Chapter 140: We Will All Be Okay

I staggered back after a lackluster attempt to stop the attackers. I’d spent years training in tactical fighting with Matt. They thought it was fun to beat me up, and it took me a year to get the hang of it. I had nothing better to do sometimes, so we'd spend a few hours a day training. When I was out of town, I'd spar with other fighters, but I hadn't done any sparring since Amelia and Donald came into my life. I would have bet all my money that I wouldn't have had the skill, much less the opportunity, to protect the people I loved. I was so grateful that I did.

I fought hand-to-hand because I needed to that day. After I took down the fucker Mek, I ran into other guys, but I managed to hold them off until Matt and his men arrived. We worked well together; I’d trained with them for years, as if I were on their team. Lack came over and put a hand on my shoulder, essentially shaking me out of my shock.

“Fuck, man, I’m so glad you’re one of us because these guys came prepared. We should have been prepared,” he said, scanning the scene.

A few of them got a couple of body shots, but aside from hitting my head in the car, I hadn’t been hurt. I gave him a nod before rushing over to Donald. I was numb, but the sight of him passing out with a knife cut across his palm was alarming. I knew I had to keep it together, even though I wanted to fall apart. The medics were putting him on a stretcher. I searched for Amelia through the chaos, panic hitting me when I couldn’t find her. I tried to take a deep, measured breath, but the overwhelming reality of what had just happened started to crash down on me.

I called out, but it came out as a whisper. I couldn’t breathe; I dropped to one knee, and Lack rushed over to me.

“She’s in the ambulance with Donald. Come on,” he said, helping me to my feet. He guided me to the ambulance Donald was being loaded into, and I saw her sitting inside, uncontrollably shaking.

When she saw me, she broke down in tears, and I pushed past Lack and ran to her, climbing in and taking her in my arms. The ability to breathe finally returned. The medics had wrapped her in a blanket, but it was already soaked through with blood. I’m assuming Mathew did it; that fucker is going to pay. I don’t care who I have to pay off to make sure the full extent of the law comes down on him.

“It’s okay, baby,” I whispered into her hair, which was soaked in blood as well. She had been so strong, and I was so proud of her.

“We’ll all be okay,” I said, and Matt walked up to me.

“I’ll take care of everything here. I suggest we keep all this out of the office. I’ll make sure the news doesn’t get a hold of what happened, and the police records with your names on them will disappear. We’ll just say it was a car accident,” he said, keeping his cool, although I could tell he was extremely upset.

He was close to me and my family, and I knew he would beat himself up about not keeping us safe. He always called me stubborn; I never wanted any personal security. I didn’t feel like I had anything worth protecting. But now, I did.

“Thank you, Matt. I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t come so quickly,” I said to him. His eyes darted down to Amelia and then back to me. I read every emotion he was feeling in his eyes.

“You did everything you could. Don’t beat yourself up over my stubbornness,” I said softly. He nodded briefly, turning to leave before pausing and turning back.

“You did well, young pop,” he said, the corners of his mouth tipping up before he left.

I hated when he called me that. I’ve been training with them for seven years, and they still call me that. They closed the door, and we drove off. They gave Amelia and me oxygen and I.V. fluids. With the combination of smoke inhalation, head wounds, and blood loss, they needed it. They checked my head wound; it didn’t look serious. My phone was destroyed in the car, but I knew Matt would keep my family apprised. I didn’t want to tell them because they were planning a wedding for Grallin and his crew, and I didn’t want to dampen their morale. We would be okay for now.

The next few hours were a blur. They took Donald back to surgery while I stayed with Amelia as they stitched her up. She would have a scar, but otherwise, she would be okay. I could tell she was extremely depressed about it, but I stayed by her to comfort her. They gave us a private wing in the hospital with the highest level of privacy; everyone who worked on Donald and Amelia had signed a non-disclosure agreement. Donald was a celebrity after all, and Amelia is… our woman. Their right to privacy was extremely important. Matt provided new clothes and new phones that Jocelyn helped him program for us. I was the one who needed mine, but I made sure to call Donald’s family and told them he’d been in an accident. I was sending a plane to get them. His parents were a little surprised about me saying I was his boyfriend, but their concern for their son was all that really mattered.

It had been four hours since the accident, and Donald was still in surgery. I got hourly updates. They brought in the best surgeon money could buy to make sure he didn’t have any nerve damage in his arm or hand from the knife cutting straight through muscles and nerves. They said he should have ninety percent full function in his arm by the time he recovered. I hoped he would be okay. I sat in the chair finally, after talking to my sister and brother, who had just been told. I had to keep it to a minimum. I held Amelia’s hand while she slept. Matt had hinted that she couldn’t tell us. He’d shown me the text minutes before the attack.

Her keeping it from us told me that she wasn’t as secure in our relationship, and I needed to change that. I didn’t want her to leave; I couldn’t bear to lose her. All I had done was spoil her and shower her with affection, but she needed more. It was dark outside by the time the painkillers and overwhelming exhaustion wore off, and she woke up. She squeezed my hand, and I looked up at her.

“Hey, babe,” I said softly, standing and moving to sit on the edge of her bed. Fresh tears came to her eyes as she watched me. I laid down next to her and pulled her close.

“I’s okay, my love. Everything will be okay.”

“It was my fault,” she cried, her voice even more raspy than usual.

“No, baby. You can’t control what other people do. They’ve been caught, and even though we have some bumps and bruises, we don’t have to worry about them coming after us ever again,” I said softly, stroking her hair.

She cried quietly into my chest until I felt her drift back to sleep. It broke my heart that she felt so guilty about this, but I would do anything in my power to help her through it. A nurse came to the door a few minutes later to inform me that Donald was awake and asking for us. I looked down at Amelia, who was in no position to move.

“Is there any way we can get the bed put in the same room? I don’t want to leave her,” she looked around before nodding.

The nurse left, and I was waiting a good thirty minutes before Donald’s hospital bed was wheeled in. The room was a good size, but it was still crammed. He had some bruising on his face from where his head hit the steering wheel, but aside from that and his bandaged arm, he looked okay. As soon as he saw us, he let out a deep breath. I climbed out of the bed and went to him.

“Hey,” I said softly, reaching out and stroking her cheek.

“Hey,” he said back.

We let the silence pass between us for a while. I had so much emotion starting to build that I felt incapable of speaking. I felt the tears on my cheeks as I finally let the reality of everything crash over me.