❦❦

For as long as I lived, I knew I would never forget the moment I saw one of Nick's agents carrying Kate's battered and bruised body out of the warehouse. The paramedics who were waiting acted quickly, taking over from the agent and placing her on a gurney.

"Oh, baby. I'm so sorry." I whispered raggedly, clutching her cold hand. She was unconscious and looked so lifeless. I couldn't say anything else because of the emotion clogging my throat.

Her whole face was completely swollen and covered with numerous contusions. Both of her eyes were puffy and blackened, her lips split and bloodied. The bruises on her arms and legs were turning into various shades of black, blue and red. There were purplish marks on her neck where she'd clearly been choked and my whole body shook with the intense rage that took over me.

The paramedics set up an IV line with tremendous speed and just as they were about to wheel the gurney into the ambulance, she started seizing violently.

"She is going into cardiac arrest." The male paramedic yelled. "Bring the defibrillator and the cardiac monitor now."

Icy cold fear rushed through my veins, freezing me immobile. My heart jumped into my throat and my stomach clenched.

"Sir, please stand back for a moment." The paramedic said to me, his voice firm.

I felt a hand on my arm, and turned to see Nathan. "Let them do their job, Jason." He said gently, drawing me to a side. I hadn't even known when he had arrived on the scene but at that moment I was so glad to see him.

I watched, helpless, as they tore open Kate's dress to expose her chest. One of them placed the pads of the portable machine on her chest and pressed. "Clear." He yelled, nodding at his partner.

When the first electro shock produced no change in her, I felt my whole world crash around me. I tried to wring from Nathan's hold and rush to her, but he gripped my arm tighter. "You'll just be in their way. Let them work."

I was filled with a stark desolation that made it hard to even breath. Please don't die, baby, breathe, please don't die. The words kept repeating in my head until my vision blurred.

"Increase the charge." The paramedic ordered and then pressed the paddle again. "Clear."

After giving her two more shocks, he finally pulled away the defibrillator paddles away from her. "We've got a pulse. It's faint but there. We need to get her to the hospital immediately."

They put an oxygen mask on her, before whisking her into the back of the ambulance. When I moved to follow them, one of them shook his head.

"Sir, we need to be alone with her."

"I'm not leaving her side." I snapped angrily, my hands balling up into fists.

"Sir, please. You'll just be in our way. We are losing precious time here. She is still not stable." The paramedic repeated firmly. "We are taking her to White Wing Memorial which is just ten minutes away. You can follow us in your car."

"He is right." Nathan said quickly, putting himself between me and the paramedic, probably afraid that I would resort to violence. "They need room to tend to her. C'mon, I'll drive."

I didn't want to leave her but I knew he was right so I let him pull me back. I took a deep, staggered breath, fighting to maintain my control as I watched the ambulance leave, its sirens blaring. She was going to be alright. She was a fighter. She would pull through. I reassured myself, desperately trying to blot out the fear.

"Jason." It was Nik, his expression grim. He squeezed my shoulder in a silent gesture of comfort. He gestured to the warehouse. "Ryder and Holmes are inside."

Even hearing their names made me see red. There was nothing I wanted more than to deal with them, but right now Kate needed me.

Nik seemed to understand what I was feeling. "Go. They can wait until you get back."

❦❦❦

Kate was taken to White Wing Memorial Hospital in South Pasadena since it was the closest to the warehouse. The doctors took her into the ER, to give her immediate care and to run some tests that would determine the extent of her injuries.

I knew that hospitals followed the state law that required them to report any suspicious injuries, suspected violence and abuse to the cops. But the last thing I wanted was to involve the police in any way. So, Nathan and I met with the Director of the hospital, Dr. Sykes.

It wasn't difficult to get him to agree to what I wanted. In return for the hospital keeping quiet, I offered to donate a sizable amount of money to the hospital along with another donation to build a new children's wing.

We sat in the private VIP lounge of the hospital, as we waited for word from the doctors. I was trying my damnedest to remain calm, but inside I was terrified. Placing my elbows on my knees, I pressed my forehead into my palms. The moment I closed my eyes, I saw her battered body. The tightness in my chest increased and I opened my eyes abruptly. But even with my eyes open, I continued to see her bruised body fighting for life. I was so tense my jaw ached from the unconscious clenching.

I wished I could just turn off my emotions and deal with the situation with a clear mind. Like how I did when it came to difficult business situations. But this was Kate, the woman I loved more than anything in the world, and I couldn't think straight when she was fighting for her life.

A while later, Cheryl arrived. Her presence caused quite a stir in the hospital. Considering how photographers seemed to pop out of thin air wherever she went, I knew it wouldn't be long before the media found out all of us were at the hospital and the reason for it. I didn't want Kate's name in any way leaked out.

Dr. Sykes was quick to assure me that none of his staff would give anything to the press. "We take patient privacy and safety very seriously, Mr. Perez. I assure you, Ms. Lewis' privacy will in no way be violated from our side."

