Loving the Best Man (Friends & Lovers Book 2) (25 page)

“I’ll call you back ASAP. I’m about to go in.”

Appleton disconnected the call and Linc walked to the rear entrance of the bodega, hoping Emerald would be found quickly and safely. He grasped tightly to those last few strands of hope and tried to refocus on his search for any clues.

Alone in the room, Emerald weakly managed to get into an upright position. Casey had walked out of the room and Emerald didn’t know how long she’d be gone. She knew she only had a matter of seconds to get herself ready.

With her legs and arms tied, it was difficult to maneuver her body. She struggled to get up onto her knees, her body quivering from pain and fatigue. From the kneeling position, she was able to force herself up to her feet.

She was out of breath and sticky from blood. The long scratch on her neck continued to bleed and she felt faint. She wasn’t sure if she was weak from her ordeal, the lack of food or from losing so much blood. Either way, the situation was about to come to an end.

Emerald quickly hopped to the window and pressed her face to the glass. The streets were mostly empty. She was up on the second floor and she didn’t recognize the neighborhood. She looked behind her; Casey still hadn’t come back. She banged her head on the window, hoping to get the attention of anyone passing by.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Casey screeched from behind her.

Without a single thought, Emerald braced her body as she stood in front of the window. She heard Casey run towards her. When she felt Casey’s fingertips touch her shoulders, she reared back, smashing her head into Casey’s. Casey screamed and fell on the floor. Emerald hopped over to her, took one giant leap and landed feet first on Casey’s stomach.

Casey let loose a loud scream and punched at Emerald’s legs. Emerald tottered off of Casey’s body and fell to the floor, flat on her face. She closed her eyes, praying once more. Casey kicked her in the ribs and Emerald grunted in pain.

“Freeze!” A deep voice boomed across the room.

The kicks instantly stopped and the room became quiet except for the sounds of her and Casey’s ragged breathing. Emerald slowly opened her eyes, almost afraid that she was hallucinating and that no one had actually come in.

But there he was, pointing a gun at Casey. Mark Appleton. At that moment, he was the most beautiful thing Emerald had ever seen in her entire life. She dropped her head onto the floor, breathing heavily, her body enflamed. As the tears came so did a small smile.

“Thank you,” She mouthed before her entire body went slack and she passed out.

Linc ran to his apartment to get his car. Robyn, Marjorie, Peyton Olivia and Whitney were standing in the lobby. A black man of medium height and build stood with them. He vaguely recognized Emerald’s father. Robyn must have called him. He felt bad for not thinking of it himself. Linc waved at them and they came out.

“She’s on the way to the hospital,” Linc said in a rush.

“Oh, thank god!” Marjorie said loudly.

Grace, Ally, Quintin and Devin stood outside the building.

“But how is she? Did she get stabbed or shot or…” Robyn’s voice trailed off on a sob.

Devin hurried to his wife, pulling her into his arms and quickly kissing her forehead.

“Don’t know,” Linc muttered. He was too scared to think about it. “All Appleton said is that she’s injured but he thinks she’ll be okay.”

Mr. Felton didn’t say anything.

“Ride with us, Shawn,” Robyn told him.

Linc went into the parking lot and got into his car. Ally and Grace got into the car with him. Quintin and Marjorie took Peyton and Whitney with them. Shawn Felton went with Robyn and Devin.

Linc didn’t wait for the other two cars and he didn’t follow the speed limit. He was so eaten up with anxiety that he thought he might explode. When he drove into the hospital parking lot, he cursed as he looked for a parking spot.

“Calm down,” Ally said, sitting in the front passenger seat. “Pull over. You go in and I’ll park it.”

“Thanks,” He said, stopping there and then. He jumped out of the car and ran towards the entrance.

The doors automatically opened and he ran in, hearing Grace calling for him to slow down.

“Emerald Felton!” Her name burst from his lips before he’d even come to a stop at the front desk in the hospital lobby.

The two young women who sat behind the tall desk looked at each other before one typed Emerald’s name into the computer.

“She’s in the emergency room,” She pointed down a wide hall.

“Thanks,” He said, already running away from the desk. He heard Grace running behind him, breathing heavily as she talked to someone on her phone.

Two glass doors led to the emergency room. A security guard stood at the doors, looking bored and sipping from a cup of coffee. He stared at Linc and Grace but moved to the side so they could open the doors.

A quick look around the crowded waiting room showed him that Emerald was not there.  There was a small room with a glass window and he hurriedly approached it. A man sat at a desk at the window, tapping away on the computer.

“May I help you?” The young man said, his eyebrows raised.

“I’m looking for Emerald Felton,” Linc said. “I was told that she’s here in the ER.”

