CHAPTER 16
1110 Words
Daisy Pov
In a few minutes, we were parked in front of a hospital in that neighborhood. The nurse rushed over."What happened?"
"He almost got hit by a car," his mother said, her voice shaking. "Please check him. Please."
They took the boy and disappeared through double doors. And his mother followed, leaving Killian and me alone.
Killian walked toward the waiting area. Sat down hard on one of the plastic chairs.
I followed and sat beside him.
My pulse hammered in my ears. My mind was filled with regret. This was my fault. If I hadn't left the safe house, Killian wouldn't have come after me. He wouldn't have been distracted. That child wouldn't have…
"Stop," Killian commanded quietly.
I flinched “ What? “
“I know what you are thinking Daisy. You shouldn't blame yourself.”
Right. Because apparently he can read minds now. I kept my mouth shut. This wasn't the time to argue.
This isn't the time to apportion blame. It happened already and we are here now. I just stared at him.
“What?” he asked. “Don't give me that look.” His voice was sharp, leaving no room for argument.
I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest.
Silence.
He closed his eyes and took a long breath. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I just..."
He didn't finish and I didn't push.
****Killian's Pov ****
I know in the line of my job, I have killed more people than my brain can record. But seeing that little boy shaking with fear had gotten my heart beating faster than it ever had in combat.
I couldn't shake the image of how he'd hugged his mother. The way she'd held him. So tight. So protective. Like she could shield him from anything.
And in a world like ours where everyone is a walking demon, I wish I could turn back time.
Just five minutes.
“Five minutes and I could've stayed at the safe house. I could've let Daisy have her coffee with Jordan. I could've avoided this.
Could've avoided almost killing a child.
"Killian. Killian." I heard a voice calling in the distance at first then it got closer. For sure I do not need to turn to know whose voice it was.
Her hand wrapped around my arm gently.
I slowly opened my eyes, letting my nerves relax. Then I turned calmly toward her, and our eyes locked.
She looked worried and scared and I totally understood.
"I'm okay," I said.
The look on her face showed she didn't believe it but she didn't push. A smart girl, she always knew when to be quiet.
"I'm going to check on them," I said promptly, I just needed to move, to be anywhere other than sitting here. With Daisys on me like she is about to break.
"Killian, maybe we should give them space" her voice was low. Her hand rubbed soothing circles across my back.
"Nope, bad idea,” I disagreed. “I need to know he's okay."
“Ok,” she answered in a single word.
I walked toward the pediatric unit.
The waiting room was small. A few people scattered around, reading magazines, staring at phones. Just normal people doing normal things.
I was halfway to the reception desk when I saw him. A man. Tall, dark hair. Late twenties or thereabouts.
He was standing at the reception counter. Something about him felt familiar.
I slowed my steps.
Now I could hear him talking to the nurse. He sounded urgent and panicked.
"I'm looking for my wife and son," he said. "They were brought in. A car accident?"
“His wife and son,” I murmured to myself.
The nurse checked her computer. "What's the name Sir?" she asked immediately and she raised her head from the computer.
"Chen. Lisa Chen and David Chen." He replied
“Chen,” I repeated the name as though it sounded bitter in my mouth. “ Wasn't that the exact name the mother had given when we arrived.
I stopped walking and stared.
Then it dawned on me. He was the same man from the photo Viktor had shown me earlier.
The nurse looked up again. "And you are?" she asked.
"Samuel," he responded. "Samuel Chen. I'm the husband."
For a moment, my lungs forgot to work.
My hands clenched into fists.
Samuel.
Daisy's f*****g ex.
My vision tunneled. Blood rushed in my ears. What the hell is going on?
The nurse nodded. "They're in examination room three. The doctor is checking your son now."
"Thank you." He replied, and that's when I saw his face fully.
It was him. Samuel, Mark, or whatever the hell his name was. He had a wife and a son. His son looked like a five-year-old. And if it is just two years since he abandoned Daisy does that mean….
“Oh No. This means he only kept Daisy as a side piece”
He started walking toward the examination rooms, without thinking I followed him. not too close, just enough distance not to lose sight of him.
He knocked on door three. It opened.
Lisa's voice. "Samuel! Oh thank God. Where were you?".
"I got your message. I came as fast as I could. Is he okay?"
"The doctor is checking him now. He almost got hit by a…"
The little boy coughed. interrupting his parents' discussion.
I turned and walked back to the waiting room.
Daisy stood when she saw me. "What happened? Are they okay?" she asked. Her eyes roamed over my face, searching for something.
“ The boy is fine”
"Thank God." She exhaled and "Relief flooded her face"
Her eyes were unwavering.
I pulled out my phone and texted Viktor.
Me: Samuel Chen is alive. I just saw him at a hospital. He has a wife. Lisa Chen. And a son. David.
His reply came fast.
Viktor: WHAT? Are you sure?
Me: Positive. I need everything on Lisa Chen. Now.
Viktor: On it.
I looked up.
Daisy blinked, her face tightened. "Killian? What's wrong?"
Everything. But I couldn't tell her yet. Not here.Not now."Nothing," I lied. "Let's go."
She swallowed hard. "But the boy.."
"He's fine. His father's here. Let's go." I smiled. “Let go Daisy, it's getting late” she didn't argue she just followed.
Once we were outside, I scanned the parking lot as we walked toward the car. Eyes moving, cataloging every vehicle. Every shadow, every exit.
Old habits.
Daisy was quiet beside me. She could feel it. The shift in me, the tension radiating off my body.
We were halfway across the parking lot when I saw it.
- Writer
