But the dam had broken and behind it was the boy who’d lost his brother. A boy who was reminded day after day that it was his fault for not protecting him. That it was his fault his mother had died and the family was ruined.
Memories buzzed like wasps around me. Reminding me. Hunting me.
I inhaled a ragged breath and turned to face Crisis. “I have to go.”
“Whoa. Kite.” He grabbed my arm. “Where? Haven is on her way. And I called Logan. He and Emily will be here soon with Ream and Kat.”
Fuck, I couldn’t breathe. My chest was tight and my head felt as if it was going to combust. I had to get out of here before the anger boiled over.
“Text me when you know something.”
“Jesus Christ. You’re leaving? You just blurted out that she’s the first fuckin’ chick you stuck your cock in and you’re leaving? What the hell, man?”
The hospital doors hissed as they opened. The second the air hit me, I inhaled deep lungfuls of air.
I was being pulled away from Emmitt’s body.
Cold, wet, and alone. The river raging like I was. My father stood on the bank glaring at me. The hatred in his eyes. Hatred I’d been subjected to for years until I got out. And I got out because of Savvy. Saving her at the raid had ended up saving me.
He hurt Savvy. He fuckin’ hurt her.
It was the crack in the pink pot. It burst wide open and was spilling out onto the ground.
“Kite, where the fuck are you going?” Crisis shouted. “Kite!”
I strode across the parking lot to the street and hailed a cab.
I woke to the sound of beeping and tried to sit up, but the second I did, agony shot through my ribs.
“Savvy? Thank God.”
I blinked, attempting to focus, but everything was blurry. “Mars?” A warm hand lay on my forearm and gently squeezed. “Where am…?” I sucked in air as the memory came back like a movie reel on fast forward. Killian’s father. His hatred for Killian. My mother.
“You have a concussion and broken ribs, but you’re going to be fine,” Mars was saying.
“Killian?” God, where was he? He’d been on his way to my place.
“I don’t know where he is.”
I groaned, sitting up, and the beeping accelerated on the machine. “What do you mean?”
“Luke came by the hospital to check on you and told us he and Kite found you on the floor in your bedroom. Kite rode in the ambulance with you, but Crisis said he left as soon as they took you in.”
“No.” My heart raced. This was exactly what his father wanted. He’d be ready. Killian would be arrested if he went after him. “No. I have to find him.” I yanked on the intravenous in my arm, and Mars stood, her hands locking my arms at my sides.
“Savvy. Stop. You can’t do anything. And you need to rest. Killian can look after himself.”
“I have to go. I have to get out of here” I winced when I tried to push her hands off me, but my ribs objected. “I need to talk to him, damn it. Luke. Where’s Luke?”
“I don’t know. Maybe looking for Kite? Savvy, you need to lie back and settle down.”
I couldn’t. He’d been worried about his father. That was why he’d put his security on me. All his father cared about was his reputation. How he appeared to everyone else. He was the complete opposite of Killian. God, Killian wasn’t his real son. It was why he never cared about him. Killian was a constant reminder of his wife’s cheating. Her wanting to leave him.
“Mars, can you get me Logan’s number?” He knew Killian. He knew about his fighting.
“I can do better. He’s out in the waiting room with everyone else. The nurses are fighting over who gets to work the nurses’ station in the waiting room.”
“They’re here?”
She nodded. “Yeah. All night.”
“All night? How long have I been unconscious?”
“You were brought in around two-thirty. It’s nine now.”
Which meant Killian had been gone for six and a half hours. “I need to talk to Logan.”
“Okay, but you’re really not supposed to have visitors. I lied and said I was your sister. But Logan—”
“Is my brother.”
She nodded. “Okay.” But before she let me go, she pursed her lips together. “You promise to stay in bed?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Okay,” she said, then left to go get Logan. It was only a minute later that he strode in. I doubted the nurses believed he was my brother, but suspected they’d pretty much say yes to anything he wanted. As he approached, he wore a fierce scowl and his body was tense.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
He stood beside the bed, and if I didn’t think Logan was intimidating before, he certainly was now towering over me while I was hooked to machines and in a flimsy, backless hospital gown.
“Good,” I replied. His scowl deepened. “It hurts, but I’m fine. It was Killian’s father. He was waiting for me at my apartment. He must have known you guys went out of town and I’d be there. He wants Killian to go after him. You have to stop him from—”
He huffed. “That won’t happen.”
“But—”
“That won’t happen,” he repeated.
“But—”
“Savvy. Kite won’t go after him. Okay?”
My heart pounded and the machine beeped frantically. “How do you know that?”
“Because I know Kite. He’s fuckin’ pissed as hell right now, and I’m betting his knuckles are taking a beating, but it’s not because he’s gone after his dad, even though he deserves it.” Logan sat on the edge of the bed. “Kite won’t because of Emmitt.”
“You know about Emmitt?”