Reed's Reckoning (39 page)

“Miss Matthews, how did you get intel that Alex was going after Miss Williams?” the officer asks Cara.

“Alex was vain and manipulative and I knew she was not going to take the public rejection well. A few weeks ago, I decided to look into her normal routine and figure out how she could fly under the radar. First, I contacted her regular hairdresser. It took some convincing and lying on my part but she finally told me about going to a hotel to do a transformation on Alex’s appearance. Alex told her she was in hiding because of humiliation of her public breakup. I got the hotel information and started following her about a week ago. She was slowly changing everything about herself. She was a social media whore and loved the attention online. So I did a search and found she had opened a new account with an avatar as her identity. She had opened chats with strangers asking about the best European vacation spots. Well, this morning, I went to my normal waiting spot and her car was gone. She never leaves this early so I got worried and called Luke.”

“Why didn’t you come to the police with your concerns?”

“And say what? The woman that my brother has a restraining order against changed her appearance? I grew up with her and saw the devastation she caused when she didn’t get her way. I knew she was up to something but I couldn’t prove it.”

“You’ve been in town all this time and following her?” Reed asks.

She nods her head and looks at me. “I knew I needed to do something to prove to Ari how sorry I am. I thought if I could trap Alex in a lie and expose her, it would help.”

“Do you agree with Mr. Adams earlier statement?” the Officer asks.

“Yes, when she fired off the first shot at my nephew, Luke shot.”

The officers ask a few more questions and I feel sick that Luke may be in trouble. There are several things in our favor, one is he is on the deed to the house. So technically, he was protecting his home when he found an intruder. After her stroke, Katy put both our names on the deed. She never explained why, but I suspected she wanted Luke to have a home if something happened to her or me.

When the officers ask everything they need to, they leave and Amy brings Davis back into the room. She hugs me so tight I think my ribs will crush. Reed never leaves from behind me and Davis crawls up in our laps. No one else wants to leave, and I doze on and off on Reed’s chest as everyone talks around us.

A doctor comes in a few hours later and introduces himself as Katy’s surgeon. He was able to remove the bullet; she had some complications, but made it through the surgery. I confirm she has a DNR and he explains the next twenty-four hours are critical. She’s in recovery but when she’s moved to ICU, we can visit for a few minutes.

After he leaves, Reed asks for the hospital administrator. He wants the largest room available in the hospital and a cot moved in so Davis can sleep close to me tonight. Then Amy and Sophie go to my house to get us some clothes. Luke and Cara take Davis to the cafeteria to get something to eat while Reed helps me get moved to the new room. He doesn’t let go of me once. When I am offered a wheelchair, he refuses and carries me instead. The new room is more like a suite. It’s twice the size and has a full hospital bed instead of the normal size twin. The nurse recommends that I eat something so Reed texts Luke to bring back some soup.

Reed gets behind me again and tucks my body to his. I lie on his chest careful of my throbbing head.

“Never ever letting you out of my sight again. You and Davis are traveling with me from now on.”

“Baby, she did this on purpose. She knew you would be on a plane. It’s over, she’s dead.”

“You will never know the panic I felt. I was helpless and terrified. If something happened to you—” His voice cracks and he shakes against me.

I let him cry for a few minutes allowing my own tears to fall. We hold each other not saying what could have happened. I know neither of us would have survived if Davis was shot.

“I talked to the pediatrician and we are starting counseling tomorrow with a child psychologist. They think it’s better to do it immediately. They also suggested we do our best to encourage him to talk but be careful what we say in his presence. Any type of fear could trigger something in him. We’ll know more after the first few sessions.”

“Okay.”

“And I want you to have counseling. Katy too when she is well.”

I press deeper into him and raise my face to his. Our lips are so close I can feel his breath on mine. I bite gently on his lower lip and he opens to give me access. The kiss is slow and gentle at first but turns passionate and possessive. I grip him tightly, soaking in the comfort of his taste, scent, and warmth.

“Jesus Christ! Some things never change!” Sophie walks in with Amy and Cara in tow.

I slide back embarrassed but Reed holds me in place.

“I talked to the charge nurse and she said I could help you shower and change into some new pajamas. But then you have to get back in bed for the night.”

“Thanks.” I move to get up and he helps me to the bathroom. Sophie joins me and washes my hair gently. I feel my heart start racing when I see some dried blood on my chest from when I reached for Davis this morning. Images flash in my head and anxiety starts to rise. Sophie notices and finishes quickly wrapping me in a warm towel. She holds me until my heartbeat returns to normal. I dress in my favorite pajamas appropriate for a hospital full of people.

Reed is on the phone when I crawl into bed and comb thru my hair. Davis and Luke return with the soup. The smell actually makes my stomach growl.

“I’ve made an official statement through the team which will air soon. National news coverage has picked up the story and the police are watching the entrances and exits to the hospital. Grange and Darius are going to be outside the room until we know what happens with Katy. Mr. Moore is expected to release a statement as well tonight.” He tells us.

“So what now?”

“Now, you rest. We see what happens tomorrow and decide our next steps.”

Everyone in the room agrees and we try to lighten the mood for Davis’s sake. I still have so many questions, but don’t want to rehash any of it. Everyone fields calls from our closest friends, assuring them I am okay and we are waiting on news about Katy.

The nurse finally lets Reed and I visit Katy when she’s moved. I try to control my sobs when I see her limp body hooked up to all the machines. Holding her hand tightly, I tell her over and over how much we all love her. The nursing staff has to pry me away from her when my time is up. We pass Sophie and Luke in the hallway and she is leaning into his chest crying. She is just as upset as I am. Amy and Cara are reading Davis a book. He is almost asleep so I sneak back into bed and Reed goes to change.

