Page 80 of Reformation

Garrett

Despite my protests, I had to stay the night in the hospital. That’s what happens when you are shot by your girlfriend’s mother and are on blood thinners.

I knew I needed treatment, but I didn’t want to leave Paige behind, and the only reason I did was because Mark and Charlie were there. As soon as she was done giving her statement, and Paul and Naomi were taken to the police station, she was at the hospital with me. And because my girl knows everyone at the hospital from her years of volunteering, it didn’t take much for her to convince the nurses to find her a cot so she could stay with me overnight.

I wanted to go straight back to her place once I was given the green light to leave the hospital. I wanted to climb into bed, bring her in my arms, well, my good one, and never let her go. I wanted to kiss her and make sure that after everything that happened, that she was OK.

But we had to make one stop first.

“You look like hell,” Mark says as he holds the door open for me and Paige. “I mean, I’ve always been the more attractive brother. But today I’m really running up the scoreboard.”

“Nice to see you too, asshole.” And it was. I know scenarios like last night are something he and Charlie are used to, and I’ll never admit this out loud, but I was terrified at every step. So much could have gone wrong. And because of my brother, his wife, and his team, everyone I love is now safe.

And that is all that matters.

As we sit down around his dining room table, which is overflowing with food, we are caught up on what happened at Innovative after I was taken to the hospital. At first, neither Paul nor Naomi were talking much, except for blaming each other and Paige. And, from what Paige says, that went as far as “my bitch of a daughter” before the police eventually took them away.

Luckily for us, drugged-out people are not hard to get an advantage on. Since Naomi only said, “no police,” we figured they didn’t know what Mark did for a living. And once they told me to meet them at the clinic, Mark called in Charlie, knowing we’d need an extra set of hands and a woman who could move like a ninja. Both of them were planted inside with Ben stationed on the outside. Hell, I knew they were there and they still took me by surprise once everything went into motion.

“I still want to know who has twenty-five thousand dollars just laying around for a rainy day?” I ask Mark, who spent most of the night at the police station listening in on the interrogation.

“You never know when you need to pay off terrorists, or idiot drug dealers,” he says with a grin. “Pass the ketchup.”

“Did they say anything?” Paige asks. “I still don’t understand why after all this time she came looking for me. Or how she even found me.”

“Oh, they said things. It was quite interesting hearing both of them try to pin it on the other to get a deal.”

“So what did they say?” I ask, growing frustrated with my brother’s lack of urgency.

Mark takes a big bite of his burger before beginning. Asshole.

“Naomi talked the most. From what I pieced together, after she got out of jail the last time, she didn’t have anywhere to go. Her landlord rented out the house. Now, this part was fuzzy, because she started rambling. Sometime after that she called Paul, for drugs or sex or a place to stay, maybe all three, and that’s how they got together.”

From what Paige has told me, all of that makes complete sense.

“They had to leave town. Paul pissed the wrong people off. And when you’re a lowlife drug dealer, it’s not like you can just pop up in a new town and start selling. They were running low on cash when Paul mentioned you. Your mom said you were in Virginia but that was all she knew. Apparently, he might be a piece of shit, but he knows how to use the Internet. He Googled you, saw an article on you in the paper after you won county teacher of the year, and figured out what part of Virginia you were in. When they got here is when they learned about Garrett. It was their cherry on top. And the rest… well, you know.”

“I can’t believe she told the cops all of that,” Paige says, an almost relieved tone in her voice. “That doesn’t seem like her. She usually stands by her man in these situations.”

Mark chuckles. “Apparently, when she’s the one being interrogated, she sings like a bird. And tries really inappropriately to use her sexual ways. I think they made a deal with her just so she would quit trying to take her shirt off.”

“I’m so sorry,” Paige says, looking at everyone at the table and then to me. “I put you all in so much danger. I would have never forgiven myself if something would have happened to you.”

“We’re fine,” I say, using my good arm to bring her into my side. “We’re fine. You’re fine. Your mom and Paul are in jail. No one is hurt.”

“And I finally got to use my new stun gun!” Charlie says excitedly as she begins to clean up the containers. “I love getting to use new equipment to knock a grown man on his ass in two seconds.”

“Glad we could help,” I say sarcastically, noticing Paige lets out a deep yawn. “I think it’s time for all of us to get some sleep.”

Mark rolls his eyes. “We get the hint, brother. You want to examine Paige thoroughly to triple-check for any injuries. I get it.”

Charlie swats his arm. “I like their idea. If they leave, we’ll still have an hour before the kids are home from Ben and Gretchen’s.”

That’s all my brother needs to hear as he all but kicks us out of their house.

The drive back to Paige’s house is silent, which I understand. Hearing everything that Mark said, and just the events of the last forty-eight hours in general, is a lot to handle. She was kidnapped. I was shot. That’s a lot to process.

As soon as we walk into her house, I take her hand and pull her into me, bringing her against my chest with my arm that isn’t in a sling. Immediately, I feel her relax into me.

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