“Yes,” The man said, nodding slowly. “She’s already in a bed in the back. There are two detectives with her. I can’t let anyone else in.”

“Shit,” Linc muttered.

“As soon as they come out and give the okay, I can let you in.” The man looked sympathetic.

Linc bowed his head. Although he was relieved that Emerald was alive he wouldn’t truly feel at peace until he saw her for himself. The fact that she was talking to cops was a very good sign.

“Everything’s okay now, Linc,” Grace whispered behind him.

He looked up, realizing that every person in the waiting room watched him. He stepped away from the window and looked for a place to sit. There were a few available seats but they weren’t near each other. He sat in one and Grace sat in the other.

After a quick call to Ally and Devin, Linc leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. Two televisions on opposite sides of the room competed with everyone’s talking and a baby crying. He heard the clatter of a soda falling through the vending machine. Each sound was a scrape of irritation on his nerves.

He opened his eyes and looked across the room to where Grace sat. She was on her phone but her eyes were on him, looking solemn. Seeing that he was staring back at her, she gave him a cautious smile as she continued speaking.

Robyn entered the glass doors, scurrying over to him.

“Nothing yet?” She asked.

“No,” He said, standing up so that she could sit. “The cops are still with her. Where is everyone?”

“Sitting in the waiting area in the lobby. You know…” She swallowed several times, her eyes looking glossy. “I still can’t believe it was Casey. I can’t believe it’s come to this. But thank God it’s over.”

She squeezed his hand and a lump formed in his throat, preventing him from speaking. All he could do was give Robyn a short nod, feeling a slow sting in his eyes.

“Mr. Thayer?”

He turned to see Detective Hanson coming over towards him. A detective that Linc hadn’t met was with him. She was tall and thin with bright red hair and a baggy suit on, her shield proudly hanging around her neck.

“Can I see her now?” Linc asked, wondering where Armstrong was but unwilling to waste even one second that he could use being with Emerald.

“In a few minutes,” Hanson said, “I’d like to speak with you for a moment.”

Without waiting for Linc to reply, Hanson headed towards the glass doors, the other detective matching his long stride. Once again annoyed with the cop’s highhanded manner, Linc struggled with his patience.

“You go in,” He said to Robyn. “Take Grace with you.”

Robyn nodded, staring at the detectives before looking back at him.

“Go ahead,” Linc said. “She needs to be with someone. I’ll be in there soon.”

He walked towards the doors, wondering what the arrogant young detective wanted with him. He was sure that whatever it was could have waited. Still, he told himself to be patient and walked out the door to talk to Hanson.

Chapter Thirteen

Emerald lay in a bed in the noisy emergency room. It was a huge room with a nurse’s station in the middle of the room and several beds spread throughout. The only privacy was a sturdy curtain around each bed. She thought how ironic it was that at home the curtain around her bed was something that she’d grown accustomed to while she felt so uncomfortable surrounded by the hospital curtain.

The pain reliever they’d given her had already begun to work and she felt so sleepy that she knew she’d be out at any moment. Fortunately the cut on her neck hadn’t been deep and had only been cleaned and covered with a bandage. But the cut on her leg and the back of her head where Casey had hit her had required stitches.

She still could hardly believe that the events of the day had been real. It felt like a dream. Or a nightmare. It had never entered her mind even once that her stalker might be Casey. She felt so stupid. When she thought about getting Casey fired, which she’d taken pride in, the stalking made sense in a bizarre and peculiar way. She didn’t regret getting Casey fired. But she did regret being so oblivious about the stalking and so hesitant to report it to police when it first began.

The curtain shifted and Robyn entered, quickly followed by Grace. Both women had tear filled eyes and they moved quickly towards the bed. Emerald couldn’t get a word in as they went on and on about her being okay. Emerald appreciated their concern but she felt overwhelmed with guilt for all she’d put them through.

“I’m sorry,” She finally said, her throat aching from trying to control her need to cry. “I’m sorry I put you all through this.”

She wanted to ask about Lincoln but could only assume that he was upset with her for leaving out that morning without speaking to him first. She didn’t blame him. It had been stupid and wrong on many levels.

“It’s not your fault,” Grace wailed, holding Emerald’s hand.

“I’m sorry she went after you.” Robyn blew her runny nose into a tissue.

“I’m not,” Emerald said honestly. “Better me than you. I’m the one she was mad at anyway.”

Robyn wasn’t as tough as Emerald considered herself to be. She didn’t even want to think about how Robyn would have managed if she’d been the one under attack.

“I can’t believe she did this to you,” Grace said, leaning down and kissing Emerald’s forehead.

