Machines beeped and the smell of alcohol made my nose burn. I thought I’d wake up to a fucking nightmare, but instead Ryan Griffin sat across a hospital room with a glum look on his face. I jerked up and the machines went on alert. Ryan rushed over and pushed me back down on the bed, but I grabbed his shirt, pulling him to me.
“Calm down, you idiot or they’ll pump you full of sedatives.”
“Where’s Aylee?”
Huffing, he jerked his shirt away from me and backed up. “We don’t know. The car she was taken in was found in a parking lot just down the road. It was one of Drake’s.”
“Does she have her gun?”
“No, it was found in your car.”
“Fuck!” I tried to run my hands through my hair, but couldn’t because there was a bandage and a zing of excruciating pain when I touched the back of my head. “How long have I been out?”
He cleared his throat. “A little over a day.”
I felt like I’d been sucker punched in the gut. “A day? Do you have any fucking idea what she could be going through right now?”
Ryan sighed. “You have a concussion and we thought maybe a skull fracture but the x-ray came back fine. Thankfully, you have a hard head. I have everyone on my team trying to find her.”
My body shook with rage and the machines started to go on alert as I ripped the IV out of my arm. “Have you looked at the video cameras in the garage? There were two people. One attacked me and the other went after Aylee.”
Ryan sighed and helped me off the bed. “I knew you were going to be like this. Did you get a good look at them? We couldn’t see shit in the video.”
Pain exploded in my head when I shook it. I brought my hands up to hold my head still. “I didn’t get a good look at the person who attacked me, but I did see the one who hit Aylee. The body clearly wasn’t a man’s.”
“Are you saying it’s a woman? Who the fuck could it be?”
“I don’t know, but we’re about to find out.” My clothes were in a bag on the counter. Pulling them out, my shirt was covered in blood. Before I could put it on, the door burst open and a couple of nurses charged in.
“Mr. Avery, what are you doing?” one asked. She was a stout woman with short brown hair and a masculine build.
Baring my ass to the room, I ripped off the hospital gown and put on my jeans. “I’m getting out of here.”
“You have a concussion and we need to run more tests to make sure you’re all right. If I have to call security I will.”
I threw the bag in the trash and stalked toward her. The other nurse backed up but she stood firm. “You can call security, but nothing’s going to stop me. I’m the only one who can find my partner and I’ll be damned if I let you or anyone else stand in my way. You can run whatever fucking tests you want when she’s safe.”
Ryan pulled out his badge, showing it to her. “I’m Ryan Griffin, Chief of Police. You can let him go.”
The woman stepped aside and I rushed past, followed by Ryan. My whole body ached but I didn’t give a damn. I’d run a fucking marathon if I knew it would get Aylee back home and safe. “Where’s my phone?”
“It was smashed on the ground when we found you.”
“Goddammit,” I shouted, punching the elevator button. “Take me to the hotel. I can use my laptop. What about my gun?”
“It’s in my car.”
“Good, I’m going to need it.”
Pulling up to the front of the hotel, the valet attendants gave us a wide berth; especially me considering my shirt was covered in blood. I ran through the lobby straight to the elevators with Ryan on my heels.
“What if I’m too late?” I rushed into the elevator, pacing like a caged animal. “Fuck, how could I be so goddamned stupid?”