“Arianna, I am so sorry. I never in my wildest dreams thought Alex was psychotic.” Cara apologizes.

“Ari.”

“What?”

“Ari. My friends call me Ari. That’s what I want you to call me.”

Reed slides in behind me in bed and squeezes my shoulder. This means a lot to him. Cara’s eyes fill with tears but she wipes them away as she nods. Luke and Sophie come back to say goodnight and promise to be here in the morning. Grange follows Cara and Amy for the night, leaving us with Darius on watch. I fall into a restless sleep but Reed holds me tight. Sometime during the night, Davis crawls in bed with us and curls up in my arms. I finally fall into a deep sleep praying for Katy’s recovery.

Sweat breaks out on my forehead as I hear her screams through the phone and the gunshots ring out. My heart beats double time and threatens to stop altogether. Ari and Davis’s faces flash through my mind as I open my mouth to scream. I jolt awake and look around to make sure it was just a nightmare. Ari and Davis are snuggled into me and their warmth seeps into my skin.

I slide out quietly and go to the bathroom to wash my face. I hate to admit this but I think the pediatrician was right. I may need to get professional help too to erase the voices and images that ran through my mind when she started screaming. But I’ll do whatever it takes because she’ll need strength to get through this. If Katy doesn’t make it, I’m afraid of what will happen.

“Reed?” Ari groans and I rush back to her side.

“Angel, what’s wrong?”

“Help me get up? I have to use the bathroom and Davis is tangled up with my legs.”

“Gladly.” I lift him and use my other hand to help her out of bed. When she shifts, I see the ugly bruise on her head and anger rises in my chest. I promised Luke and Sophie to tone it down, but in my mind, I want Luke to shoot Alex Moore all over again.

The nurse confirms we will be discharged in the next few hours. I take a quick shower and change and then help Ari and Davis get dressed. I try to send Darius home for a while, but he refuses. My mom worked with Connor to rent us a house for the rest of the week. We can’t go back to Ari and Katy’s and I don’t feel comfortable going to mine until Katy is out of the woods.

I take Davis down to the professional offices for his counseling appointment and Luke and Sophie sit with Ari. The ICU nurse actually allows all three of them to visit Katy while waiting to be discharged. There is no change but she made it through the night, which is encouraging. My phone buzzes with a message to meet my mom in the waiting room.

When I get there, I freeze. The entire room is packed full. Teammates, wives, girlfriends, coaches, and team administrators stand around. Some of the wives are consoling Katy’s friends who seem distraught and lost. A feeling of love bubbles up in my chest and I know Ari needs to see this. After shaking a few hands, I grab Davis to go with me to get his mom. Cara offers to watch him while I wheel Ari to the surprise in the waiting room.

We are swarmed instantly once we get there. She looks up at me with shock on her face but doesn’t have time to say anything before she is surrounded. There’s lots of kissing and hugging. Both Lamar and Bobbie lift her up in a tight embrace. No one really mentions the reason for being here. The news reports were fairly accurate, even giving Alex’s name, but we didn’t report that she tried to kill my son first.

After half an hour, I wheel her back to her room. The group had made sure that we will have food and dinners at the beach house, and Connor was sticking around to help if needed.

The doctor releases us shortly so we send everyone back to the house and we sit in the ICU waiting for the doctor. The machines beep and hum in rhythm and Ari talks to her grandma softly holding her hand. Her coloring has returned but she still has machines hooked up everywhere.

“Reed?” Ari says softly. “I’ve been thinking about something this morning.”

“What Angel?”

“We can’t get married in two weeks if Katy can’t be there. It wouldn’t be right.” The situation hits me like a blow to the gut. She’s right.

“Okay.” As soon as the word slips my lips the machines start going crazy. Paper flies out of one while blue lines on the monitor spike. Nurses rush in and push us out of the way. They start checking vitals and punching buttons.

“What happened?” one of them asks us.

“Nothing we were only talking to her. I promise.” Ari sobs.

“There’s a good chance she can hear you. Make sure you don’t talk about anything that would upset her.”

We both nod and watch as they work to get her stabilized again. Once she is calmed down we get five more minutes to visit.

“Grandma, can you hear me?” Ari whispers.

I see her squeeze her hand in response. Our faces both show relief.

“Grandma did we upset you talking about postponing the wedding?”

Nothing happens for a few seconds and Katy’s eyelids start to flutter. She opens them and finds us both staring at her with tears in our eyes.

“You get married. It’s been too long and too hard of a struggle… Deserve happiness.” She rasps and then winks at me.

She doesn’t say anything else but falls back asleep peacefully. I watch Ari’s face for any sign of emotion and am surprised when she smiles. Her dimples shine and cause my heart to flutter.

“I guess we’re getting married in two weeks.”

“Mrs. Reed Matthews. I like it.”

The monitors beep again and we smile knowing this time she liked what she heard.

When we get back to the rental house, it’s quiet. My mom left a note she is at the pool with Davis and Darius is with them. Ari lies down for a nap and I unpack us and return some calls. Connor stops by and I give him all the details of what happened including a step by step of Alex’s delusions that we were going to have a relationship. Being my agent, he recommended some PR options. Being my friend, he sympathized with me.

He stayed while I prepared dinner from some of the food dropped off earlier today. Ari woke up when Davis came back from the pool and they started a puzzle. Our crew came back over around five and Luke brought me a much needed bottle of Jack Daniels. There was a definite heaviness in the air, but we all kept up appearances for Davis’s sake.

When my phone rings with an unknown number, a sense of dread washes over me. I answer and then look at Ari with devastation in my eyes. Her face crumbles and she falls into Luke wailing in pain. Today at four thirty-six pm, thirty hours after taking a bullet to save my son, Katherine Anna Williams died.