“I’m fine,” Emerald lied, her eyes feeling dry. She was so tired. “A few cuts and some bruised ribs. Nothing I can’t handle.”

They both gasped.

“Bruised ribs?” Robyn asked. “What did she do to you?”

“You don’t want to know,” Emerald said around a yawn. “But it’s over with and I’m fine.”

She couldn’t take their concern. She felt guilty enough as it was. It felt a little hard to breathe but she did her best to breathe normally. She didn’t want to see how Robyn and Grace would react if they thought she was in pain.

“I hope the bitch rots in prison!” Robyn muttered. Then she bowed her head and sniffled again.

“She will,” Grace said confidently. “And whenever she gets out, I’ll be waiting for her.”

“Don’t start that,” Emerald said, her eyes widening. “We are adults. We’re not going to take it to the streets. We’re too old for that. I’m going to let justice have its way with her.”

Robyn and Grace silently looked at each other without speaking.

Emerald’s heavy eyes finally got the best of her and she closed them.

“I mean it, Grace. You too, Robyn. Get those thoughts out of your head…” She yawned again. “I hope you ladies don’t mind but I’m in need of a serious nap…”

“Of course, sweetie,” Grace whispered.

They got very quiet and it took Emerald only a matter of seconds to drift off to sleep, one friend on each side of the bed holding her hand.

“How is she?” Linc asked, seeing Grace as he walked to the elevator. Robyn had just texted him to tell him that Emerald was now being settled in a room. She’d been admitted. He was terrified about what injuries she had that had led them to admit her.

Grace ran at him, sobbing and throwing herself against his chest. Alarmed, he held onto her not knowing what to say.

“Grace tell me what’s wrong with her. Is it serious?”

“She’s going to be okay,” Grace moaned, staining his coat with tears.

The relief he felt was so great that his knees went weak.

“What’s the matter then?”             

“I hate seeing her like that,” Grace said, wiping her red eyes with the back of her hands. “She has a black eye and it’s all puffy and swollen. Her whole neck is covered with a bandage…”

His own eyes filled with tears when Grace sobbed again.

“She’s going to make a full recovery,” Grace went on, searching through her purse. She finally came up with a tissue and wiped her nose with it. “That’s what matters.”

“Yes.” He clung to that. The whole thing could have been much worse. Casey could have instantly killed Emerald rather than taking the time to torture her.

“What did the cops want?”

“To update me on the case,” Linc replied, approaching the elevators. He pressed the Up button. “Casey’s actually here at the hospital.”

“What the hell!”

“She has a couple of fractured ribs,” Linc said. “She’s going to be taken to jail soon though.”

“That evil bitch,” Grace said with a grimace. “I hope they beat her ass in jail every day.”

“I never expected her,” Linc said, mad at himself for not suspecting Casey at all.

“None of us did.”

“But I saw how obsessed she was with Dev. She’s unbalanced.”

“Looks like she replaced one obsession with another.”

They stepped onto the elevator and Linc pressed the button.

“And she got her two coworkers to help her. I can’t believe that.” He put his hands in his pockets, feeling worried and restless.

“They’re dummies. That makes them even more pathetic than Casey.”

“Tasha Hilliard is still on the loose. They’ve got Lacey in custody but the detectives said she might not be charged.”

“Why not? Isn’t she the one whose prints were on that box?”

Linc had asked the same question. He told Grace how Hanson had told him that Lacey said she hadn’t known what was in the box. Casey was her friend and asked her to deliver the box to Emerald. She hadn’t known why but she’d had no reason to suspect anything.

Lacey claimed that she and Tasha had no idea that Casey was stalking Emerald. They just fed her information whenever she asked. Even when Emerald’s car had been hit, they hadn’t known it was Casey. Hanson said Lacey looked believably surprised when he and Armstrong had told her that Casey was the one responsible for the explosion.

“So they don’t have any proof that Lacey and Tasha are actually involved,” Linc finished telling Grace as they stood outside Emerald’s room.

“That’s not right,” Grace said viciously. “Why would Casey send Lacey with a gift for a woman she obviously hates? They knew exactly what she was up to.”

“If the cops can locate Tasha they’re going to bring her in for questioning. But that’s pretty much it unless she implicates herself.”

“Unbelievable!” Grace said, glaring angrily. “These bimbos are going to get away with this.”

“Armstrong is still at the station talking to Lacey. But so far her story has been consistent.”

Without a word, Grace walked into Emerald’s room, erasing the glare off her face as she did. Linc followed her, eager to see Emerald but afraid of what he’d see.

Robyn sat in a chair beside her bed, hands clasped together as if praying.

“Where is everyone?” She asked, staring at him and Grace.

