Somebody to Hold (Tyler Jamison #2) - April Wilson Page 0,70

the way.” He rubs the back of my hand with his thumb. “How are you holding up? Are you okay?”

I nod, but I don’t trust myself to speak. I’ve done enough crying today. “She’s going to be okay, right?”

He nods. “She’ll be okay. We’ll make sure of it.”

I glance across the waiting room to see my father deep in conversation with Shane and Cooper. Sam is sitting with Beth and my mom. In spite of the traumatic circumstances, I’m glad to see our respective families are coming together.

A nurse opens the door leading to the examination area. “For Layla?”

My parents jump to attention, and Tyler and I join them as they’re escorted back into the emergency ward.

We’re met by Dr. Crawford, a petite brunette wearing a white lab coat and neon green running shoes. She stops us in the hallway outside one of the exam rooms. “Layla is still sedated,” she tells us. “We’ve given her a new insulin pump, and her blood sugar levels are under control. Her blood alcohol level was quite high, but it’s coming down. She’s stabilized now, and we’ll wake her soon. We’d like for you to be with her when we do, so she’ll see some familiar faces. We’re trying to keep her as calm and comfortable as possible.”

My father’s expression darkens. “Alcohol? She never drinks—what exactly did they do to her?”

“The good news is, there’s no sign of sexual assault,” Dr. Crawford says. “Neither vaginal nor anal.”

“Jesus,” my dad mutters as he pulls Mom close.

The doctor continues. “She has bruises and lacerations from being beaten and restrained. Her bloodwork shows the presence of alcohol and Rohypnol—the date rape drug. Also cocaine. She’s going to be okay physically, but the emotional repercussions are likely to be significant. Right now, that’s our main concern. We’ve already consulted with her psychiatrist, who’s coming in to do an evaluation.”

“Can I see her?” my mom asks.

Dr. Crawford nods to my parents. “Yes, both of you can come into the room. We’ll wake her shortly.” The doctor smiles apologetically at me and Tyler. “I think two visitors is enough for now, until we see how she’s doing.”

Mom turns to me. “Go home and rest, honey. Your dad and I will stay with Layla.” Then she glances past me at Tyler. “Take him home, will you, Tyler? He looks like he’s about to collapse.”

“I will,” Tyler says from behind me. He lays his hands on my shoulders and draws me back against his chest. “Let’s go, sunshine.”

I grin at the nickname, and my mom smiles at us.

Chapter 26

Tyler Jamison

It’s two in the morning by the time we get home from the hospital. We head straight upstairs and hit the bathroom to pee and brush our teeth. After showering, we climb into bed, both of us dead on our feet.

Ian turns to me, laying his head on my chest and hugging my waist. “I can’t believe any of this,” he murmurs. “It’s unreal.”

I lay my arm over his, my fingers clutching his forearm. “I saw your dad talking to Shane tonight. And just as we were leaving, I saw Jason Miller arrive at the hospital. He’s one of Shane’s guys—a former paramedic, now a bodyguard. I think your sister has a new protector.”

“I don’t know if she’ll be able to trust anyone now.”

“I’ll call Jud in the morning and see if I can find out more about what happened and who was behind it. I hate being out of the loop like this.”

“You’re in trouble for what we did today, aren’t you? How bad?”

I hesitate to tell him the truth because he’s dealing with enough right now. He doesn’t need to know I willfully flushed my twenty-plus-year career in law enforcement down the toilet today. “Don’t worry, it’s fine.” Then I tip his face up to mine and kiss him.

“Tyler, I don’t want you to get in trouble because of—”

“Ian, shut up and kiss me.”

And he does.

* * *

The next morning, we shower and dress, then make breakfast together. While we’re eating, my phone rings. “It’s Jud.”

“We apprehended Chad Faulkner and Larry Johnson last night,” he says. “Faulkner confessed to killing Sean Dickerson. He also confessed to selling Layla to Johnson.”

“Jesus.”

“As it turns out,” he continues, “Sean owed a lot of money to Chad, who was his dealer in addition to being his roommate. Chad was putting increasing pressure on Sean to pay up, so Sean offered to trade Layla to Chad in lieu of payment. When Sean demanded cash from