Home > Ruthless Kings(3)

Ruthless Kings(3)
Author: Laura Lee

Dr. Yates holds his hands up in a placating gesture. “Sir, please don’t make me call security. My patient has every right to request privacy.”

Kingston kicks the leg of the chair before shooting a glare in my direction. “Fine. But I’m not leaving this fucking hospital. We are not done with this conversation.”

The doctor watches Kingston charge out of the room before speaking again. “Would you like a moment before I continue?”

I’m freakin’ exhausted, but I want to get this over with. “No. Now is fine.”

He clears his throat. "When you arrived, you were suffering from a knife wound to your lower abdomen, blood loss, and contusions over several parts of your body. A CT scan revealed some internal bleeding, likely from the blunt trauma, so we needed to perform an exploratory laparotomy. Fortunately, the blade missed your intestines, and the leaking blood vessels were easily repaired.

"Your wrist suffered a distal radius fracture, which is why your arm is currently encased in a splint. I have no plans to switch that to a hard cast but won't know for sure until the swelling goes down a bit. Additionally, you have a mild concussion, which may cause temporary confusion, memory loss, or sensitivity to light or sound. We'll need to keep you under observation for about a week, considering your body is healing from several injuries at once. If all goes well, you should feel remarkably better in two to three weeks and fully recuperated in six to eight weeks.”

I blow out a breath. “That’s a lot to take in at once.”

“It is, although I’d say you’re a lucky young woman. The outcome could’ve been much worse if any major organs were perforated.” He pauses for a moment. “Do you have any questions?”

I’m questioning everything right now, but I can’t focus long enough on any one thing. “I’m tired.”

"Understandable." Dr. Yates nods. "I'll let you get some rest. Just let the nurses know if you think of any questions, and they can page me."

My lids start to flutter as he leaves the room. “Kristi?”

My nurse comes back into view. “Yes, hun?”

“Can you please make sure no visitors come into my room? I don’t want anyone in here while I sleep—especially the guy who was here before.”

She lifts her eyebrows. "Is that boy hurting you, honey? Did he do this to you?"

“No,” I mumble. “He definitely wasn’t one of them. I just...I need to know no one will come in here while I’m asleep.”

Kristi pats my arm. “Of course. I’ll make sure the other nurses know as well.”

I fully close my eyes, comforted by her assurance. Just because Kingston didn’t physically assault me, doesn’t mean he wasn’t behind it. Maybe I’ll feel differently once I’m clearheaded, but right now, every person I’ve met since my mom died is a suspect.

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

 

KINGSTON

I’m livid as I make my way to the waiting room. Bentley, Reed, and my sister are all sitting in chairs, waiting for an update, but I have other matters to address first. Bentley stands when he sees me approach and braces himself, likely from my obvious rage.

I grab a fistful of his shirt and slam him back into the wall. “Why the fuck did you leave her? This would’ve never happened if you did what I told you to do!”

His nostrils flare. “Fuck you, man. This shit isn’t my fault.”

“The hell it’s not!”

Reed pulls me off Bent. “Calm the hell down before you get us all kicked out of here.”

I start pacing the small room, trying to murder Bentley with my eyes.

My sister tugs on my arm. “Kingston, sit down and tell us what happened. Is she awake yet?”

I take the farthest seat away from the target of my ire. “Yes, she’s awake. And she kicked me out of her room.”

Ainsley’s eyebrows draw together. “Why would she do that?”

“Because she thinks I had something to do with her assault. Can you believe that shit? What in the actual fuck? If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s that asshole’s. He’s the one who left her vulnerable to whoever attacked her.” I fling my arm in Bentley’s direction.

He flips me off. “Fuck you. You told me you were right behind me. How was I supposed to know you got delayed when you didn’t share that information with me?”

“I told you to stay with her until I got there! You didn’t think it was odd that you didn’t run into me until you were almost back to the house? It was a twenty-minute walk, you ass.”

He grits his teeth. “I thought maybe you took the other path. And again, if you would’ve told me you were held up, I wouldn’t have left.”

“I shouldn’t have had to. You should’ve never left her side.”

Bentley jumps out of his chair. "Well, excuse-fucking-me for not wanting to stick around and see the hearts in her eyes when you showed up!"

Reed gets out of his chair at the same time I do and holds his arms out to both sides. “Seriously, guys, you’re drawing attention. Sit the fuck down.”

I'm too wired to sit, so I resume my pacing. "So, you left her alone in the woods in the middle of the night because you can't handle being second best? Are you seriously telling me your ego is the reason this happened?"

“You’re the idiot who thought it’d be a good idea to drag her out there in the first place!” he counters.

“That’s where the boat was docked!”

He rolls his eyes. “I still don’t understand why you wanted to take it out in the middle of the night.”

“I’ve already explained this. I wanted privacy.”

“Yeah, well, you succeeded,” Bentley scoffs. “My question is, why the fuck couldn’t you just do the whole cake and champagne thing inside the big empty cabin?”

I slam my fist into the wall, hissing from the pain. Like I haven’t asked myself that question a thousand times over the last few hours.

“Kingston, stop it!” Ainsley grabs my clenched fist, examining it.

I drop back into a chair, clutching my hand. Reed sits right next to me, likely to restrain me if I try beating Bentley’s face in.

“I’ll go find some ice,” Ainsley offers.

I take a few moments to breathe, willing the images out of my head. I don’t scare easily, but finding Jazz like that...so bloody and beaten, was terrifying. I thought she was dead. I had a brief moment of relief when I felt her shallow breaths, but when I really took in her appearance, realizing she may have been raped on top of everything else, I damn near lost my shit. If I wasn’t so busy trying to stop her from bleeding out, I would’ve raised hell.

When we first arrived at the hospital, a nurse informed me they wouldn't perform a sexual assault exam without the patient's consent because it's a fairly invasive process. So, we've been waiting until Jazz was coherent enough to tell us what happened. Not knowing what went down...whether or not someone violated her like that...it's killing me.

I hang my head, feeling dejected. “You didn’t see her, man. She’s black and blue with little scratches all over her body. Her arm is in a splint, her eye is half swollen shut. Even worse...when I found her...whatever sick fuck did that to her may have done even more damage that I couldn’t see.”

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