Las Vegas Sidewinders: Karl (Book 3) (27 page)

There had been no word
from the doctors since they’d rushed Karl in, but he’d stopped breathing in the
ambulance. Though the paramedics had been able to get him started again, Kate
could still remember how it felt as his grip on her hand loosened and his eyes
closed while he was looking at her. It had been the scariest moment of her
life, and she’d been so afraid she was going to lose him.

When her phone rang,
she saw Dante’s name on the screen and decided it was better to update him. She
answered with a heavy sigh, “Hey, Dante.”

“Kate.” His voice was
so subdued it wasn’t natural.

“What’s wrong?” Even
with her concern for Karl, she knew that something was terribly wrong with
Dante; she’d never heard his voice sound like that before.

“Trey.” His voice
caught.

Was Dante crying?! Kate
got up and moved away from the others. “What’s happened?! What’s wrong with
Trey?”

“He’s gone, Kate.”
Dante broke down, a sob tearing through his chest.

“Gone?! What do you
mean?!” She sank into a chair. “Dante, what happened?”

“Larissa too…” He took
a deep, shuddery breath. “Kate, Therese killed them. She killed my homeboy—the
only family I got left—and my baby boy!”

“They’re
dead
?!”
Kate fought tears of her own as she rested her forehead in the hand not holding
the phone.

“She stabbed them.” He coughed.
“She stabbed Larissa twice and Trey 11 fucking times.
Eleven times
.”

“Oh, no, no, no.” Kate
was crying now and felt Erin’s arms close around her.

“Can you come to
Philly?”

“I can’t!” she cried. “Karl
is…” She burst into tears and handed the phone to Erin.

“Dante, it’s Erin.”
Erin stood up and walked down the hall to talk to him as Molly hugged Kate.

“Who are these awful
people?!” Kate sobbed. “Who does this shit?”

“What happened?” Molly
asked softly.

Kate told them what she
knew, unable to believe that sweet, gentle Trey was gone forever.

“Mrs.
Martensson
?” A doctor appeared, looking around the room.

“Yes!” Kate shot to her
feet, her eyes wide. “Is he okay? Can I see him?”

“He’s sleeping, but
yes, I think he’s going to be fine. He was given a large dose of a strong
sedative, which is why he stopped breathing in the ambulance, but we’ve
stabilized him and after a good sleep, I think he’s going to be okay.”

“Oh, thank God.” Kate
burst into tears all over again and this time it was Drake who wrapped his arms
around her.

“You’re welcome to sit
with him,” the doctor said kindly. “But I don’t think he’ll awaken before
morning.”

“You should go home and
shower, change,” Drake said lightly. “Then you can come back and spend the
night so you’re with him when he wakes up.”

“Will someone stay with
him until I get back?” She looked around.

“I will.” Emilie spoke
for the first time since they’d arrived. “I’d like to sit with him.”

“I’ll stay too,”
Viggo
said, sliding an arm around her waist.

“Police are here,”
Toli
said, coming up to them. “There will be many
statements. My lawyer is coming.”

“Should I hire
someone?” Kate whispered. “I need to call my father!”

“My lawyer will handle
anything immediate, but maybe you should have someone to represent Karl’s
interests, just in case.”

Kate took a breath.
“Thank you—all of you. For being there, for being here. For everything.”

“We’re a family,” Drake
said quietly, kissing the top of her head. “Just like you were there earlier
this year for us.”

“We were not
there
,”
Toli
said with a grimace. “But we are here. Always.”

“I need someone to
drive me home,” Kate said finally.

“I’ve got you.” Drake
dug out his keys and looked up as his wife approached them.

“Dante is distraught,”
she said softly. “Trey died in surgery early this morning, Larissa and the baby
were dead by the time the police got there, and his life is about to explode.
Can you get Lana on this? He’s going to need support.”

“Yes, of course.” Kate
nodded. “I need to make sure Karl wakes up, and talk to him, and then I can go
to Philly.” She was talking a mile a minute now, stress and adrenaline making
her walk faster. “I need to call Lana and my dad and—”

“You need to eat
something and take a shower.” Erin took her phone away from her. “I’ll call
Lana—she knows me and she’ll know what to do once I tell her what’s happened.
After you shower, I’ll make you something to eat and then you’ll call your dad.
Do you understand?”

