door. I gently knock. "Marissa?" It's hard to feel any sympathy for her after the things she's done, from what I know and have been told by Kallie. I can at least agree that Jeremy did a number on her she probably didn't deserve.

"Who are you?" She gasps, gripping the side rails of the bed.

I put my hands up in front of me and slowly enter the room, thinking fast how to play this. "I'm a friend of Kallie's. She left my place and went to see her mother, only she left her phone behind. I saw the notifications and?—"

"Oh, you're that hockey player friend of hers."

"Cody. So you know about me?"

"Only what Jeremy has told me."

"Okay. Look, I know you wanted to talk to Kallie, but I don't have any way to reach her since she left her phone behind. I assure you, though, she'd want to hear your side of the story. She'd want to know why Jeremy did this to you. Also she'd want me to make sure you get the protection you need. Let me call the police so they can help you."

"No. Jeremy would freak if I got the police involved."

"Then I can bring Kallie by here tomorrow but… What if it's too late?"

Her sad chocolate eyes finally lift to meet mine, and through the mess he made of her face, I can see that she's probably usually pretty. Unfortunately, the dickhead is a soul sucker, and Marissa sold hers to that devil long ago.

Tears escape down her cheeks. "I don't want to die."

I gape at her. "Um, has he threatened to…?"

"You're right, tomorrow may be too late. There's things that Kallie needs to know, right now." She takes a phone out from under her pillow, apparently having hid it from Jeremy. She awkwardly leans it against her cast and taps a few things on screen. "Here. I want you to record my confession."

She hands me her phone, the screen set to record a video. I have a feeling I'm about to hear every answer to all the questions Kallie and I have had.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm positive. When we're done, I'll text a copy of it to her phone. We'll both have it, then let the pieces fall where they may because I'm tired, exhausted. I can't keep living this way anymore."

"Okay, Marissa. I can help you. Ready?"

By the time the nurses finally kick me out of Marissa's room, the wheels in my head spin with a plan. But I can't do this alone. In L.A., I could always turn to my brothers, my Puckers teammates for help. Here, I take a chance and call a few of the defensemen from the Capitals' team roster.

Not a one of them bat an eye at my request. The brotherhood in Austin is strong. I get two that agree to help. Mike and Jason meet me to carry out a very simple plan to trap Jeremy, threaten him with what I have on him, and scare him all the way out of Austin and out of Kallie's life for good.