❦❦❦

Ben picked up Kate's mum and sister from the airport and dropped them off at the hospital. I was glad Cheryl was there because she sat with them and offered them comfort. I could sense Kate's mum, Alice, had a lot of questions but I wasn't sure I could answer them. She didn't know the truth behind Kate's abduction. And when she found out it was all because of me, I knew she would blame me for everything and I couldn't just face that yet.

A while later, the door to the lounge opened and a doctor in dark blue scrubs walked in. We all sprang to our feet.

She nodded to us in greeting and introduced herself. "I'm Dr. Grey, the chief physician here. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."

"How's my daughter, doctor?" Alice asked, her voice trembling.

"We have done everything to stabilize her condition for now." She clasped her hands in front of her. "The good news is there are no signs of sexual assault or rape. The MRI and CT scan show that there's no damage to her vital organs. Also, we have managed to stop the internal bleeding in her abdomen. However, she has a lot of other extensive injuries including three broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and a fractured wrist. She also has a bruised trachea due to strangulation so we have intubated her."

"You mean she is on a ventilator?" Kate's sister, Paige, talked for the first time since she arrived at the hospital. Her voice was shaky as if she was holding back tears.

"Yes. There's a possibility that the trachea might swell up and block her air passage so it's safe to keep her on the ventilator until the trachea heals. Our greatest concern, however, is the head injury she received. There's some swelling and fluid on the brain so we'll need to perform a ventriculostomy."

Seeing the blank look on our faces, she explained. "It's a procedure where we'll drill a small hole in her skull and insert a tube to drain the fluids and also measure the swelling. After the surgery, we'll be putting her in a medically induced coma to give her time to stabilize and prevent further swelling of the brain."

I could handle this. I had to. The tightness in my chest was increasing by the second. Nathan squeezed my shoulder, helping me snap out of it. "Is she conscious now?"

"She regained consciousness in the ER. But we are keeping her heavily medicated to alleviate the pain. I know this is a lot to take in but I'm afraid there's more bad news." She paused, as if looking for the right words. "We did everything we could but because of the internal bleeding, she lost her baby. I'm sorry."

Her words were met with shocked silence. I felt as if someone had just sucker-punched me in the gut. "She was pregnant?"

She nodded.

Paige was clutching her mother's arm tightly. Both of them looked pale with shock. "How far gone was she?"

"Almost four weeks."

I struggled to catch my breath as her words sank in. It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. Dr. Grey was talking but I could hardly hear anything above the blood pounding in my ears. The numbness spread through me and I felt as if my whole world had shattered around me.

❦❦❦

Thirty minutes later, I was on my way back to the warehouse. Ben was driving the car and Nathan sat beside me in the backseat. Nik was outside when we stepped out of the car and he led us inside.

The moment I saw Michael and Andy, their hands cuffed, I saw red. Dark vicious rage, the kind that I had never felt before, ripped through me. Alex and a couple of other agents were there with them, keeping watch.

Michael just glared at me when he saw me but Andy looked fearful. "I didn't touch her. I swear." He started pleading pathetically, his face white. "Please don't..."

I didn't let him finish. Balling my hand into a fist, I punched him square on the face, the force of it sending him sprawling back. Before he even hit the ground he was unconscious. Ignoring the stinging pain in my knuckles, I turned to face Michael.

He was sneering at me but the look in his eyes betrayed his fear.

"Uncuff him." I instructed to Alex, without taking my eyes off of Michael.

The moment Alex did so, Michael lunged at me. But I was too quick for him. Moving out of the way, I kneed him in the stomach, connecting my fist in his lower jaw in the process. There was an ugly sound as his jaw dislocated. He gave a strangled scream and fell down on all fours, grunting in pain.

Not giving him a chance to catch his breath, I kicked him hard in the ribs, wringing another scream out of him.

The violent rage in me grew as I continued to kick him. All I could picture were the black and blue bruises on Kate's body. The sound of ribs cracking reverberated through the room, mixed with Michael's screams of agony. Dropping to my knees, I used my fists on him. I beat him until my knuckles were raw and bleeding.

When I finally straightened up, he was whimpering pathetically on the floor, slipping in and out of unconsciousness. Blood from his broken nose and split lips caked his face and clothes. His broken jaw was protruding forward. Little specks of broken blood vessels were visible on his swollen face and from the way his left arm was angled I knew it was broken.

"What do you want me to do with them?" Nik asked.

"No body fucks with what's mine and gets away with it." I met Nik's gaze. "I want them dead."

He looked unfazed. "Are you sure?"

"Kate was pregnant. He killed our baby." My voice shook with rage. "They don't deserve to live after what they did to her."

"Consider it done." Nik said easily.

For a moment, it occurred to me that we were talking about killing two men as if it was no big deal. But when I glanced down at Michael and Andy, I felt no guilt. All I felt was a burning rage, a need to make them pay for what they had done to the woman I loved more than my own life.