Page 151 of Changing Rules

I’m runningacross the hospital parking lot when Kaden walks out the front doors. He lights a cigarette but doesn’t even take a drag. He just stares off into the distance. His expression sends a chill down my spine.

“Kaden?” I rush over to him. “How is she?”

He fixes his focus on me. “They took her for a CT scan. They suspect a concussion, but…” He sucks in a breath, his whole body shuddering. “God. If you’d seen her…”

Without thinking, I wrap him in a tight hug.

“Thank you,” I tell him, stepping back.

He cracks a subdued smile then drops his gaze to his feet. “Not sure I deserve a thank-you. I beat that fucker to a pulp. He left in an ambulance too, but I’m pretty sure he’s handcuffed to something, wherever he is.” Wincing, he stubs out his cigarette with a swollen, bloody hand.

“Where is she?”

“C’mon.” Kaden heads into the hospital, and I follow him.

I slump downonto the hospital couch, drained. My emotions are all over the place, and my head hurts. I need a minute to collect myself.

“You look like shit.” Kaden sits beside me, his hand finally cleaned and bandaged.

I grunt. “You’re very observant.” Eyes closed, I drop my head back against the couch and heave a sigh. “I’m fucking exhausted. I haven’t even seen Bella yet, but I’m already fielding calls frommy parents, my agent, Warriors’ management. I’m ready to kill someone. I need to lay eyes on her.”

“The doctor came in while you were on the phone,” he says, his voice a murmur. “She’s okay, but she was a little panicked, so they gave her a sedative.”

I jump to my feet. “I want to see her.”

He yanks me back down and frowns. “I know, but she needs to sleep.”

“Fine.” I hang my head, my elbows on my knees, and catch sight of his bandaged hand again. Might as well use this moment to ask him about Miller.

“What happened when you got to my place?” I ask.

He side-eyes me before quickly dropping his gaze to his feet.

“My agent sent me pictures of Miller being led to the ambulance in handcuffs. His face is one big bruise.”

“I called Izzy to let her know I was running late. But she had strange answers to my questions, and I knew something was up. When I climbed out of the Uber, your neighbor and his dog were standing on the sidewalk, watching your house. When I told him about the call, asked if he’d seen Izzy or heard anything, he paled. He said he thought he heard a woman scream, but he wasn’t sure where the sound had come from. He called the police while I headed for the door.”

Kaden chews on his bottom lip, fiddling with a ring on his undamaged hand.

“Just as I was opening the door, I heard her…heard her whimper and then cry…” He sucks in a breath, his jaw flexing. “Damn, man. I swear, my lungs stopped working. I burst inside and…”

He falls silent, his face contorting in agony.

Fuck. The pain in my chest sharpens. My heart is cracking. She was there all alone with him, absolutely defenseless.

“What did he do?” I ask, digging my fingernails into my flesh.

“He… He had taken off her jeans. He had her pinned to the couch and was hovering over her. She—” A sob catches him by surprise. He wipes at his face and huffs a breath. “She was crying and bleeding…”

I close my eyes. The image is vivid in my mind, as if I’d been there. It quickly morphs into a familiar scene, a memory of walking into my house and finding Miller pinning Bella to the wall.

I should’ve killed him that day.

“Fuck, Xander. It was a nightmare. My brain stopped functioning once I saw her, and when he barreled at me, I…I charged and hit him in the face. He threw a few punches my way too, but I knocked him to the floor, and then I just hit him, over and over and over.” He balls his fists, his glassy eyes focused on the wall across the room. “If not for Mr. Jensen, I probably would’ve killed him.”

“I would’ve done the same thing. Fuck.”

“When I went to her, she was unconscious.” He turns to look at me. “I pulled the tape off her mouth, and Mr. Jensen and I tied the fucker up with my belt. Then we waited for the cops. I could barely speak when they got there, so Mr. Jensen met them at the door. He and I both gave statements after the paramedics loaded Bella into the ambulance.”

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