40. CHAPTER 40

40

JULES

This car journey feels like we’ve been travelling forever. We’ve all remained silent, which I’m thankful for. Even though Lev has been keeping a regular eye on me in the rear view mirror. I’m ready to explode, to do some serious damage. I look down at my phone in my hands and stare at the flashing message from Kai. Whatever is on that message will send me into a spiral, but while I’m contained in the car, it may be the perfect time to listen.

Putting my phone on speaker, I press play on the voicemail, completely unsure what to expect.

“Jules…I–I-I’ve been s-s-stabbed. L-l-l-love you, i-it h-hurts.”

“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I yell as I punch the back of Lev’s seat.

“Hey! Calm the fuck down. You can’t do nothing right now, and fucking up my car isn’t gonna change shit. Wait until we get there, then after you’ve seen him, we go find the fuckers,” Lev shouts at me. I rest my head on the back of the seat and close my eyes, gripping onto my phone so tightly, Kai’s soft, crying voice playing on repeat. And he still managed to tell me he loves me. Little shit. My head starts to hurt, trying to process this shit, I need blood. I need Kai.

“We’ll get whoever did this, Jules, and when we do, we’ll make it as painful as possible,” Ivan says as he turns to face me. His big brown eyes lock on me, conveying his loyalty. He hasn’t altered. That look in his eyes is the same as the sadistic fucker from when we were young. Ivan is as deranged as the brothers, the difference is, he hides it with a welcoming smile and a fake softness. He’s the definition of predator. I’m actually glad he’s here.

“Good,” I say, and I replay the message from Kai. Over and over and over until it’s ingrained into my soul.

“Shut that shit off, Jules. It won’t help. We’re about five minutes away from the hospital. You need to focus and be calm for Jenny,” Lev says. He’s right. I forgot about Jenny. This is her boy and she needs me, but I need Kai. I guess she’s about to find out the truth as any pretending, hiding who I am, is over. The real Jules is out to play and he wants to start some shit.

We arrive at the hospital and park. Lev and Ivan follow me out of the car toward the hospital entrance. Everyone stares as we pass by, which I suppose isn’t unusual. Three intimidating stacked dudes with tattoos who are dressed like the fucking mafia are bound to have you flinch away.

Fortunately the nurse at reception is helpful, and directs us to where we need to go. This hospital is a fucking maze, another obstacle keeping me away from Kai. We take the stairs to the third floor as I don’t have the patience for the elevator, and walk into the waiting area where Jenny’s eyes find mine as soon as I walk in, and she throws herself into my arms.

“Thank god you’re here. My baby,” she cries into my neck and sobs uncontrollably. I don’t feel anything. I hold onto her, but my focus is only on one thing and one person. Emotion doesn’t come into this now. Answers and consequences do.

I peel Jenny away from me, impatient to know what the hell is going on.

“Where is he?” I demand.

“He’s in surgery. They had to start a blood transfusion because he’s lost so much blood. We’re just waiting for more news, but they said it could be hours, depending on what they find,” she says. A tall broad man stands behind her and rests his hands on her shoulders. Quite an average guy, I’d say he was mid forties. His brown hair graying, deep smile lines around kind hazel eyes.

“Hey, I’m Tim, Jenny’s friend,” he says, extending his hand over her shoulder toward me.

“Hey, she’s mentioned you. You found Kai?”

“Yeah, I dropped by just on my break to return Jenny’s jacket, the door was ajar and then I walked in and saw Kai bleeding out on the floor.”

“Did he say anything?”

“No, he was drifting in and out of consciousness until the paramedics arrived. Then he was out of it.”

I nod, but all I can see in my mind is images of Kai on the floor of his home. Scared, bleeding. Dying.

“Any leads?” I ask. Tim raises a brow at me.

“Not yet. We haven’t been able to talk to Kai. Officers have been checking over the scene. Don’t worry, we’ll get who did this,” Tim assures, and I don’t believe him.

“Jules, who are they?” Jenny asks, looking over my shoulder at Lev and Ivan who look like they’re standing guard.

“The one with the man bun is Ivan, a work associate. The scowling one is Lev, my boss.”

