“Police, freeze!”
About time. Not that they had gotten there in time. She was a goner.
***
Hunter raced into the hospital, his heart racing. He couldn’t believe Cady was in the emergency room. What the hell had happened?
All he knew were the sparse facts her landlord had given him when he’d called. Thank God he’d bribed the man to keep an eye on her and call him if anything happened.
Not that he’d ever expected this. Had she interrupted a burglary? Had someone jumped her when she’d been coming home from the bar?
Why the hell hadn’t he gone with her? If he’d been there, this would never have happened. No way would he let anyone touch her. No way would anyone hurt her like this again. His heart couldn’t take it.
He stomped up to the desk. He’d left Connor watching the building. He could care less about that at the moment.
To think he’d been staying away from her to protect her and when she’d needed him most he hadn’t fucking been there.
Never again.
“Cady Franklin,” he barked.
The woman behind the desk looked at him worriedly. “Are you a relative?”
“Her fiancé. Show me where she is. Please.” He forced himself to calm down a little when the woman looked like she was about to call security.
“I’ll take you myself,” she said, still looking a little worried but at least she was taking him to Cady.
“Through there. The doctor should be back soon.”
He stepped into the cubicle, coming to a stop as he saw her. She turned toward him, her face pale, a huge bruise covering once cheekbone.
He winced.
“Hunter!” she said, cheerfully.
Relief hit him like the force of a Mack truck. She was okay. Bruised, injured but awake and talking.
He stepped forward. “What the hell happened?”
“The Terminator doesn’t like peanut butter cookies.” She giggled.
“What?”
A nurse stepped into the cubicle. “She’s been given some pain medication. How are you feeling, Cady?”
“Just peachy.”
“How bad is she hurt?” Hunter asked worriedly.
“The doctor will be back in a minute. He’s just looking at her x-rays now.”
“Cady, can you tell me what happened?” Hunter asked. Sitting beside her, he ran his fingers through her hair. He shook with anger at the sight of the huge bruise on the side of her face. “Nice shiner, sugar.”
“He hit me. I went in with my baseball bat, but it didn’t do much good. He was ten feet tall and had a jaw like concrete. I hurt my hand when I hit him.” She held it up and the icepack fell to the floor revealing how swollen and bruised it was. “Kiss it better?”
“Always.” He gently kissed the knuckles before grabbing the icepack and settling it back over her hand. “What sort of drugs did you give her?” he asked the nurse.
The nurse frowned slightly. “Nothing really strong. Some people react more to painkillers than others though. She said she didn’t have any allergies.”