Punk Rox Warrior (15 page)

“Yes. She was tied to a chair with her hands and feet bound. She

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had ropes around her ankles, and her hands were cuffed behind her.”

James had to take a steadying breath. He felt light-headed.

The doctor’s composure faltered for a swift moment as his

eyebrows rose in disbelief. Clearing his throat and referring back to

the chart in his hands, he continued. “Well, Mr. Decker, she gave it

one hell of a fight. Her wrists and ankles are bloody. We’re going to

bandage them and give her some antibiotics to fight off any infection

that may try to set in.”

Cutting him off, James interjected, “Doctor, when will she regain

consciousness?”

Closing the chart, he squared his shoulders. “We can’t know that.

She could wake up any minute. She’s not in a coma. That’s the best

news I can give you.” With that, he turned back into the room.

Sitting back in the chair, James flinched as he heard the loud crack

of Rainne’s shoulder being relocated.
She’ll be happy she missed that,
he thought
.
As he sat there, his thoughts drifted.
I’m her husband,
he mused to himself. The thought made him ecstatic beyond belief. The

buzz in his Bluetooth unit snapped him out of his happy place. He

tapped it with his finger and answered, “ “Yeah.”

“James, we got him.” Alton’s voice came through on the other

end.

“Where is he?” The need for blood almost brought James out of

his seat.

“We’re on our way to the hospital now.”

“What happened?” James’s neck prickled with tension. “Is

someone hurt?”

His voice was speckled with amusement. “Yeah, but it’s not one

of us.”

“I’m outside ER room fourteen. See you on arrival.” James hung

up and took a steadying breath, just happy his men, his friends were

okay.

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Chapter 14

Waking up in the hospital was something Rainne wouldn’t wish

on her worst enemy. When she snapped out of unconsciousness, a

myriad of questions flew through her mind.
Why is it so dark? Why

aren’t I cold? Hadn’t the warehouse been drafty? The warehouse!

Cameron!

Her eyes flew open as she jolted upright in bed. She could feel her

heart pounding in her chest. She felt like she was drowning despite

the fact that she was desperately gasping for air.

She was only distantly aware of someone screaming as she felt

large hands holding her, pushing her down. Struggling fiercely against

them, she recognized her own scream.

“Rainne! Snap out of it!”

Her mind and body froze.
That voice! I know that voice! It’s better

than any song I’ve ever heard!

Her body relaxed, and her eyes focused. Her heart tightened in her

chest as she stared into James’s pain-filled eyes. He was horrified.

She was confused.

Her entire being froze. “James! You’re here!” she gasped.

His brow dipped low into a frown. “Of course I’m here.”

Suddenly his gaze shifted downward, his face twisting in shock.

“Oh, shit!”

Reaching across her body, he hit the call button for the nurse.

“Yes?” the sweet voice on the other end inquired.

“We need a nurse in here pronto!” he bellowed as he clamped his

hand around Rainne’s arm.

“What are you doing?” She looked down, puzzled. As soon as her

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eyes focused on her arm, she groaned, feeling the pain whip through

her body and seeing the splattered blood covering not only her and

James, but the floor, as well. She had ripped out the IV. She didn’t know she had in the struggle.

Her attention was instantly diverted as the door flew open and a

nurse rushed into the room. “Sir, you’ll have to move,” she said as she

approached the right side of the bed.

James reluctantly let go of her arm and came around to the other

side of the bed. He bent down and gently petted her hair as she

watched the nurse spring into action.

Rainne watched, wide-eyed, as she worked feverishly to stop the

bleeding and inject a new IV.

James reached up and gently clasped Rainne’s chin, directing her

eyes towards him instead of the mess she’d made of herself.

“You don’t want to watch that.”

“I can’t believe you came.” Her voice was colored in wonderment

as she drank in his features.

Swallowing, he replied, “Silly girl, why are you so shocked? Of

course I came for you.” His fingers caressed her cheek. “I love you,

all of you, everything that you are.” He took a steadying breath and

leaned into her ear and continued with a whisper. “To love you,

Rainne, is more natural than breathing. To feel the warmth of your

body against mine is like home. Even while we’re apart, you invade

my senses. I feel electricity in your touch. I remember your innocent

whimpers in my head. That sweet scent that resides in that soft spot

between your ear and shoulder is so indescribable,” he crooned softly.

“The way you taste when I make love to you makes me quake with

anticipation. Your kindness humbles me. Your heart makes me braver

than I ever thought possible. And your eyes? I want to spend the rest

of eternity lost in those beautiful eyes.”

As James whispered his soul into her ear, Rainne was overcome

with emotion. Her body felt as if it were being crushed by all the

different feelings. She couldn’t possibly process them all.
He loves
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me,
her brain chimed with elation. It was more than she had ever dreamed of. Her entire life she had shied away from men thinking that

love was something she would never be blessed with. She had never

felt this way about anyone, but to know he returned her love was

more than she could have ever wished for. She vowed not to let her

self-doubt get in the way of this wonderful feeling. She wouldn’t give

in to the fears. She only wanted to revel in the knowledge that he was

hers. She was his.

“All done, sweetie.” The nurse’s cheery voice brought her back to

the surface of reality. “Now let’s try not to do that again, okay?” she

said with a bright smile.

Rainne nodded and tried her best to smile politely. She wasn’t

sure she could speak with a steady voice.

As the nurse left the room, James gently kissed her cheek and

slumped back into his chair, exhausted.

“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly.