Kate stopped and
swallowed hard. “Yes. Okay.”

They walked out
together.

Kate arrived back at
the hospital several hours later, and
Viggo
and
Emilie got up to leave after they assured her Karl was resting comfortably. As
they walked through the quiet hospital corridor,
Viggo
took Emilie’s hand and squeezed it, refusing to let go when she tried to pull
away. She looked up at him curiously.

“Have you really loved
me since you were 15?” he asked, his light eyes finding hers.

She flushed. “Yes. I’m
sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” He
paused, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against him. “You’re
the most beautiful woman I know—I don’t deserve your love.”

She touched his face.
“I know you don’t love me but—”

“But I do,” he said
softly. “Don’t you understand? I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you.
But I can’t give you what you need, what you deserve. I don’t think I could be
faithful, and I know that would destroy you.”

“You love me too?” Her
eyes were wide and confused. “I don’t understand.”

“I love you, but I’m
not the kind of guy who’ll settle down, with babies and a dog and a little
house in the suburbs. I, I just, I just don’t know if I’ll ever stop having sex
with men.” He swallowed. “And not only would it be disrespectful, it could be
dangerous. I use condoms, without fail, but they break. Shit happens. And
that’s simply not a risk I would take with my wife, my life partner, the mother
of my children. Absolutely not.”

She lowered her eyes,
sadness filling her as she realized that
Viggo
would
never be hers, no matter what feelings they shared. Finally, she looked up at
him again. “Then you owe me one night.”

“What?” He frowned,
taken by surprise.

“I’ve loved you my
whole life, and the one time I got to make love with you I had to share you
with someone else. I deserve one night, just you and me. One night where I get
to make love with the only man I’ve ever loved. One night where it’s just us.
And one time, when you’re buried deep inside me, when you tell me you love me.”

The tension between
them was palpable, and he licked his lips. “This will only make it harder,
Em
.”

“That’s my choice. I’m
going away to school, and you’re going to stay here to try to make the team.
I’m telling you what I need in order to let you go, and you owe me after
setting me up in that threesome.”

He reached out to grip
the back of her head and pulled her mouth to his, kissing her with the passion
he’d been holding back for a decade. His tongue found hers without hesitation
and she moved into his arms naturally. They kissed until a deep moan left her
throat; reluctantly, he pulled away.

“I happen to have an
apartment I can take you to,” he said roughly, staring deep into her eyes. “Are
you sure about this,
Em
?”

“Yes.” She nodded.
“Very sure.”

Kate slept in the chair
next to Karl’s bed, though she woke often, checking to make sure he was still
breathing. His handsome face was relaxed, and he seemed to be comfortable. He
looked just like he looked when they were at home, in bed together, except for
the tubes and wires hooked up to him. She desperately wanted to crawl into the
bed with him and feel his body against hers, but she didn’t dare. She would
wait until they got home, and then she would never leave his side again. She
was going to give up her apartment in New York and move here permanently. Lana
could run the business in New York and she could stay with Dante when she had
to be with him in Philadelphia. She would figure out the rest. Karl was her
priority from now on.

“Kate?” His hoarse
voice startled her awake and she sat up straight, looking around wildly.

“It’s okay, baby.” He
reached out a hand. “I’m fine.”

“Karl!” Her voice was a
choked whisper and she threw herself onto the bed with him, oblivious to the
wires and IV.

“Easy,” he smiled against
her hair. “I’m okay. I’m right here.”

Her tears soaked his
hospital gown and she held on for dear life, clutching him desperately. “I was
so scared! I couldn’t get to you in time to stop her and I ran and then I hit
her and—”

“You hit her?” His eyes
twinkled as he held her slightly away from him. He reached for her hands and
stared in disbelief at the cuts and bruises on her knuckles. “You did this on
her?”

