She closed her eyes and let the tears fall. “Can Ian cover it for you?”
He shook his head but didn’t tell her about Ian.
“Have you seen Johnny and Al?” she whispered right before the medication took her under.
Nate came into the room a little later. Roxie was still sleeping and Beckham hadn’t moved. Nate’s eyes narrowed when he saw Beckham.
“How is she doing?”
“She was awake for just a few minutes earlier. They’ve got her pretty drugged up. What about the guys? How are they?”
Nate shook his head and put his hand around the back of Beck’s neck. “They … didn’t make it, Beck.”
“What?”
He shook his head again. “They’re pretty sure both died instantly. A bomb went off around 12:30 a.m., looks like it did the most damage outside. There’s a small crater where their tents were.”
“A bomb?” Beckham got up and walked to the window, his fist softly pounding the wall. “How the hell does this happen?” He turned around to make sure he hadn’t woken up Roxie.
“I don’t know much yet. They’ll probably question Roxie pretty soon. I saw the police with the owners of the house earlier. The guy called the fire department and got out there with a hose before the fire got too out of hand.”
Beckham pressed down on his eyes and squeezed. “Johnny and Al … I can’t believe it. Does Howie know?”
“He’s outside waiting to see you.”
“Ten years we’ve been together. They’ve been through it all with me. I just can’t … believe it. Roxie will be devastated too. She already felt bad that they were-” He looked at the ceiling. “I can’t believe she got out of there.”
“She had a guardian angel tonight, that’s all I know. It’s hard to even process about the guys … it’s gonna take a while.” Nate bit his lip and looked away.
They leaned against the wall and didn’t say anything for a few minutes.
“And Ian? You think it’s related at all?”
“I don’t know what to think. You know him better than I do, but I can’t picture him abandoning Sparrow on their anniversary. There’s been no sign of him. Sparrow is out of her mind with worry.” Nate cleared his throat.
“I’ll call her in a little while. Can’t imagine what’s going on in her head, with what’s happened to Roxie and the guys.”
Nate nodded. “We have guards at the house with her, and she’s been checking on Roxie practically every half hour.” He shook his head. “Poor girl’s spooked.” He put his hand on Beckham’s shoulder. “You watch your back, do you hear me? And listen, I’ve made sure you’re completely free of everything tonight. The police are guarding this floor, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about cameras or anything else. Don’t you even think about anything but this one right here.” He looked at Roxie. “Be with her.” He leaned closer to Beckham’s face and jabbed his finger into Beck’s chest with each word: “Don’t. Blow. This.”
“I already have,” he whispered.
“Well, I can see that. Fix it, dammit. Do you hear me? Go clean yourself up. Stay away from the Jameson. Call Troi. Do whatever you have to do. She nearly died tonight. You don’t have time to have a breakdown. Not if you want a chance with her.”
Nate clapped him on the neck and pulled him in for a quick hug before he left. Howie walked in next. Neither of them said anything, but they grasped each other by the arm and had a moment. They didn’t move until Beckham sniffled and cleared his throat.
“This just can’t be right,” he said.
“I’m gonna find who did this,” Howie said. “Fuckers need to pay.”
“I’m with you there, but we’re gonna need help. Have you talked to Dion yet?”
“Yeah, and you know he’ll do anything for you,” Howie said. “He’s still the best in the business.”
“He handpicked you guys for me—I trust him. Can you get him on this? I’ll meet with him too, whenever he’s available. We’ve gotta find Ian too. I don’t have a good feeling about that.”
“On it.” Howie gripped Beckham’s shoulder and left.
Beckham sat down and watched Roxie sleep. The hand that wasn’t wrapped up looked perfect. He placed it carefully in his, grateful that from what he could tell, her body seemed undamaged. If she had been anywhere else in the house, or outside, it would be a completely different story. The thought made his blood curdle and his eyes drip with the tears he’d been fighting since he saw her.
Roxie woke up just as her parents rushed into the hospital room. Beckham jumped to his feet and Roxie waved a hand groggily.
“Mom and Dad, Beckham. Beckham, Mom and Dad, uh, Rachel and Daniel…”
Their eyes turned to Beckham and they gave a quick nod before turning their focus back on Roxie.
“Oh honey. Are you okay? What happened? Did any of your skin get burned? What about your lungs?”
“Mom, breathe. I’m okay.” She gave a faint smile. “I inhaled a lot of smoke but was really fortunate to get out of there when I did.”
“She has third degree burns on her hand,” Beckham interjected.
“I’m okay,” she rasped. “Where’s Leo? Is he okay?”
“He’s in the waiting room with Chloe. We didn’t tell him everything yet. We wanted to see how you were before we brought him back here. You sound really hoarse…”
“I want to see him. Would you get him?”
Her dad kissed her forehead. “I’ll get him right now. Love you, honey. So glad you’re okay … you scared us to death.”
She nodded and brushed the tears off her cheeks. “I’ll be fine. My eyes are bugging me more than anything—they haven’t stopped burning yet. Do I look bad? I don’t want to scare Leo.” Her breathing came in quick, shallow bursts.
“Your eyes are really red and puffy,” her mom whispered, her eyes filling with tears as she took Roxie’s hand.
“I’ll be okay, Mom.”
“You always say that.” She shook her head and straightened Roxie’s blanket.
The chair scraped the floor when Beckham sat down, and the noise startled Roxie’s mom. She jumped and smiled.
“I’m sorry. I forgot you were here,” she said.
“More important people to think about,” he said. He smiled at Rachel then rested his elbows on his knees and stared at Roxie. “Can I get you anything?”
“I’d kill for a Coke,” she whispered.
He jumped up.
“Ooo, with hospital ice!” Her voice perked up. “The only good thing about the hospital.”
“You got it.” He kissed her cheek before leaving the room.
Rachel and Roxie both watched him walk away. Roxie let out a long sigh without even realizing it and her mom laughed.
“I can see why you have it so bad for him,” she said. “He’s gorgeous.” She laughed and fanned herself. “When you’re feeling better I want you to tell me every detail about how you won the heart of Beckham Woods.” She leaned forward to whisper his name and looked behind her shoulder to make sure he wasn’t back to hear.
“We’re not together, Mom.” Roxie closed her eyes. It was hard to tell what was making her cry more—the fact that her eyes felt like they were on fire, or the grief that sat on her chest.
There was a little rap on the door and Leo peeked in the door. Her dad and Chloe stood behind him and Chloe gave Leo a nudge.
“She’s awake. Go ahead, bud.”
“Hey, little man,” Roxie held out her hand to Leo.
He ran to the bed and put his head on the bed, patting her stomach. Roxie ran her hands through his hair while they both cried.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Leo kept saying, between hiccups.
“And I’m so glad you and Aunt Chloe weren’t there. So glad. I’m gonna be fine, okay?”
Everyone in the room was crying when Beckham came back in the room.
“Aw, hey. I need to get in on this crying session.” He put his hands on Roxie and Leo’s back. “It’s all gonna be okay,” he said softly. “You need to be using the oxygen, though.” He put the tubes back in her nose.