Ruthless Love

Chapter 33 - Flint

When I watch a bloody Sydney run towards my car as I entered the car park garage of her apartment, my heart almost stopped. Seconds later she was dragged back by a grungy looking man and then slammed into my car as I inched forward.

It didn't take long for me to exit my car and run to save my girl.

My girl. My throat tightens. Is that what she is? I came here to settle a few things but seeing her like that settled a few things in my heart instead. Like the reality that I want and need her despite what she has done and was a part of.

As I gently pick Sydney up from the ground and place her in my car, my hand reaches for my phone. I'm clean or normally I am but I do have a dark side when it comes to my family and the people I care about. So if the man lying down holding his jaw thinks I'm just going to leave him there, he's horribly wrong.

I send a text to one of my assistants. This scum of a man won't be laying in this dirty car park for long.

I get in the car and gently pat Sydney's arm. "You'll be okay," I tell her.

The hospital is about 30 minutes away. When I reach the emergency ward, Sydney isn't a priority. They tell us she'll have to wait. It's one of the few times I allow my name to speak for me and shortly after she's admitted into a private room and the best doctor is examining her.

I don't think I'm the jealous kind but when he cuts her jeans off her body, my hands turn to fists when I watch him examine her.

He runs his gloved fingers across the cut on her thigh and that makes my blood boil. She's mine.

I am almost about to burst into the room when I hear commotion in the hallway. I push myself off the glass in the waiting room that gives me a view of her room and walk to the side, subtly watching around the corner.

Three men dressed in all black are speaking to the nurse. I can see by the she shakes her head and how she steps back that she's scared. It doesn't take long to notice the gun he is cunningly holding between them, away from the view of others.

My heart picks up. That attack in the car park wasn't a lone attack. It doesn't make sense.

I send a quick text to one of my assistants and barge into the private room where Sydney is being examined.

"You can't be here," the doctor says. "Please wait outside in the waiting area."

I shake my head. "Me and the girl need to go," I tell him.

He shakes his head. "You can't. She's not in a state to leave."

I lean into his face. "That wasn't a question," I warn him.

He squares his shoulders and frowns. "I cannot let you leave with her."

As I walk towards Sydney, I remove the needle in her veins and remove the drip bag. I point at the nurse who is watching us from the corner. "Get me a bag and another drip bag. A new one."

She watches me before looking back at the doctor. We're running out of time. "Now!" I snap and that gets her moving.

I slip Sydney's shoes back on as the nurse gives me the bag with the IV and drip bag. She's put some medication and a few other things. "What's going on?"

The sound of argument fills the hallway just beside the waiting area. Soon they'll be here and I'm a hundred percent they're here for Sydney. It seems too coincidental for them not to be.

I frown. "I need another exit."

The doctor stops us. "You can go to jail for this."

The commotion outside gets louder as I hear the sound of gunshot. I don't wait as I fling Sydney into my arms and look the nurse in the eyes. "Show me the exit," I grit out.

She nods nervously before taking us back out to the waiting area. My eyes scan the area, waiting for those men to show themselves. Before another gunshot fills the hospital, she scans her card at a door and we usher inside.

She frowns. "I can lose my job for this," she says nervously as she rushes us down a hallway before scanning her card again into another entryway.

I nod. "I know and when you do, find me. I'll give you a better and higher paying job."

"I don't understand, Mr Everwood. Why are you on the run?"

I shake my head. "I'm not entirely sure but there are some not so good people after my girlfriend. I think as a nurse, taking care of the vulnerable is much more important than your job."

She nods. "Hippocratic oath. My brother died from it."

I don't say a word because that sucks for her, it really does.

"Wanda Simmons," the nurse says. She presses a coin into my hand. It's blue and like nothing I have ever seen before. On one side it has a dollar sign and on the other side it says 'S.'

She pushes me out the exit to the parking lot. "Sapphire Gate, up north," she says. "If you need sanctuary."

I don't have time to ask her what she means but when I get to the parking lot, my assistant is holding open the car door. I watch my BMW parked a few lanes down. I will have to leave it there. The change of cars means I won't be followed.

I get into a Rolls-Royce Phantom and place Sydney in the seat beside me pulling the seat back and flat. Readjusted to be bulletproof and safe. "Get out of here," I say to my assistant. "Don't linger and wait a few days before removing my BMW."

Michael nods. He's been with me through thick and thin and has seen some not so normal business meetings. In my line of work, everyone wants to climb to the top and there can only be one in number one. I've almost been burnt a dozen and one times for my position. It has taught me a few things...a few very messy things. Things I don't resort to unless absolutely necessary.

I start the engine and before looking back, Michael is gone. No sight of him as if he was never there.

I pat the corner of Sydney's thigh. "I'll get you somewhere safe."

I drive heading towards a safe house. I have a few of these scattered around the country. Three years back when I was almost killed by another businessman, now who is serving fifteen years in jail, I had no where to hide when he started a massacre chasing me around the country. Since then I have invested in safe houses. I'm now much more well equiped and no longer one to hide. First however I need to know who these men are and what they want with Sydney before I plan my next moves.