Accepting Destiny (22 page)

“Are you kidding me?
You’ve been through hell, Al, and I can’t help feeling partially responsible. I pushed you and Jackson together and then the shit hit the fan. I’m the one who is sorry.”

“What? No Heather! I mean yes, you pushed us together
, but you had nothing to do with this shit with Madison. No one could have predicted that, this is not your fault. And, I’m afraid it’s not over either.”

“What do you mean? Madison was arrested, she confessed. What else is there?”

“Well, as you know she showed up at the hospital today.”

“I know, but how?”

“Not sure, but we had an.....altercation in the hallway. Chase showed up in the middle of it and arrested her again after she threatened me and.....” I choke out another sob.

“Shhhh, it’s okay Al. You’ll get through this. If she’s been arrested again, then she’ll face a trial now
, right? Won’t that revoke her bail and overturn her plea bargain?”

“I don’t kn
ow. That’s a question for Chase,” I shake my head. “I can’t think about this anymore, I need to get some rest and a shower before I go back to the hospital. Thanks for cleaning up and bringing me home,” I stand as a sign that I’m ready for her to leave. “Shit.”

“What is it?” Heather stands.

“My bed. Last I remember there was a big gash down the middle of the mattress. Guess I’ll be napping on the sofa.”

“Come here,
” Heather grabs my hand and tugs me towards the bedroom. The bed is made and the room is clean. “Chase and I shoved what we could back in and flipped it over. You should be good until your insurance payment gets here and you can replace it.”

“You thought of everything Heather. Thank you. Now I can slee
p in my own bed,” I say, as I turn back towards the living room.

“You sure you want me to go? I can stay here while you take a nap if you like.”

“No no, I’ve taken up enough of your time. You go, do what you have to do. I’ll check in with you later.” And I walk her to the door. “Thank you, Heather. You are such a good friend and I don’t know what I would be doing now without you.” And yes, I hug her again.

“You call or text me if you
need anything, okay? Promise?”

“I promise.”

Chapter 22

I wake up from my nap to a pounding on the door. I open my eyes and look around the room and it’s dark. Shit, I slept for too long. I roll out of bed and make my way to the door, peering through the peep hole to see Chase standing there.

Yanking the door open, I glare at him. “What? What’s happened?”

“Nothing, Al. Jackson called me when you didn’t come back to the hospital. Are you okay?” He asks while scanning my body to make sure I’m all in one piece.

“Yeah, I’m fine. What time is it?” I ask
, while yawning.

“Nine Thirty. Jackson said you were coming back and after what happened at the hospital today, he asked me to check on you.”

“You could have called you know?”

“I did, but you didn’t answer your phone.”

I walk to my bag and Chase closes the door behind him, as I reach in and dig it out. “It’s dead. Guess I should have plugged it in before I lay down. I’m sorry I worried you guys.”

“How is he?” I ask Chase
, as I plug my phone in.

“Ornery as ever. Doctor had to sedate him when he couldn’t reach you because his heart rate shot up. You r
eally have him by the balls, Al,” he smiles, and I feel like shit.

“Is it too late to call him?” I ask
, as I grab the land line and the phone book.

“If he’s awake, I’d say you’d better call him. He’s not going to rest until he knows you’re okay.”

I dial the phone and wait for someone to answer, which thankfully doesn’t take long.

“Jackson Bentley’s room
, please.”

Then silence.

“Hello?” A female voice answers and I cringe, but realize its Dani.

“Hey Dani, its Ally. Is Jackson awake?”

“Oh thank God, yes he is. Hang on a second.”

“Alexandra? Are you okay?” Jackson’s gravelly voice comes across the line.

“Yeah, Chase is here. I’m sorry, I fell asleep and forgot to plug my phone in. What about you? Are you feeling all right?”

“I am now, you scared me to death. I thought you were coming back and when you didn’t......”

“Relax, Jackson. I’m fine, please don’t worry about me. You need to concentrate on getting better and out of there. I’ll be there first thing in the morning. I love you, now go get some rest.”

“I love you too Alexandra. Thanks for calling and thank Chase for me
, for checking on you. Set the alarm and don’t let anyone in.”

“I will, and I won’t. Sleep tight baby.” I don’t remind him
, that I don’t have an alarm, because I don’t want him worrying.

“I’m heading out, Al. You call me if you need anything okay?” Chase says as he pulls a slip of paper out of his jacket pocket. “Here is the alarm password. You set it as soon as I leave and don’t turn it off, not for anyone. Got it?”