Kate looked down in
surprise; she hadn’t even noticed. “Yeah, I guess so. I don’t know what I was
thinking—I haven’t been in a fist fight since 7
^th
grade. Her name
was Janet
Oliveri
. She called me a whale and I decked
her.”

“You’re the bravest
woman I know.” He chuckled as he kissed her lightly and stroked her bruised
hands. “You saved me.”

“I was almost too
late,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “I almost lost you!”

“But I’m here. Right
where I’ve always been.” He touched her face.

“I’m so sorry I left,
sorry about everything! I love you so much, I can’t believe this happened!”

“I love you too, and
all is forgiven. We’re both here, safe and sound, and now we get the chance to
start over.” He looked down at his hand. “Dammit, she threw away my wedding
ring!”

“The guys are on it,”
she smiled. “Emilie told us what happened so the guys are going back to the
arena today and are going to search until they find it. Becca said she and the
sales guys will help too.”

“That’s great. We have
good friends.”

“Yes.” She rested her
cheek against his. “I missed you so much.”

“Me, too, baby.”

“Therese is in jail. I
had to talk to the cops last night, but I guess there isn’t much to say because
the whole thing was on film. That creepy friend of Therese’s started talking
right away, and told them everything.”

“Thank God. Crazy
fucking bitch.”

“Emilie called your
mom, who made some phone calls around your hometown.” Kate hesitated. “No one
remembers anything about Therese ever being sent away or about her being
pregnant when you left. However, a couple of years later, supposedly she did
get pregnant.”

He frowned. “By who?”

“
Viggo
.”

His mouth opened.
“Seriously?”

“That’s when she found
out he was bisexual. She’d told him they needed to get married and he refused.
She had an abortion, but apparently she never got over it.”

“
Fuck
.”

“That seems to be when
she started to come unhinged. She told her stepmother she was going to make
both of you pay, but by that time you were in the U.S. and
Viggo
was in the SHL—she didn’t think Therese was serious.”

“So that whole thing
she told me was completely made up?”

Kate shrugged. “We
don’t know for sure, but it seems that way. Instead of going after
Viggo
, she turned her anger to you.”

Karl took a breath.
“Wow. I don’t even know what to say.”

“I guess your mom has
all the details, but that’s what we found out.”

“To be honest, I don’t
even care about the details,” he said, reaching for her hand. “I only care
about you.”

“There’s more.” She
told him about Trey and Larissa and watched him try to process the information.

“I just don’t understand,”
he said. “What the hell happened to her?”

“They’ve ordered a
psych evaluation and all kinds of stuff—I kind of stopped paying attention. I
don’t care what they do to her, as long as she’s gone.”

“You can say that again.”
He rubbed her palm with the pad of his thumb. “You doing okay, baby?”

She met his eyes. “I’m
giving up my apartment in New York.”

“What? Listen, you
don’t have to do that. We don’t know if I’m staying in Vegas. Isn’t your
apartment rent controlled? I’ll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of
this season, and if they don’t give me the starting position and a lot more
money, I’m out of here. I know the Islanders have expressed interest in the
past, as well as Washington. It might be useful to keep the apartment.”

She made a face. “I
don’t want to be away from you anymore.”

“I’ll be on the road
half the season. Yes, you’ll be here with Erin, but you have clients and a very
successful business. You’re not giving that up because we’ve gone through a hard
time. Let’s get through the rest of the summer before we make any decisions
like that, okay?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” He kissed her.

Dante didn’t say much
when they cremated Larissa and the baby. Karl, Kate and Emilie stayed at his
side as he dealt with the loss of his fiancée, unborn child and best friend. He
grieved privately, although he appreciated the support, and a week later they
laid Trey to rest in Miami. Many of Dante’s past and present teammates
attended, and afterwards Dante spread his friend’s ashes on one of the beaches
in South Beach—Trey’s favorite playground. It had been a long, sad week,
dealing with funeral homes, lawyers, police
reports
and now a celebration commemorating Trey’s life.

“We should do something
fun tonight,” Dante said as they got back in the limo, leaving the beach. “
Trey
wouldn’t want all this sadness. That’s not who he
was.”

“We should go somewhere
he liked,” Kate said quietly, her fingers resting on Dante’s arm.

