Picture Perfect (Butler Island) (20 page)

Ty forced himself to look at her. The
blood that’d stained her blond hair was long gone, but the cuts and bruises on
her face remained.

 Battle wounds.

 He knew the physical damage would
heal with time—it was the emotional trauma that worried him most.

“Excuse me, detective”, the doctor
announced as he stood by the door. “Miss Everitt needs to rest. Can we continue
this another time?”

The detective closed his notepad and
stuck his pen back into his shirt pocket. “No problem; I think we have enough
information for now.” He stood and then handed Olivia his card. “Thank you for
your time, Olivia. If you can think of anything else, I’d like for you to give
me a call. And I mean anything—no matter how insignificant it may seem to
you—it may help the case.”

Olivia smiled and nodded. “Yes sir.”

He turned to leave and then stopped
at the door. “Oh, and by the way, you shouldn’t be alone. This guy is ruthless
and unpredictable. Let’s not give him another opportunity to finish what he
started…”

Once the detective was gone, Ty
searched Olivia’s battered face. “You okay?” he finally asked.

“I’m fine, Ty.”

“Okay, well, I’m gonna step out for a
minute and talk to the doctor. I’ll be right back”, he said as he rose from his
chair. Pointing his finger at her, he stood over her. “Now, don’t you go
anywhere, you hear?” Olivia smiled. He knew she’d appreciate his humor. When
she saluted him, he journeyed to the door and slipped out in time to catch up
with her doctor.

“Excuse me, Dr.
Conrad, do you have a minute?”

“Of course, Ty, what can I do for
you?”

Ty scratched his head. “Well, I was
hoping you could explain the extent of Olivia’s injuries.”

Dr. Conrad hugged the chart he held
close to his body and rocked back on his heels. “She sustained a mild
concussion from the blow to her head and a small laceration from the impact. We
were able to close that up nicely with a few staples. X-rays indicated no
fractures on the skull, however we did discover a lateral rib fracture.
Unfortunately there isn’t anything we can do for that. It’ll take approximately
six to eight weeks for it to heal and I’ll prescribe pain medication to keep her
comfortable. Aside from that, she has a lot of small cuts and bruises—with time
they’ll heal as well.”

Ty wiped his hand down his face and
then crossed his arms. “She wasn’t, um… he didn’t rape her, did he?” he finally
asked.

“Well, I can’t say for certain. It
appears as though she did have intercourse, but nothing consistent with a
violent rape.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her attacker was obviously very
rough with her. If he had raped her, it probably would’ve been rough, too…
Professionally, I’d say it was
possible
; personally, I’d say the
intercourse was most likely consensual.”

Ty released a breath he hadn’t been
aware he was holding and nodded to their longtime family doctor. “Thanks, Doc,
I really appreciate you taking the time to talk.”

Dr. Conrad placed his hand on Ty’s
shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “My pleasure, although I would’ve much rather
have seen the two of you under different circumstances.”

Placing his hands in his pockets, he
nodded. “Yeah, me too…”

“Can you tell me the room number for
Olivia Everitt?” Grant asked the kind elderly woman sitting behind the hospital
information desk. He waited as she cautiously pecked at the keyboard in front
of her with her two index fingers, fighting the urge to leap over the counter
and type the name himself.

“She’s on the second floor in room”—putting
on her eye glasses, she leaned forward—“room 224.”

“Thanks”, he said as he pivoted and
rushed toward the elevator.

Luckily the elevator door was just
opening as he approached. He waited for the passengers to exit before boarding
and then impatiently pressed the button to transport him to the second floor
several times before the door finally closed. His mind was racing. He didn’t
really know what to expect when he saw her. He only knew she probably looked a
lot different from the woman he’d left last night.

The door slid open and immediately he
saw Kendall, Chief Handler, and several guys from the fire department sitting
in the waiting area. News like this certainly traveled fast, he thought.

Stepping off the elevator, he
swallowed the mass of emotions threatening to expose him. Afraid if anyone
looked too close, they’d realize he was a crazed maniac…
for Olivia.

He was madly in love with her. He’d
left her house just after midnight, endorphins flooding his body with a high so
spellbinding—so heavenly—he’d questioned whether he’d actually died and went to
heaven. But the euphoria had quickly dissipated when he’d received a frantic
call from Ty this morning, stating that Olivia had been hurt—badly—and was
admitted to Mainland Hospital.

He’d immediately rushed here, his
mind accelerating faster than his speeding truck.

 
What’d happened? Would she be
alright?

Kendall turned around as she heard
the elevator open and observed Grant. He was consumed with panic, worry, and
something else.

 
Love.

As if he’d realized how transparent
he’d been, he suddenly suppressed it. “Grant”, she called out as he stepped
forward.

“How is she?” he asked.

Kendall met him halfway. “She’s…
she’s okay.”

“Where’s Ty?”

“Over there”, she said as she pointed
down the hall, “talking to Dr. Conrad—”

The words had barely left her lips
before he
turned and rushed toward Ty. Dr.
Conrad had already
walked away, leaving his distraught best friend alone
to reflect on the events that’d occurred.

“Ty, what the hell happened?” he
asked frantically when he was finally within earshot.

“Some sick bastard broke into the
house late last night and beat the shit out of my baby sister!” Moisture
clouded Ty’s eyes, the weight of the gruesome attack finally overwhelming his
strong façade.

“Someone broke in?”

Ty ran his hand through his dark
blond hair. “Well, actually, no. The son of a bitch knocked—and Liv didn’t find
it
odd
that somebody was knocking at the door at one o’clock in the
morning—so she answered it.
He ambushed her at the door!”