“We have to take turns coming up,” Linc said. “I told Mr. Felton to come up. But he insisted that I come.”

It had taken everything in him to go out to the waiting room and make the offer to Emerald’s father when he was so desperate to see Emerald himself. But the older man had declined.

“That’s how he is,” Robyn said, looking back to Emerald. “He doesn’t do well with emotional stuff.”

Linc slowly approached the bed, seeing her bruised and swollen eye. He saw the gauzy bandage on her neck that Grace had mentioned. She was in a hospital gown and wrapped up in blankets.

Knowing that she’d been through a horrific episode, although he didn’t know exactly what had happened, and seeing her unconscious in a hospital bed was his undoing. It didn’t matter that she was just asleep. It didn’t matter that he now knew she was safe. His tears demanded to be let free. Closing his eyes didn’t stop the tears from escaping. He took Emerald’s hands in his, kissing them both. Uncaring of his two witnesses, he kneeled next to Emerald’s bed and cried for the first time in his life. 

When Emerald woke up, her mouth was so dry that her tongue burned. Her head ached and she winced as she turned her head to look around the dark room. Her father was sitting in a chair near the bed, asleep. Lincoln was standing by the window, his hands in his pants pockets as he stared outside.

“Lincoln,” She rasped.

He jumped and rushed over to her bed.

“Emerald,” He went to the other side of the bed, a dark frown etched on his face.  “How do you feel?” 

“My whole body is so sore,” She said honestly, lifting a heavy arm to rub at her eyes.

“You have bruises coming in all over,” He said, “Plus the bruised ribs.”

“That bitch snuck me from behind,” Emerald said. “She’s lucky I can’t get to her now.”

“You did some damage, at least. The detective said Casey had fractured ribs and that you told him you stomped her.”

Emerald had just gotten stitched up and x-rayed when the annoying detective, Hanson had come to speak to her. She’d felt like asking him to leave but decided to just get the questioning over with. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to see him anytime soon.

“It was all I could manage to do,” She explained. “She had my arms and legs tied together.”

“You should be damn proud of that. You always were tough as hell.” He gave her a small smile.

“I try to be.” She coughed, her dry throat stinging.

“Let me get you some water.” He hurried out of the room before she could reply and she closed her eyes.

She still couldn’t believe that the whole thing was over. Casey had been arrested. Her life could now go back to normal.

Her father suddenly opened his eyes and he abruptly sat up in his chair.

“Emerald, how ya doing?” He leaned forward, staring closely at her as he put his elbows on his knees.

“I’m good,” She lied, “I can’t wait to get out of here.”

“They’re keeping you for the night.”

She sighed. She wanted her own bed. Better yet, she wanted Lincoln’s bed even as she knew she’d better go home. It had been less than a week but she didn’t miss her little apartment at all. She wondered how soon Lincoln might expect her to go back to her own place.

He walked back in carrying a pink plastic pitcher in one hand and a matching cup in the other. As he poured some of the ice water into the cup, Emerald searched for a way to raise her bed. She ran her hand back and forth on the side of the bed, feeling for buttons.

“What’s the matter?” Her father asked.

“I’m trying to lift the bed.”

“There it is,” Lincoln pointed at an area she couldn’t see and her father pressed the buttons for her.

The bed slowly went up until she was almost completely upright. She took in several shallow breaths, surprised by the increased pressure in her chest.

“Em, are you okay?” Lincoln asked, on her left side. Her father looked worried on her right side.

She closed her eyes, counting in her head as she tried to get her breathing under control.

“Nurse!” Shawn yelled, his voice fading.

She opened her eyes in time to see him run out of the room.

“Damn,” She said. Her father didn’t do well when anyone was vulnerable, especially her. He was probably traumatized.

“I’m okay,” She said in a low voice, seeing Lincoln staring at her warily.

“Here,” Lincoln said in a soothing voice. “Drink some water.”

She took the cup and sipped, hoping that she appeared calm when she actually was unnerved by how battered her body actually was. Her adrenaline had kept her from feeling the severity of her injuries but now, she felt every cut and bruise. Her body throbbed all over.

Her father rushed back into the room as she took another sip, followed by a young Asian nurse, and Emerald braced herself for annoying and probing questions. It was odd to see her father concerned. First Christmas and now this. It wasn’t something she could ever get used to from Shawn or anyone. The sooner she got back to her own apartment, the sooner she and everyone else could go back to behaving normally.

The nurse gave her some medicine for pain and asked a few questions before leaving. After she left, Emerald munched on ice chips, wishing she had a big juicy burger and fries. She was starved.

“I need food,” Emerald said, passing the cup to Lincoln.