“There’s a great
restaurant not far from here,” Dante said. “One of Trey’s favorites. I called a
few of his friends and they said they’ll meet us there if you’re down for
that?”

“Whatever you need,”
Kate said, nodding. “We’re here for you.”

“Thank you. I
appreciate this.” He stared out the window moodily.

“It’s not your fault,”
Kate said gently. “You’re not responsible for Therese being crazy and Larissa
betraying you.”

“I’m responsible for
Larissa being in our home. It was his home too—he gave up his whole life to run
mine. And he died for it.”

“He died because they
were nuts.” Kate squeezed his arm. “He wouldn’t want you to be unhappy on his
behalf. He loved you like a brother. His only concerns in life were 20-year-old
blond boys and you.”

“I know.” Dante
swallowed. “And he died for me.”

“He died because he ran
into bad people.”

“I brought her into our
home and she brought Therese!” Dante grunted in frustration.

“But he loved you,”
Emilie said gently, linking her fingers with his. “I only knew him for a couple
of days, but his eyes lit up when he talked about you. He knew Larissa wasn’t
trustworthy and that was partly why he stayed—so he could protect you from her.
Don’t disrespect that love by letting guilt destroy you.”

He looked down at her
in surprise. “Thank you for that. Yes, I know he loved me, and I loved him too.
Which is why I’m going to miss him so damn much.”

“But I’ll be there with
you now, and we’ll get through this. I know I’m not him, but I can be your
friend too.”

“You already are,
querida
.” He smiled down at her, already fond of the
quiet, introverted blonde who seemed to be harboring many secrets of her own.

“So you’ve decided on
the Art Institute in Philly?” Kate asked.

“Yes. They have a
wonderful program and I’ve already started the process of getting my records
from Sweden.” Emilie was genuinely excited about her future and they smiled
indulgently as she talked about the program and her plans to design clothes. It
was the perfect distraction from the misery of the past few days.

The evening was fun, talking
about Trey and listening to his closest friends tell stories from their youth.
Dante was quieter than usual, smiling and nodding, but not joining in much;
Emilie stayed close to him, holding his hand. It didn’t appear to be a romantic
connection; they both seemed to need a friend right now. Kate wondered if
something had happened with
Viggo
, but Emilie had
shrugged it off, saying they were good friends and nothing more.

“Are you ready to
play?” Kate asked Dante as the evening wound down.

“Yes.” He nodded
slowly. “I have no choice. Trey wouldn’t have wanted me to stop
playing—baseball was our life. Now it’s all I have left.”

“You have us,” Kate
reminded him. “Somehow, we’re all going to move past this and the future will
be better.”

“I hope so,” Dante
murmured. “I really hope so.”

Later, lying in bed at
the hotel, Kate curled into Karl’s arms and wrapped her body around his. She’d
slept draped across him every night since he’d gotten out of the hospital and
though he didn’t sleep very well that way, he indulged her because she couldn’t
seem to be away from him at all. He understood and was happy to have her close,
but he needed some time away and he wasn’t sure how to broach the subject.

“Kate?”

“Hmm?” She was
half-asleep, and she moved lazily.

“I need to take a trip
to Connecticut.”

“What?” Her eyes opened
and she blinked awake. “What’s in Connecticut?”

“My father.” He
coughed. “I mean, my biological father. He’s going to be there day after
tomorrow, at the ESPN studios. My agent can get me in for an interview at the
same time, so I can essentially run into him.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “Of
course. I have to be in Philly with Dante for a few more days. His first couple
of games back might be a media storm, so I can’t leave him.”

“No, you can’t.” He
stroked her back. “Are you okay with us being apart for a few days?”

She smiled. “Yeah. I
know I’ve been really clingy, but I’m okay. I was just so scared I was going to
lose you. I’m having a hard time letting go.”

“I’m not going
anywhere.” His lips found hers, his tongue swirling along her mouth as she
opened for him. Damn, she was still the sexiest woman he’d ever known and he
felt himself getting hard against her. “I need you,” he murmured, flipping her
onto her back.

“I will always need
you,” she breathed, smiling.