Grant closed his eyes. He tried to
imagine how terrified she must’ve been, tried to comprehend how a man could lay
his hand on a woman. When Grant opened his eyes, Ty’s hands were cupped around
his mouth, fighting to regain his composure.

“My lil’ sister is tough, though. She
fought with every ounce of strength she had—all one hundred twenty pounds of
her! I… I found her this morning lying on the kitchen tile—she’d been there all
night—too weak to move!”

“What did Dr. Conrad say? She gonna
be alright?”
God, please let her be alright!

Ty nodded. “Yeah, she’s banged-up
pretty bad, but it could’ve been a hell of a lot worse.”

“What about the son of a bitch that
did this to her—any idea what his motive was? Does he get-off on slapping women
around or was he after something?”

Ty shook his head and shoved his
hands in his pockets. “It was our boy.”

“
Our boy?
What do you mean?”

“The arsonist.”

“What?
How can you
be sure he’s—
shit—
he knows about the pictures Olivia took, doesn’t he?”

Ty nodded. “Yeah. After he knocked
her unconscious, he stole her new camera. He even searched the house and took
the pictures she’d printed of him. Told her to quit sneaking around—taking
pictures of him—or else he’d be back.”

Grant relaxed his clenched fists and
took a deep breath. The phone call he’d received earlier from Ty had his
panicked mind simulating all sorts of scenarios. But none of them were as
horrific as reality…

“You look like shit, man”, he said as
he slapped Ty on the back. “Why don’t you go to the cafeteria and get yourself
a coffee and something to eat?”

Ty glanced over his shoulder at
Olivia through the small window. “Can’t. I don’t want to leave her by herself.”

“I’ll sit with her. Go—she needs you
to be strong for her.”

With a heavy sigh, he managed a wry
smile. “Thanks, bro. I’d really appreciate that.”

Grant steeled himself with a deep
breath before he quietly nudged the door open. Olivia was lying with her head
turned toward the view from her second story window, so enthralled by the
movement of the swaying palm trees, she hadn’t noticed him. He took the
opportunity to observe her for a moment, hoping to eliminate the look of shock
from his face by the time she became aware of his presence.

“She’s banged-up pretty bad, but it
could’ve been a hell of a lot worse”
, Ty had said moments earlier.
Looking at her bruised and battered body, he acknowledged if it
had
been
much worse, she’d probably be dead…

She had Gauze wrapped around her head
to hold the bandage on the crown of her head securely in place. A large bruise
on her left cheek stained her flawless complexion and her kissable pouty lips
were slightly swollen, her bottom lip blemished with a small gash.

Her attacker had clearly struck her
with his fist, the realization caused Grant’s fists to clench again. He wanted
to kill the son of a bitch that did this to her with his bare hands; wanted to
witness him gasping for his last breath.

His eyes continued their journey. He
was unable to see underneath her gown, but he did notice that both her hands
were wrapped in a light dressing. His heart convulsed with grief as rage like
he’d never known before accumulated inside of him, threatening to explode every
time he looked at her battered body. But now wasn’t the time for that.

 She was alive
.

 
He
swallowed the uproar internally consuming
him and forced a smile.
There’d be plenty of time to endure the internal fury engulfing him later.

“You need a new nickname”, he said as
he took a step toward her. Olivia turned her head to meet his gaze. “I think
Super
Woman
suits you much better.”

She smiled as much as her swollen
lips would allow. “You know me: I’m just an adrenaline junkie lookin’ for my
next high! After that Ferris wheel ride, I needed another rush. Guess I need to
watch what I wish for, huh?”

Reaching for the extra chair wedged
in the corner, he hauled it close to her bedside and then took a seat. After
loosely intertwining her bandaged hand in his, he raised them to his lips and
kissed the back of it. “You look beautiful”, he began.

Olivia released a gut-busting laugh
and then winced as she clutched her broken rib with her freehand. “Don’t make
me laugh—it hurts”, she demanded, grinning. She examined his face as he
furrowed his brow.

“
He didn’t, um”, Grant swallowed, “you weren’t—”

“Raped?” she asked. “No”, she uttered
as she shook her head, “he was far too busy slappin’ me around.”

Grant released a breath he hadn’t
been aware he was holding as relief washed over him. At least she’d been spared
that. Running his fingers through his hair, he slid to the edge of his seat.

He was struggling for control; she
could see it in his body language, in his eyes. Uncomfortable with anyone
making a fuss over her, she did what she’d always done: depict the carefree
attitude she’d perfected years ago. “I’m okay, Grant, really. Everything is
gonna be fine.”

Grant met her gaze. “Don’t do that,
baby”, he uttered softly.

“Don’t do what?”

“Try to comfort me—that’s what I’m
supposed to be doing for you…”

Ty made it halfway to the cafeteria
before he realized he’d left his wallet behind in Olivia’s room. Pivoting, he
boarded the elevator again, too exhausted to take the stairs. He pinched the
bridge of his nose and clenched his eyes shut during the brief ascent.

 He still expected to wake any moment
and discover that the nightmare he’d endured since stumbling upon his battered
little sister this morning was just that: a nightmare.

 He knew better.

 How many times had he pinched
himself this morning in an attempt to waken?

 
Too many.

 
In fact, if he didn’t stop,
he’d end up with bruises all over his body, too!

The bell from the elevator quickly
brought him back to reality and when the door slid open, he drifted toward room
224. Quietly he opened the door, unsure if she’d finally succumbed to exhaustion.
He didn’t want to wake her—she needed her rest. Voices indicated otherwise and
that’s when he overheard…

“I can’t help but feel responsible
for all this”, Grant said as he waved his free hand over her body.