Jenny looks back at Tim and then back to the guys before settling her eyes on me.

“They’re not the kind of men I expected you to work with,” she whispers.

“What were you expecting?” Lev says from behind me. The guy has the hearing of an owl.

“I didn’t mean any offense, it’s just you look, you know…” she stutters.

“Hot?” Ivan says, not helping. I turn to stare him down.

“Not the time. Why don’t you both go get some coffee or something,” I say.

“Good idea. Call me if you have any news,” Lev says as they turn to leave.

“They’re quite scary, Jules,” Jenny says.

“Yeah,” is all I can say before I collapse into one of the chairs.

“Who do you work for?” Tim asks, and I don’t like his tone. It’s a formal cop tone.

“Security.”

“Oh yeah? What kind?” I turn to look up at him and want to punch him.

“The none of your fucking business kind.”

“Jules! Don’t talk to him like that,” Jenny scolds.

“I’ll talk to him how I want.”

“Look, I didn’t mean any offense. I was just making conversation.”

“Sure you were. Why don’t we talk about who could’ve done this. Jenny? Any ideas?”

“I don’t think it’s fair to question her like this. We’ll begin formal questioning when Kai comes around.”

“Is your name Jenny?”

“Jules, please stop. Same for you too, Tim,” she says on a sigh and sits next to me.

“I do wonder if it was those friends of his.”

The fucking gang. Of course.

“The gang? The ones you’ve been seeing hanging around?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait, what? Have they been following you? Why didn’t you say anything?” Tim asks, totally blindsided that Jenny has hidden this from him.

“I didn’t want you worrying.”

As they start to squabble, luckily my phone rings. Dima’s name flashes across the screen, and I stand to walk away from them so I can hear him.

“Hey,” I say.

“How is he?”

“In surgery. Don’t know much yet.”

“You know who did it?”

“I think it was the gang he hung around with. They’d been low key stalking Jenny. When he gets out of surgery I’ll go hunt them down.”

“You need to be careful. I can’t protect you from the cops over there. However, I’ve spoken to Carlos and he has some men in that area who can give you access to one of their warehouses. They’ve also offered to dispose of any mess.”

“Really? Why would Carlos offer that?”

“Payment for us helping him with the interrogation. Carlos comes from a wealthy family with power. Call him when you’re ready to move and he’ll have some men waiting for you there. He’ll give you the address.”

“Thanks.”

“Always. When this is over, bring Kai back here with you.”

What the hell? I’m too high on the taste of revenge to question him right now.

“I will.”

Dima grunts on the other end of the line before hanging up. That’s the closest you’ll get to affection from the brooding man, but I’m so fucking grateful to him and to Carlos. I walk back over to Jenny and Tim who are both silent as I sit down.

“Everything okay?” Jenny asks.

“Yeah, that was my other boss, Dima. Just checking in to see how Kai is doing.”

“That was nice of him. They must be some great guys you work with, being here with you and so supportive,” Jenny says.

“They’re alright.”

“I need to go to the restroom. I won’t be long,” Jenny says as she gets out of the chair and heads off out of sight.

“You live in Grinston, right?” Tim asks.

“Yeah.”

“Lev and Dima. Unusual but memorable names. I had a buddy at the station talk about these Russian guys who run a drug business in that area. Apparently they own the cops too.”

“Is that so?”

“Jenny would lose her mind if she knew where you’d taken her son. I assume given your background you plan on revenge? Because if you are, I’d advise against it. I’ll bring you in.”

Fuck this arrogant prick. Standing from my seat, I grab him by the collar and force him back into the opposite wall. His breathing heavy, his eyes wide with panic.

“Pretty brave of you running your mouth, making threats.”

“You’re just a thug that’ll bring nothing but danger to that boy’s life,” he hisses at me.

“What’s going on?” Lev says, approaching from behind me with Ivan.

“This cocksucker was telling me he knows all about you and D. Apparently we’re a danger,” I say as I laugh in his ugly face with no humor.

“Dangerous? Well that’s fucking boring. You threatening my men, Timmy?”

“It’s Officer Lovell,” he sneers as I push him harder into the wall.

