Page 61 of Burning Bridges

"Do you need me to call the nurse?" she asks. The way she looks at me makes me wonder just how severe my wounds are.

"No, I need to get out of here and back home so we can deal with Kylo," I tell her, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and removing the IV I'm hooked up to, applying pressure over the insertion site so it doesn’t bleed. "Why did you bring me here?" I ask Kobe, propping my head up with my hand as it starts to spin. "I'm sure we could have dealt with my injuries at home," I add angrily, even though I feel like death warmed up.

He goes to the door and closes it, turning back to us, more serious. "You lost too much blood, Leo. This wasn't something our team could fix." The way he looks at me shows me how scared he really was. I can only imagine how bad of a condition I was in when he came to get me. I must have been or there is no way they would have brought me here.

I glance at Piper, wondering what hell she's been through waiting for me to wake up. "You nearly died, Leo," she says, confirming my fears. "There was no other option if we wanted to save your life.” She takes a seat on the bed next to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Kylo isn't someone you need to worry about anymore. Don't you remember what happened?"

"It's a bit hazy after the car accident," I tell her, running a hand through my hair, trying to piece it all together. I remember snippets of Kylo's voice talking to Piper and thinking I needed to follow them. Stumbling up that dirt track, listening for her voice. It was the only thing keeping me alive, knowing I had to save her from him. “You're safe now?”

“I’m fine, just a little knock to the head from the car crash.” I can tell it was more than that, but she just doesn’t want us fussing over her.

"Where's Jett?" I ask, wondering why he’s not here with the two of them. What else has happened since I've been out of it.

"He's just up the hall with Ben and his sister. Unfortunately, when Kylo found out Ben had been helping us and what we were about to do, he took his frustration out on her and her friend."

I feel sick to the stomach. The Kings have hurt so many innocent people, and whatever happened to these girls is on me. I was the one who made Ben come and work for us. I was also the one who assured him she would be safe. "They're alive?" I ask, hopeful.

"They are. Her friend Ruby-Rose has some pretty severe injuries from the glass door she was thrown through, and Ben's sister Hazel just woke up from surgery. She’s not in a good way after the beating she took, but the doctors are saying her surgery was successful. She will pull through.

"I don’t understand, what happened? Jett had one of the guys from his team watching over her."

Kobe pulls up a seat and comes to sit in front of us. "We're still trying to work that out, but it looks like there are some members of the Rivera security team who can't be trusted. There was also another complication."

"What?" I demand, not liking the sound of it.

"Ben's sister is married to Kylo's younger brother, Liam," he says.

"Why is this the first I'm hearing about her connection to the Kings?"

"Not even Jett knew about it until this morning. Ben had been trying to help his sister, protecting her as much as he could after she was traded to Liam to pay off her father’s debts. That's how he got involved working for the Kings in the first place. He was trying to protect her from the monster she was forced to marry, and he didn’t want to tell us because he knows what it looked like. He was desperate for our help.”

"Where is Liam now?"

"We don't know. They were all at Piper's old house when the King brothers attacked the girls. That’s all her friend Ruby-Rose has been able to tell us. She said they took off in separate cars when they got the call about the warehouse going up. No one has seen Liam since.”

As I listen to Kobe's explanation, a sick feeling washes over me. We've been playing a dangerous game with the Kings, and now it seems that everything has spun out of control. They don’t play the same way we do, and they don’t care who they hurt, innocent women included. “I want to talk to her. The friend.”

“She’s in a room just up the hall. But you need to rest and so does she. It can wait, Leo,” Kobe tells me. And the glance I get from Piper tells me she agrees with him. They’re worried about me, but I’m fine.

I find a shirt in the overnight bag one of them must have brought in for me and throw it on, followed by a pair of jeans. I’m still a little dizzy, but I need to get on top of all this. Kylo might not be someone we have to worry about anymore, but if his brother is still out there, he will be.

Piper comes to stand by my side, taking my arm to steady me. “You need to rest and heal. You can't just ignore your injuries, Leo. Leave all this up to your brothers for once; they are more than capable of handling it.” She offers me a small smile. “I need you to be okay,” she whispers.

I look at Kobe, and he nods. I know she's right, but I hate feeling so helpless. I've always been the one in control, the one who calls the shots. “You can’t expect me to stay here.” I look between them.

Piper takes my hand. “We don’t. I've already organized for you to be moved home so I can take care of you. Kobe is going to drive us home shortly.”

“As soon as the girls are well enough, I want to see them both,” I tell Kobe. “And Ben.” That kid has some explaining to do. I understand protecting family, but he needs to know we're the good guys and we can be trusted.

A tap sounds at the door, and I glance over to see Detective Reader through the glass window. Kobe meets him at the door, letting him in. “Now is hardly the time for this, he’s just woken up.”

“I’m not here to arrest him. This is a friendly chat,” says the detective.

Kobe looks back to me for guidance. “He can come in,” I tell him.

“It’s good to see your up and about after the accident.” The detective tries for a smile, but his lips hardly turn up. He’s a miserable son of a bitch, that much is for sure.

I nod. “What can I help you with, Detective?” I raise a brow, wondering why he’s here if it’s not to arrest me for shooting Kylo.

---