“You have a concussion and broken ribs, but you’re going to be fine,” Mars was saying.
“Killian?” God, where was he? He’d been on his way to my place.
“I don’t know where he is.”
I groaned, sitting up, and the beeping accelerated on the machine. “What do you mean?”
“Luke came by the hospital to check on you and told us he and Kite found you on the floor in your bedroom. Kite rode in the ambulance with you, but Crisis said he left as soon as they took you in.”
“No.” My heart raced. This was exactly what his father wanted. He’d be ready. Killian would be arrested if he went after him. “No. I have to find him.” I yanked on the intravenous in my arm, and Mars stood, her hands locking my arms at my sides.
“Savvy. Stop. You can’t do anything. And you need to rest. Killian can look after himself.”
“I have to go. I have to get out of here” I winced when I tried to push her hands off me, but my ribs objected. “I need to talk to him, damn it. Luke. Where’s Luke?”
“I don’t know. Maybe looking for Kite? Savvy, you need to lie back and settle down.”
I couldn’t. He’d been worried about his father. That was why he’d put his security on me. All his father cared about was his reputation. How he appeared to everyone else. He was the complete opposite of Killian. God, Killian wasn’t his real son. It was why he never cared about him. Killian was a constant reminder of his wife’s cheating. Her wanting to leave him.
“Mars, can you get me Logan’s number?” He knew Killian. He knew about his fighting.
“I can do better. He’s out in the waiting room with everyone else. The nurses are fighting over who gets to work the nurses’ station in the waiting room.”
“They’re here?”
She nodded. “Yeah. All night.”
“All night? How long have I been unconscious?”
“You were brought in around two-thirty. It’s nine now.”
Which meant Killian had been gone for six and a half hours. “I need to talk to Logan.”
“Okay, but you’re really not supposed to have visitors. I lied and said I was your sister. But Logan—”
“Is my brother.”
She nodded. “Okay.” But before she let me go, she pursed her lips together. “You promise to stay in bed?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Okay,” she said, then left to go get Logan. It was only a minute later that he strode in. I doubted the nurses believed he was my brother, but suspected they’d pretty much say yes to anything he wanted. As he approached, he wore a fierce scowl and his body was tense.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
He stood beside the bed, and if I didn’t think Logan was intimidating before, he certainly was now towering over me while I was hooked to machines and in a flimsy, backless hospital gown.
“Good,” I replied. His scowl deepened. “It hurts, but I’m fine. It was Killian’s father. He was waiting for me at my apartment. He must have known you guys went out of town and I’d be there. He wants Killian to go after him. You have to stop him from—”
He huffed. “That won’t happen.”
“But—”
“That won’t happen,” he repeated.
“But—”
“Savvy. Kite won’t go after him. Okay?”
My heart pounded and the machine beeped frantically. “How do you know that?”
“Because I know Kite. He’s fuckin’ pissed as hell right now, and I’m betting his knuckles are taking a beating, but it’s not because he’s gone after his dad, even though he deserves it.” Logan sat on the edge of the bed. “Kite won’t because of Emmitt.”
“You know about Emmitt?”
He nodded. “Yeah. No one else does though. I had a shit father, too, and Kite helped me with that a while ago when I was recuperating from… well, let’s just say I took a beating. That’s when Kite told me what happened in Ireland.” He touched the back of my hand. “He never planned to go after his dad, Savvy. They’ve had no contact for years. But when Kite was in the car accident with Haven and Luke, he was all over the media. I guess his dad seeing all the focus on Kite… it stirred the shit back up.
“His father contacted him and I don’t know what was said, but it had to be bad because Kite’s hands were beat pretty bad for weeks. That’s when he decided to open Compass with Brett. Financially hurt him.”
Logan sighed. “His dad fucked him up, Savvy. He drilled into him day after day that he killed Emmitt, destroyed the family. I don’t know all of it, and that’s for him to tell you, but a twelve-year-old kid living that shit… it stays with you.
“Everyone said Emmitt was going to be the famous football star of Ireland. Him dying was his father’s dream shattering. Ironic that the other son became the famous one.” He squeezed my hand and stood. “Get some sleep. The police will want to talk to you tomorrow. I’ll let you know as soon as we find Kite.”