Noah lowered his head to kiss her brow, but she didn’t stir. She continued to stare lifelessly at Liam, but it was as if she looked beyond him. Into nothing.
Tears burned Liam’s eyelids. His fingers curled into tight balls. Helpless rage fired through his body. He’d allowed this to happen. She’d been taken by this bastard because she’d protected him and Noah.
As he lifted his gaze to his friend’s, he saw the same answering grief and rage in Noah’s eyes.
Liam leaned into Lauren, resting his forehead against hers. “Fight this, baby. Don’t let that bastard win. Come back to us. Come back to me and Noah where you belong.”
He turned, searching out Knight with fury in his heart. He wanted to kill the son of a bitch with his bare hands. But Knight was lying on the floor in a pool of blood, his eyes glassy and fixed in death. He glanced back to Noah, question in his gaze.
“He shot you,” Noah said in a low voice. “You barged in, intent on saving Lauren, and you never even saw him pull his gun. I had to put him down.”
“Good,” Liam said savagely.
Then he put his forehead to Lauren’s once more.
“He can’t hurt you anymore, baby. He’ll never hurt you again.”
She didn’t stir, and fear gripped Liam’s throat. He glanced up at Noah again, grief so thick he had to swallow back the knot in his throat.
“What did he do to her?” he asked in an agonized voice.
He touched her bruised face again in a whisper soft touch. He was afraid of causing her more pain. He had no idea what Knight had done to her before he and the others had arrived.
Noah’s mouth tightened and his throat worked up and down as though he were fighting the same overwhelming grief that consumed Liam.
“We were too late,” Noah whispered. “He hurt her. The son of a bitch put his hands on her. Did you see the marks on her back? The bruises on her face? Not to mention the bruises and marks we can’t see.”
“Noah, Liam.”
Seth’s grim voice broke into their conversation. Liam turned to see the other men standing right behind them, worry reflected in their gazes. To the side, the man who’d been about to rape Lauren when they arrived was bound hand and foot, forced to sit upright against the wall.
“The ambulance just pulled up,” Seth continued. Then he looked at Liam. “You and Lauren both need to go to the hospital. You’ve been shot and you’re still losing blood.”
“I’m not leaving her,” Liam said fiercely.
Adam held up his hand. “No one said you had to, son. We’ll all be there. She won’t be alone. Let’s get you patched up so you can be with her that much sooner. The quicker you let them take a look at that arm, the quicker you can be back with her. She needs to be in the hospital.”
Noah nodded his agreement. A moment later, the paramedics entered the living room, followed closely by the local police. It was a madhouse of endless questions. To Liam’s frustration he was separated from Lauren as one medic tended her and the other bandaged his arm.
When they began to wheel her away on a stretcher, Noah walking beside it holding Lauren’s hand, Liam bolted up from the couch and strode after them. Over his dead body were they leaving without him.
Max was about to climb into the back with Noah and Lauren when Liam shoved him out of the way and hauled himself up to sit beside Noah on the bench next to the stretcher. When Max would have protested, Adam put his hand on his shoulder.
“Think what you would do if it was Callie and her brothers were trying to be at her side. They love her. Just like you love Callie. You’d never allow yourself to be parted from her, just like Noah and Liam won’t allow themselves to be away from her. Let them go. We’ll follow behind and you can see her at the hospital.”
Max sighed, but Liam could see that Adam’s words had hit the mark. Liam sent Adam a grateful look. The last thing Liam wanted was a confrontation with Max Wilder when the priority had to be on getting Lauren the care she needed.
The other medic closed the doors and then hurried to get into the cab. Liam reached down for Lauren’s hand, pulling it up so he could twine their fingers together.
“We’re with you, baby,” he whispered. “We won’t leave you.
He leaned down to brush his mouth across her delicate hand.
“I love you. Don’t leave me, Lauren. Hang in there and be strong. We’ll guide you back home.”
CHAPTER 39
DOES it make me a complete bastard that I’m not sorry you had to shoot that asshole?” Liam muttered in a low voice as he waited for the nurse to return so he could get out of this goddamn room.
“No,” Noah said simply. “It simplifies matters. Lauren won’t have to testify against him now that he’s dead. We turn over the disk to the D.A. and let him do the clean up.”
Liam nodded and glanced impatiently toward the door. Max was with Lauren, a concession he and Noah had been willing to make only because she currently slept, and they’d been assured by the doctor that she would remain so for a few hours yet. When she awoke, Liam and Noah would be by her side, and Max would just have to deal.
But first he had to get the hell out of this damn exam room.
“Where the fuck is she?”
Noah sighed. “Chill, man. You took a bullet. It’s a wonder they haven’t tied your ass to the bed. You should be lying down and taking it easy, not running all over the damn place.”
“You saw her,” Liam said in a quiet voice. “Would you have her wake up and us not be right there? She was out of it, Noah. She’d retreated to God knows where, and at this point I’m worried we’re not going to get her back.”
“We’ll get her back,” Noah said firmly.
His arms were folded tightly over his chest and his jaw was set in a tight line. There was a hard glint to his eyes and his face was set in determination.
Then Noah’s gaze settled on Liam’s bandaged arm.
“You know that’s going to hurt like a son of a bitch when the adrenaline wears off.”
“It already hurts like a son of a bitch,” Liam muttered.
Noah shook his head. “Then take the goddamn pain medication.”
Liam’s lips twisted into a mutinous line. “I don’t want to be fucking fuzzy-headed when we see Lauren. There’ll be plenty of time to take that shit later. She’s what’s important.”
He turned his head toward the door again.
“Where the fuck is the nurse? What could possibly be taking so long?”
He would have slid from the exam table and stalked out, but Noah stepped in front of him and shoved him back. Hard.
“Sit your ass down. She’s only been gone a few minutes. Adam and Ryan are outside Lauren’s room, and they promised to let us know the minute she begins to come around.”
Liam bit out a string of expletives but settled back on the exam table, his injured arm tight against his body. He wouldn’t admit it, but it was killing him. Nausea coiled low in his belly and sweat beaded his forehead. But he wouldn’t admit it, because he didn’t want to chance any delay in getting to Lauren.
He was still haunted by the scene he and Noah had witnessed. He was tortured by what had happened before they arrived. He’d seen the marks and bruises from Knight’s abuse, but how many more were inside Lauren where no one could see?
A heavy ache settled into his chest, more pressing than even the pain in his arm. Lauren had withdrawn. A self-defense mechanism to protect her from her terrible reality. Liam just wanted her back. In his arms. But he’d failed her in a big way. He’d sworn that he’d do everything possible to keep her safe, but had he?
He bolted more upright when the nurse came back into the room. She glanced warily at him and he supposed he couldn’t blame her after the way he’d acted. He’d threatened all sorts of things if he wasn’t released soon.