Chapter 17: Emergency Calls

AVA

We were mostly silent on the way to the hospital.

The paramedic, a nice-looking guy in his thirties, hooked me up to a monitor and changed out my IV fluids twice. He also pushed a rather strong painkiller, which took the edge off.

I started to relax a little, finally realizing that I was probably ~not~ going to die tonight, and I even started making some small talk with Dominic.

I established that he was indeed Cyrus’s older brother, and he currently ran the architecture branch of Brentstone and Sons.

“Would you like me to call someone?” he asked eventually.

I reached for my purse, which I then remembered had been taken, along with my wallet, phone, and keys. “Eh… I know my mom’s phone number. And my friend’s. But they’re both in Seattle.”

Dominic scratched his chin. “Well, it’s probably good to call your mom anyway, but is there anyone closer that could come pick you up, perhaps?”

I thought about it. “We could try Ella Carlisle. Or Tobias Wilson. They’re Brentstone Publishing employees. I’m sure your brother could figure out their numbers.”

Dominic nodded. “I’ll call him. Just texting my wife real quick that I’m going to be home…even later.”

He made a face at me. It made me giggle. ~Perhaps the drugs were kicking in.~ Dominic called Cyrus and explained what had happened.

“Yeah, she’s going to be fine,” he said, raising his eyebrows at me.

I nodded reassuringly and giggled again. Definitely the drugs.

“Her name’s Ava…uh…?” Dominic looked at me helplessly.

“Mayweather,” I said.

Dominic and Cyrus talked for a bit longer, but I kind of tuned them out, focusing instead on the hypnotizing colored lines bouncing up and down the monitor screen.

“He’ll be there soon,” Dominic assured me after he hung up the phone.

“Tobias?”

“Cyrus.”

My cheeks turned pink. “Cyrus isn’t coming to the hospital!”

Dominic raised an eyebrow at me. “He seemed pretty adamant. Would you like me to tell him not to come?”

I squirmed around, much to my paramedic’s annoyance. “I don’t want to bother him. He doesn’t like me very much as is, let alone if he has to come to the hospital on his evening off.”

Dominic sent me a funny look. “I asked for Tobias’s number. He said he’d come himself. Doesn’t sound like he’s bothered to me.”

After we arrived at the hospital, my wounds were assessed once more, and it turned out I only needed stitches in my thigh. My forearm would suffice with just skin adhesive.

I was all bandaged up and given a blood transfusion to help with my low hemoglobin levels. I started to feel better after that.

Dominic stayed with me until Cyrus arrived, which was halfway through stitching. We got to know each other a little, and Dominic turned out to be a little less cold than Cyrus. He joked with me and made me feel at ease.

When Cyrus entered the room, Dominic got up to greet him. They talked at a level that was too low for me to be able to make out what they were discussing, but they looked serious.

They came back over and sat down on either side of my bed. Cyrus put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, his breath fanning my wrist.

“How are you?” he asked lowly.

“Never better.”

Cyrus looked at Dominic, who cleared his throat.

“Puncture wound to the thigh, laceration on the forearm,” he said, looking at me. “She’s on painkillers and had a transfusion.”

Cyrus looked back at me. “Are you in pain?” he asked, his voice strained.

I looked at my arm. “Not really, to be honest.” I pointed to my IV. “Painkillers are doing their job.”

“Good. Now tell me why you were in the parking garage by yourself at nighttime.”

I squinted. “I was walking to my car.”

Cyrus’s chest swelled, but he tried to keep his voice steady. “Why were you there alone at night?”

“I’d been on a date.” My eyes flashed to Dominic’s face. “With Mr. Wilson, you know.”

Cyrus shifted in his chair. “Why didn’t he walk you to your car?” he growled.

“I told him not to.”

Dominic leaned back, watching the whole thing unfold with a smirk on his face. “I’m going to grab us all a coffee and then head home,” he said before getting up.

“Do you have to stay overnight?” Cyrus asked after Dominic had left.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I just have to figure out a way to get into my apartment. They took my keys.”

Cyrus thought about it for a moment. “What else did they take?”

“Phone, purse, keys—home ~and~ car keys, that is—wallet. Everything I had on me.”

Cyrus’s eyes slid over my body. “Did they hurt you?” he asked, looking away.

“Well, yeah. They stabbed me.”

Cyrus’s eyes flicked back to mine. “Did they hurt you in…other ways?”

My mind flashed back to the men dragging me toward my car. I didn’t even want to think about what could have happened if Dominic hadn’t gotten there when he had.

“No,” I said softly. “Dominic showed up before they could do any real damage.”

Cyrus reached out and put his large hand over mine. His fingers trailed slow, soothing circles, which made pleasant sparks dance all around my arm.

I turned my hand over and hesitantly opened it. Luckily, he answered my movement by grabbing it and holding on tightly.

Another wave of dizziness hit me, and I looked at my IV fluids to see if the nurse had silently switched them with opioids, but it was still just saline.

Then Dominic showed back up, carrying a tray from which he handed us each a cup of coffee.

“All right, I’m going to head out,” he said. “Keep me posted, Cy.” He leaned over and squeezed the shoulder of my good arm. “You did good, tonight, kid. Fought like hell. You be proud of yourself.”

I blushed and smiled at him. “I’m so glad you got there when you did. I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if—”

“It didn’t,” Cyrus cut me off bluntly. “Thanks for calling me, Dom. I’ll take it from here. Say hi to Gabby and the kids for me.”

Dominic nodded and waved at me. “I’ll check in later,” he said and left the room.