“Got it. Good night Chase.”

Damn him, even in the hospital he’s protecting me. How does he do that? I shake my head in denial and punch in the code, listening to the beeping sound as it sets. I head back to my r
oom, intent on crawling back into bed, but I toss and turn but just can’t get comfortable.

At three a.m., I’m up
, bright eyed and bushy tailed. I take a hot shower and get ready to go as soon as the sun comes up. I fill my gullet with about four cups of coffee, because I don’t have anything better to do. I don’t turn on the TV, cause I don’t want to see what bad news is going on in the world, but I do decide to check my email. Thankfully nothing important there either. Just a few from Tim, keeping me up to date on the Perimeter Project, that I had to hand back over to him, until I get back to work.

Eight o’clock rolls around and I grab my keys to head to the hospital and stop. I realize I don’t even know where my car is. Last I knew it was still parked on the street at Jackson’s condo. Great, now I have no way to get to the hospital. I think about calling Heather
, but she’s probably getting ready for work, or already left. I flop on the sofa and think about calling a cab, when someone knocks at the door.

“I thought this was a gated community. How do people keep getting in here without me knowing about it?” I say to myself
, as I go to the door. Thinking its Heather, I open the door only to see Chase standing there, and then the loud honking of the alarm that I forgot was set.

“Punch in the code, Ally!” Chase screams over the obnoxious whaling of the siren. “You’re gonna wake the whole building!” He says
, as he steps in and pushes the code in. “Well, at least we know it works,” he says, as the sirens stop.

“Shi
t, I forgot all about the alarm,” I say, as I stand frozen in my shoes, my heart beating frantically out of my chest.

“You’ll get used it to it,” h
e shrugs his shoulders. “I figured you wanted to go to the hospital and your car is still at Jackson’s. I’ll run you over there to get it, and then you can head over.”

“Wow, you guys think of everything. I was just sitting here trying to figure out where my car is
, and how I was going to get to the hospital.”

“Well, no need to worry anymore, let’s go.”

I follow Chase out to the car and realize, he’s in his unmarked car. “They let you drive this home every night?” I ask,

“No, I’m just getting off duty. I had graveyard last night, so I’ll drop it off at the station after you get your car. Then I am headed home for some much needed sleep.”

“Good, you look like you need it,” I chuckle, and nudge him on the shoulder.

“Thanks, I think. You look good, well rested I assume?”

“Yeah, it was great to be back in my own bed for a change. After the break in, I was at Jackson’s, then the beach and then the hospital. Feels like forever since I had a good night sleep.”

“Well, it looks good on you.” He smiles at me.

“What happened with Madison yesterday?”

He takes a deep breath while turning on to the highway. “She’s still in lockup. Her slime ball attorney won’t even visit with her. Looks like she may be on her
own with this one. She faces a judge this morning. I expect he’ll revoke her bail and keep her in lock up until she can get a new lawyer. She fucked up for sure, in more ways than one.”

“Is the hearing open to the public?” I ask.

“Probably not, this one is in judge’s chambers rather than the courtroom. Why?”

“I was going to go by there and....awe hell, who knows? I just kind of wanted to be there, to argue my side if I needed to.”

“Not this hearing, judge just goes over the facts and decides if he will lock her up, or let her go. It may even be delayed until she can find someone to represent her. Gonna be hard for her after yesterday, but, she made her bed and she can damn well lay in it as far as I’m concerned.”

I nod in agreement, but don’t say anything. The rest of the trip is quick and quiet, the majority of traffic cleared this late in the morning.

I finally get to the hospital and make my way to Jackson’s room. As I step in, I realize he’s not there. Panic sets in and I fly out to the nurse’s station to see Dani in the waiting area.

“What’s going on? Where’s Jackson?” I ask Dani.

“They just took him down for a CT scan.”

“Why, is something wrong?” I can feel the anxiety rising in my throat.

“No, just routine. He’ll probably have several before he’s released. How are you doing? You look well rested,” she says.

“Yeah, it was nice to finally sleep in my own bed, though I was up really early and couldn’t get back to sleep. How long do you think he’ll be down there?”

Before she could answer, the elevator doors opened and Jackson is wheeled out by an orderly. He looks up at me and his eyes light up, warming me. “Hey you!”

“Hey! How are you feeling?” He asks me, even though he’s the one in the hospital.

“I’m good, better now that I’ve seen you Mr. Bentley,” I say, as I lean in for a kiss.