“Whatever, Timmy. I think your little pea brain is tired, and you may need to rethink things. You could get hurt when you say the wrong thing to strangers,” Lev warns, moving closer to Tim.

“Threatening me now?”

“Nope. Don’t do those. Now why don’t you be a good boy, Timmy, and sit and wait for your girl to come back, otherwise you’ll be in the ER on your own.”

“I just don’t want you starting shit here. Let the police do their job,” Tim says.

“Because they’re so good at it. We’re fine with the police doing their job, Timmy.”

I push away from the asshole and walk over to Ivan to create some space.

“You’re a bunch of animals.”

“Really? That’s a compliment to me, dude. Fuck like them too,” Ivan says, grinning like a fun, likeable guy. It isn’t real. We’re all in a stand-off, which Tim is losing.

Jenny comes back and stops in her tracks, watching us in concern.

“You better not be fighting, Tim?”

“No. We’re just talking.”

I scoff at that and take a seat with the guys, a small distance away from Jenny and Tim. Tim’s a possible issue for another day, he just needs to keep away from me. There’s only one person on my mind.

Come on, Kai. I need to see you.

Hours pass, my ass and back hurt from the uncomfortable seats. I’m going mad. If we hear nothing in the next ten minutes, I swear I’ll barge into that operating room.

“Are you Kai’s family?” a female voice says, and we all jump up like our asses are on fire.

“Yes, I’m his mom. How is he?”

“Kai’s lost a lot of blood. We had to run a blood transfusion which is now working well. He had some internal bleeding from a ruptured spleen which thankfully we managed to fix. We need to keep a close eye on him for any post-surgery infections or complications, so we’ll be keeping him in the ICU. We’re keeping him under sedation for now and giving him plenty of fluids.”

“So he’ll be okay?” I ask.

“We’re optimistic. He was very lucky that the knife wasn’t bigger.”

“Can we see him?” Jenny asks.

“Yes, but only two at a time. The nurses will take you down shortly.”

“Thank you so much, Doctor,” I say, and let out the breath that I feel like I’ve been holding onto this entire day.

The doctor smiles and walks away. Relief washes over my sister’s face as she comes to hug me. A nurse approaches and asks us to follow.

“Will you be okay, Tim?” Jenny asks.

“He’ll be fine. We’ll look after him,” Ivan says, grinning as he guides Tim back to the seating area. Even Lev smirks at the move. Ivan is certainly gonna bring some life into the house.

As we enter Kai’s room, I bristle at the sight of him. Machines beep all around him, an IV drips, along with the blood bag that’s giving him what he needs to survive.

His normally golden skin is pale, his upper body is bare, and my eyes don’t move from the large bandage where the stab wound is. My jaw clenches and I twist my fists. Those assholes won’t know what’s hit them. I allow myself to move closer to the bed and look at his beautiful face. There’s a faint bruise on his jaw that’s new. The marks I left on him are nowhere to be seen, apart from the tiny hickey on his neck. The urge to climb into the bed with him and demand he wakes up and tell me what happened overwhelms me. But I resist. Jenny rushes over to the chair at the side of the bed and clasps his hand with both of her tiny ones and talks to him about everything and nothing. I can do nothing but stand at the end of the bed looking at my man, who was nearly taken from me. The longer I watch him, the more my walls build up around me, protecting me, making me stronger for what I need to do next.

“Jenny, what were the names of the guys he hung around with?”

“I don’t know all of them, only Jez who was his best friend, and his brother Zac. Why?”

“No reason,” I say as Jenny goes back to talking quietly to Kai, stroking his hair. This whole situation is like an out of body experience. I briefly wonder if it’s a nightmare that I’m yet to wake from. This is the first time anyone I truly cared for has been hurt, and it’s so unsettling and foreign to me that it dents my armor that has served me well over the years.

The nurse comes in and checks Kai’s vitals.

“How long will he be under for?” I ask.

“The doctor will keep him sedated until tomorrow. If you need to rest, now is the time to do it, while he sleeps.”

Rest is the last thing on my mind. But while Kai sleeps, I think I’ll make a visit to his so called ‘friends’.