Page 49 of Breaking Matt
"I'm so sorry," I said.
Her mother looked at me with a kind expression. "It wasn't your fault," she assured me, and I felt worse. She was wrong.
We left Courtney's parents when we went to the room to see her. I took a deep breath and released it just before I entered her hospital room. It was a total turnaround from the last time I'd seen her. Instead of being scared and shaking, she was sitting up and smiling as we entered.
"Sarah," she said and she beamed. I rushed over to her and hugged her gently enough to avoid aggravating her injuries.
"Courtney," I whispered as I held her for a few moments, making sure not to hug her too tight.
"I'm okay," she assured me, pulling away. "I'm a little bruised but other than that I'm fine."
It wasn't okay. She shouldn't have been attacked and landed in the hospital. I wasn't even sure if she'd been told any of the details about the attack before she'd pushed the memories from her mind. There was no point in discussing something she didn't remember—or, more importantly—didn't want to remember.
"Hey," she greeted Matthew, who was standing at the foot of the hospital bed. He smiled at her.
"I'm glad you're okay," he said and walked to stand on the other side of the bed.
If I hadn't known he was a bodyguard, there was no way I would have suspected he was anything other than what he appeared to be. I couldn't stop the pang of betrayal at the fact he'd been good enough to fool me for a month. I tried to forget about it. We were starting off fresh and I had to learn to let go of it if we were ever going to make it.
"The doctor said I'll be out in a few days," she informed me. "This place is so boring."
I didn't want her to get out. I don't know why, but I felt she was safer inside the hospital than walking around where she could be taken again. My alarmed eyes found Matthew's. He shook his head slightly.
It was another thing we had to talk about when we were done at the hospital. My list of questions had formulated in my mind and Matthew had some answering to do. We spent another half an hour before the nurses informed us visiting hours were finished.
"I'll be back tomorrow," I assured her.
"Bring me some chocolates and something to read," she asked, and I smiled.
"I will."
One last hug and I walked out of the room feeling a little better. Maybe the fact she hadn't been so upset had eased my guilt a little.
"You handled that well," Matthew said, taking my hand into his as we walked to the elevators.
I shrugged. I wasn't so sure I had.
"We're going back to the apartment and you're going to answer some questions," I told him with a determined look. He nodded his head, accepting it was time for him to tell me everything he knew. There was no more avoiding it. I wanted to know who was after me and why they'd attacked Courtney.
I also needed to make sure Matthew was going to keep Mark watching over her. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something else happened to her. The fear started to seep into me, and I tried to ignore it. It was one thing having a threat that never materialized, but after seeing what had been done to Courtney there was no way I could ignore it anymore.
I felt anxious and nervous when we got back to the apartment. The drive back had been quiet as we'd both been preoccupied with our own thoughts. It was time for all of my questions to be answered. No more ignoring the fact someone was after me and determined to get to me in any way they could. On the outside I was calm, but on the inside I was a mess.
Seeing my friend in the hospital, her face battered and bruised, had been enough to bring reality home.... I shuddered.
Matthew was quiet as I sat down on the sofa. He remained standing, watching me carefully. I could already see his mind ticking over what to tell me and how to tell me so I wouldn't freak out.
"It's time to tell me everything," I said, trying to keep myself calm. If I showed how truly scared I was, Matthew might not give me the entire truth—and that wasn't an option.
"Your parents didn't want you to know all the details," he began, and I listened intently, trying to calm my inner fear. There had to be a good reason my father had kept it from me and that scared me even more. He wanted to protect me like any father would want to protect his daughter.
"A new level of threats arose when your father took his new position."
I understood that. It was something my father had spoken to me about before he'd taken the promotion.
"You're not telling me anything I didn't know before," I said, wanting to hurry him up. He just needed to stop beating around the bush and tell me who was after me. I had to put a face to the person who'd taken my friend and beaten her up. I still didn't know the reason behind the attack, either.
"Your father put away a big-time criminal who had his hands in everything from illegal prostitution to selling narcotics," he said. "Marcus Cole was convicted and sentenced to a lifetime in prison."
