I cried out and forced my head down trying to avoid him. He began to kick my ribs. The pain was beyond anything I had felt before.
“It’s your fault I'm hurting you!” he bit out.
He reached up his arm high above him when I heard a loud bang. Frank took two steps back and another two loud bangs echoed throughout the warehouse. I could only see white, bright flashes of light weaving in and around us.
Frank moved over to me and collapsed on top of me. I began to yell and scream, trying desperately to get him off me.
“Kass?” I heard someone say in a panic, but my yelling didn’t stop. “Kassia!”
Three men in SWAT uniforms were beside me. One took the body off me, while the other cut the tie wraps, which held me to the column. The other took off his helmet and reached for me, taking me into his arms and holding me tightly.
“Kass?” he said in a frightened voice. “Fuck, Kassia.” He pulled me off him and held my face as he searched for my eyes. It was Jason. His beautiful, grey eyes stared back at me. I cried uncontrollably, as the shock and adrenaline pumped through me.
“You’re okay now. You’re fine. Thank fuckin God.” He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Jason, she’s hurt. The ambulance is waiting outside to take her to the hospital.” The man who cut my tie wraps said as he held onto Jason’s shoulder and squeezed it. Jason picked me up and carried me out to the gurney. He tried to place me down, but I wouldn’t let go of him.
“It’s okay, Kass, I’ll come with you. I’m not going anywhere,” he reassured me and I finally let go. He reached over and placed a strand of hair behind my ear. He walked with me to the ambulance, our eyes never wavering.
Why?
I laid in the hospital with my head pounding and my body broken and bruised, while Jason slept next to me.
Darios was in a panic when I first entered the hospital. Tiff was beside him crying, but did her best to calm him down. The girls both stood back, Genna in tears as Tara held her. I barely registered anything else. I passed out the moment I arrived at the hospital.
I reached over to touch Jason, but my wrist hurt like hell. I still tried though. I needed to know he was real and not some kind of dream I had made up to make myself feel better. He stirred and jolted up.
“Kass?” He took my hand and placed it back down. “What are you doing? You’re hurt,” he fumed.
“I just wanted to touch you,” I admitted.
He smiled.
“Fine, I’ll touch you instead.” He feathered my cheek and I winced. A low growl emanated from his throat. “I let my fuckin’ guard down and now look at you,” he said gruffly.
“It’s not your fault that Frank did this.” I frowned.
“I promised to protect you. I promised to keep you safe and I couldn’t even do that,” he hissed. “They’re right when they say I’m nothing but a fuckin’ kid,” he said ruefully.
“Jason…”
“God, Kassia, just look at you. Baby, he hurt you so badly.” He took my hand and held it. My wrist protested, but I still held on.
“How did you find me?” I asked.
“I put a tracking device on your phone. It’s a SWAT thing.” He smiled. “When Darios called and said you were taken, I nearly lost my fuckin’ mind. I took my laptop and dialed it in. I was able to find you. Gab took him out,” he said grimly. “I'm glad the fucker is dead.”
Darios stormed into the room and came to the other side of the bed. “Fuck Kass, are you okay? Do you want me to a call the doctor?” His worried face prompted my tears.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered.
“For what?” he groaned.
“For not being smart about this. For being stupid enough to be taken away by him. He said he had Jason. I…I was worried…then he hit me and I passed out,” I rambled.
“Shh, it’s okay, Kass. I'm here and so is Jason and the girls, no one is going to hurt you.” Darios slowly petted my hair, trying to relax me. He reached for me, took me in his arms, and hugged me. I cried out, finally letting out all the fear that was inside me. My big brother’s arms were always a safe place for me.
“I’ve got you, Kass. I got you,” he kept saying as I cried out.
It took a month for me to get out of the hospital. Broken ribs and a concussion didn’t help, but Jason did. He was there every day and it made all the difference for me. He kept pushing me to get better, calling me old. I had to hand it to him. He knew me well and knew what I needed to get better. He even snuck in a Fair Shake.
“You know this will hit the spot.” I laughed and winked as I took it and drank it.