“Yeah, it’s just been a hell of a couple of days, baby.” His head

was leaned back on the headrest of the chair, his face directed towards

the ceiling. His eyes were closed as he obviously tried to control his

breathing.

“Couple of days?” Her voice was laced with shock. “How long

have I been out?”

“A little over twenty-four hours.” Leaning forward, he placed his

elbows on the bed. “I’m just glad you’re awake…and alive.”

There was such pain in his eyes it made her want to cry.

“There are things I need to talk to you about. The team and I have

uncovered some new developments.” He rubbed his hands together.

“Ok, but first how did I get here and…” Rainne was interrupted when

the door to her room swung open and a small group of people walked

in. Three of them immediately started to clean up the splatters of

blood from Rainne’s panic attack.

Two other men stood at the foot of her bed assessing her. One of

the men was stout with salt-and-pepper hair. His deep facial lines

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were evidence of a hard life. His hard appearance was very contrary

to his pristine forest green sheriff’s uniform. He cleared his throat to speak, but James cut him off.

“I haven’t told her yet.” He glowered at the other man.

Nodding abruptly, he turned and exited the room, followed by the

three cleaners who left total organization and shine behind them.

“Tell me what?” The panic was making her voice rise.

“Remember I said we had some new developments? I want you to

talk to the doctor first, and then we will hash out the rest.” Angling towards her, he whispered, “Be back in a flash, kitten.”

* * * *

As James left the room, he could hear the doctor’s voice trailing

off behind him. “So, Mrs. Decker, you gave us all quite a scare.”

James couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his face.

He heard the door quietly click shut as he peered into five sets of

eager eyes.

Wide-eyed, Alton asked, “How’s she doing?”

James placed his hand on the back of his head and nodded. “She’s

awake…alive.” He wanted to cry, wanted to run back to her side and

hold her. Most of all he wanted to beat and torture the fuck out of

Cameron, with a blowtorch and a pair of rusty pliers, for doing this to

her. Straightening up, he steeled himself. “She is never to be

unsupervised. Two in this hallway at all times. No excuses,” he

growled. “Do you have the laptop?” he asked, looking at Alton.

“Right here, boss.”

James turned to reunite with Rainne. He paused with his hand on

the knob, his head hanging low. “Have a talk with that deputy that

was here. Keep the sheriff away from her. I don’t want them upsetting

her. They had their chance to help her and failed.”

James jumped back away from the door as it opened and Dr.

Johnston stepped out.

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“We would like to keep her for observation, but if all looks good,

then she can go home tomorrow. She should make a full recovery.”

Smiling curtly, he shook James’s hand and headed toward the

elevators.

“Thank you,” James called after him as he rushed through the

doorway to Rainne’s side.

“Mrs. Decker, huh?” Rainne asked with raised eyebrows.

James chuckled. “Well I had to. As far as the hospital knows,

Rainne Decker is staying here, not Rainne Stanton. It will keep your

mother and Phillip from finding you.” Tilting his head, James took

her mouth in a kiss. Pressing his forehead to hers, he added, “Also, it

was the only way I could stay with you, and it’s nice to hear.”

“I love you,” she whispered.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as he rose to straighten her

blankets.

“Sore as hell, but good.” She laid her head back on the pillow and

slowly inhaled a deep breath. “So what are these new developments?”

James felt the blood drain from his face. He didn’t want to have

this conversation, but it had to be done. “What I’m about to tell you

isn’t going to be easy for you to hear. It breaks my heart to have to tell you this.”

* * * *

“James, you’re scaring me.” Her mind was getting away from her.

A million different scenarios went racing through her mind. The most

dominant was James was leaving. It had all been a lie.

He clasped her hand in his. “I don’t want you to be scared,

Rainne. You have round-the-clock security. Nothing is going to

happen to you.”

She waited patiently as he spoke, her mind still swimming with

possibilities.

“Okay, after we found you in the warehouse, I came here with

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you, and the team waited there for Cameron. When he returned, the

team apprehended him. He put up a fight and was injured.”

“By who?” She couldn’t hide the smirk on her lips. It made her

almost giddy to know he got an ass kicking.

“He tried to tackle Riley and was knocked unconscious. They

brought him here. The sheriff’s department placed him under arrest as

soon as he came to.”

Rainne could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her face felt

hot, and she couldn’t fight the tears welling up in her eyes. “I

understand.” She tried desperately to keep her voice even. “You don’t

have to hang out. I’ll see you around.” She averted her eyes. She

couldn’t look at him or she would lose the small amount of

composure she clung to. She didn’t want him to see her crying like a

little girl.

“What are you talking about?” he asked angrily.

“Cameron is in jail. Your job is done, and you have to go,” she

stated plainly, still staring at the wall.

His mouth gaped, and his eyes bulged out of his head in surprise.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” His voice rose an octave. “Did

that blow to the head render you quizzical?” His brow dipped into a

frown. He was pissed. “Listen closely, little girl,” he growled. “I’m

not going anywhere.” He enunciated every word slowly. “You

stopped being a job that night in the living room, Rainne.” Keeping

his voice low and calculated, he continued, “I’ve never lied to you. I

would never lie to you. I’m so in love with you my body pulses with

it. Can’t you understand that?”

Rainne couldn’t halt the tears streaming down her face. “I’m

sorry,” she choked. “It’s just hard to believe that you’re really mine.”

“Well, believe it, baby. You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”

Rainne wiped her face dry. “Okay, what did you want to tell me?”

“When the team handed Cameron to the sheriff’s department, they

came upstairs to your room to inform me. About an hour later, that