Unwanted Heat

At some point Carter must have stepped out of the room, because when I look to where he was sitting, the chair is empty. I hold Kenzie as best I can while being cautious of her injuries; neither of say a word the weight of the last few hours still on our shoulders. I don’t know how much time passes, but eventually she falls asleep in my arms. A nurse comes in and quietly checks her vitals, assuring me everything is fine and that her falling asleep so soon, is to be expected. As much as I want to stay here, holding her, I know I need to talk to Carter. I haven’t really spoken to him except for those few minutes before Kenzie woke up. I wait awhile, until I’m convinced that she’s fully asleep, before slipping out of the bed and out her door, to find Carter who of course is standing guard.

“Carter, go home,” I say knowing how exhausted he must be.

“With all due respect, sir, I would rather not,” he says stubbornly. “Julie is bringing me a change of clothes, as well as food for both you and Kenzie. Smith just left to go pick her up.”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“Brown settle everything with the police?” I ask, even though she already called and assured me everything was taken care of.

“Yes, thank you again for sending her although I don’t think it was necessary-”

“Better safe than sorry.”

“They need to review the situation with the DA, but the captain felt that it was a clear case of self-defense and that charges won’t be pressed against me.”

“Thank fuck for that,” hearing it from Carter is reassuring, even though I fully believed what Brown told me earlier. “Yeah, thank fuck,” he smirks.

“I’ve already spoken with Ben’s family and assured them they will be taken care of,” I assure him. “He had been sending his mom money every month to help her with her bills-I assured her that won’t change. His life insurance will be sent to her, and I’ve arranged for his monthly salary to be sent to her, as well.”

“Sir, that’s more than his contract-”

“He died protecting my wife, Carter. It’s the least I can do.” “Understood, sir,” he says after a few minutes of silence. “I’ve spoken to the hospital about Hunter’s bills, should the insurance company not cover something, it will be sent to me. My mother arranged for the head of orthopedics to be assigned to his case-whatever he recommends it will be approved and covered. In the meantime, he will continue to be paid his monthly salary until he is cleared to return to work no matter how long that may take.”

“That’s very generous of you, sir,” he says, knowing the contract only stipulates that I have to pay their salary for three months and after that, if they are not able to return to work, they are given a small lump sum payment. But again, Hunter was injured protecting Kenzie… that’s something I will never take for granted, especially after today.

“I’m going to go back in there; I don’t want her to wake up alone. Seriously consider going home, Carter, I can’t imagine the toll today is taking on you.”

“I’ll leave when you do, sir; I wasn’t the only one there.”

I shake my head knowing neither of us are going to win that argument, and head back into Kenzie’s room, thankful to see that she is still sleeping. I slip back in beside her; I know I should be sitting in the chair so she can have space in the bed, but right now I need to be selfish. I came so close to losing her today-I need her close to me. I need to feel her against me. I need to know she’s safe.

God when I think back on everything that’s happened I still can’t believe that she’s actually here; that I didn’t lose her. If it wasn’t for the damn tracker that Carter thought ahead to have Julie sew into the outfit Kenzie was planning to wear tonight, we wouldn’t have found her… in time or at all. If she had taken off the blazer in the car or decided against wearing it at all… fuck, I don’t want to think about what would have happened.

“Nicholas?” Kenzie’s sweet voice pulls me from the all the possibilities at what could have happened.

“I’m right here, baby,” I run my fingers down the arm that isn’t in the cast and move so I’m as close to her as possible. “Still sore?”

“Just my ribs,” she sighs and grimaces in discomfort. “Nothing I haven’t experienced before, though.”

I cringe remembering the doctor explaining that her ribs showed signs of multiple old fractures, several of which hadn’t healed properly. Thankfully, my mother had explained to the doctor before he came to speak with me, about her ex-Kpparently he pulled her aside out of concern with the number of old injuries the x-rays had shown.

“Any idea how long I need to be here?” she asks.

“The doctor said that as long as your pain was manageable you could probably leave later this evening,” the sun is barely rising so technically it’s today, although it would have meant that she stayed overnight at the hospital since we had arrived late last night.

“I want to go home,” she complains. “I want to go back to the house; I want to sleep in our bed. I want to-”

“We’ll do everything you want, baby, I promise.”

“You’re all I kept thinking about you know. I thought about the wedding we wanted when this all was over-”

“As soon as you’re cleared to travel, we’re going,” I assure her.

“I thought about your house in Vermont, holidays in a new house… everything. But most of all, I thought about you. I even told you I was sorry

-”

“Sorry for what?” I quickly interrupt.

“Because I was going to fight back. When I heard another vehicle was coming, I knew if he moved me you would never mind me. I had no idea if how you would find me in the first place, but I knew that if we left, you wouldn’t find me… or not in enough time. So I decided to fight back; in my mind I told you I loved you and that I was sorry.”

“Fuck, baby…”

There are no words… none at all. God, for her to have to make that decision…

“How did you find me anyway?”

“Carter had Julie sew a tracking device into the blazer you had planned to wear tonight. Thankfully, you didn’t take it off in the car on the way to the restaurant.”

“Is it really over, Nicholas?”

“It’s over, baby, I promise you it’s over.”