Page 116 of Hot Puck
“Pa’s on the phone with someone from the hospital.” Blake rushes down the corridor toward us. “But I got hold of my brothers, they’re still in New York, and are heading over to where Shelby is now.”
“How the hell does anyone know where she is?” Gannon yells.
“Because as of ten minutes ago the breaking news across every media outlet in the country is the senseless bashing of Cup winning hockey player Gannon Byrd’s wife, Shelby.”
Cami’s words have stunned silence cloaking the hallway.
It’s Gem who cuts through it. “Get them out of here! Ray, take a couple of your men and go with them. Cami, get me your father. Blake, where’s Mason and your dad? I need them to help me stop this event turning into a media circus.”
I stand back and watch as my wife, the mother of my unborn child, does her thing and has people disappearing to do her bidding. She’s one of the smartest women I’ve ever met and if she never says the words ‘I love you’ I won’t care. I don’t need her words to know how she feels.
Because words are only air. It’s the things she does, the way she takes care of the people she loves, that is the real proof.
Epilogue - Nat
Forty-eight hours later…
As much as I want to be in New York supporting Oakley and Walker—Gannon—I know it’s best if we keep the media targets going in and out of the hospital to a minimum.
Not that any of them have left the building since they entered it two days ago.
We all moved into Pa’s house when it became obvious the media wanted to get information from any member of the Rogues’ org.
I sent a directive through the whole org that until further notice we are on a media blackout. Including anyone who says all they want to talk about is the team winning the Cup.
Everyone knows that line is bullshit.
Because it isn’t just that Shelby Byrd was assaulted. She was beaten into a coma by a man who Gannon believed was his biggest fan. I don’t have all the details. Ray has been keeping me abreast of developments in the investigation, but the man has gone underground.
Even Amos can’t find him.
But it’s only been a few days. They’ll get him. I refuse to believe anything else.
“Gem?” Chase stops next to the chair I’m sitting in while I watch the kids on the outdoor playground Pa has set up on the grounds of his estate.
“Hmm…”
“When was the last time you had a drink?” He crouches beside me. “What about sunscreen? You’ve been out here awhile.”
“I don’t remember.”
“You need to take care of yourself as much as you do everyone else.” Gripping my hand, he tugs as he straightens to his full height. “Come on. Cami and Bex are going to stay out here with the kids.”
I glance over to see my best friend and her husband sitting in chairs at the table with the umbrella. Pa has a number of different seating options out here, covered and not. When I first followed the kids outside, there were clouds covering the sky.
Now there isn’t one in sight.
“Blake is making you something to eat too.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You still need to eat, Gem, especially now.”
We haven’t told anyone about the baby. Or that we’re married. We’re even sleeping in separate rooms so as not to cause a scene. Although I can’t imagine anyone will be surprised when we tell them.
It’s hard to hide what’s going on between us now that everyone is under one roof. And I’m pretty sure Pa has worked out the baby part. He handed me a packet of crackers from Oakley’s stash last night before I went to bed.
For my ‘upset’ stomach in the morning.