“Mmmm, me too Miss Sanders.”

I follow him back to his room and the orderly gets him back in bed. I sit down next to him and we stare at each other in silence for a bit.

“Chase says Madison is still in lockup, and her attorney won’t speak with her. Appears she’s g
ot herself in a bit of a pickle,” I tell him, though now might not be the right time. I feel him tense up and I squeeze his hand, hoping to relax him some. “Its okay, her bail was revoked and she has to face a judge, but only once she gets a new lawyer. I guess they may have to appoint her one, if no one will agree to defend her.”

“Well, at least she’s out of our hair for the time being.”

As he mentions hair, I realize the bandage has been removed from his head. I touch his hair, “When did this come off?”

He places his hand on mine, stroking my fingers. “This morning. They took it off for the CT scan. I hope they leave it off,
because it was starting to itch,” he chuckles, and I am so glad to hear his sense of humor coming back.

The doctor comes in a few minutes later and I stand to excuse myself
, so they can speak privately. “You can stay Ally, anything the doctor has to say, you can hear.”

“No, I think you need privacy with your doctor. I’ll be right outside.” And I kiss him on the head, or I try to anyway. He grabs my head and pulls me to his lips, pressing against mine and sweeping his tongue across my upper lip. I duck my head in embarrassment, because the doctor is standing right there, but he just smiles
, as I leave the room.

I step outside and then sink to the floor, right at his door. I try to listen in on their conversation, but I can’t hear anything. It isn’t long before the doctor comes out and heads towards the nurses station, then leaves. I wait a few minutes and peel myself off the floor
, before going back in the room.

Jackson is sitting up and flipping through the channels on the television, a more relaxed look on his face. “Well, how did it go?” I ask him.

“If you’d stayed in here like I wanted you to, you’d already know,” he growls at me, but smirks at the same time.

I resist the urge to smack him on the shoulder, but the stink eye I give him seems to work. “That was personal between you and your doctor, Jack. I di
dn’t need to be here for that, but now, tell me what he said,” I say, with that innocent look in my eyes.

“He said the CT scan is clear, no permanent damage and all of the swelling is gone. He said it’s a miracle I came out of thi
s with no long lasting issues, but he still has one more test to review. He said he’ll be back after he has reviewed the results.”

I exhale a deep breath.
“Thank God. Though, I could have told you that by the way you’re acting already.”

“Really, and how is that?”

“Bossy, arrogant and totally adorable,” I tell him, as I slide my body into the bed beside him. I realize that there isn’t room for us both, but he scoots to the side as far as he can go and I manage to situate myself.

“Adorable huh? Not sure I’ve ever been called adorable before. Bossy and a
rrogant yes, but never adorable,” he says, as he pulls me in to his arms, pressing his lips to my head. “You know I love you, right?”

I nod my head, because I’m comfy and the fact that he really loves me takes my voice from me. I snuggle in closer
and my fingers find the hem of his hospital gown, that even Jackson makes sexy.

I find my fingers wrapping around his cock on their own accord. I know I shouldn’t be feeling him up right here in the hospital bed, but I can’t seem to stop it. He starts to harden under my fingers and then he reaches down and moves my hand. I let out a little whimper because I was having fun. I look up at him and his emerald green eyes are smoldering. “Why did you make me stop?” I say
, as I poke my bottom lip out.

He leans down
and runs his tongue along my lip as his hand roams under my blouse. “Oh wait, I have to stop but you get to feel me up? Nuh uh, mister. If you can do it, so can I,” As I stroke his cock once again, feeling the soft skin stretch tight as it comes to life.

He tugs my bra down, exposing my nipple and he pinches and rolls it between his fingers. His eyes are on mine and I have to fight to keep them open. As his hand continues to fondle me, his other slides over my waist and he struggles with one hand to undo the button on my jeans. I’m not taking my hand off of his cock, so he’s on his own. If he wants in there bad enough, he’ll figure it out.

As he finally manages to undo my pants and the zipper, I squeeze him more firmly, stroking up and down. As his fingers find their way in to my panties and he dips one finger in and I hear him groan low in his throat. I wish I could just roll him over on to his back and climb on, but we are in a hospital and I can’t imagine what the nurse would say if she walked in during our little interlude.

I sit up and grab the blanket at the foot of the bed
, deciding that we need a little privacy. I pull the blanket all the way up, so it covers us entirely. The blanket mutes the light in the room adding what little ambience we can. He turns his body a little towards me, which gives him better access to the heat between my thighs.