chapter seven

Two days later, Kimmy stood behind the counter of the thrift store, pretending to arrange old books while her mind remained somewhere else entirely. She hadn’t stopped thinking about Gabriel West or his warning,or Roy's calm voice telling her she wasn't safe..

For two whole days, she had tried convincing herself that maybe they were exaggerating. Maybe whoever attacked her had already moved on. Maybe if she just stayed quiet and lived carefully, everything would return to normal.But deep down, fear sat heavily in her chest.

She checked the wall clock for what felt like the tenth time that hour.

5:15 PM.

She needed to get to the hospital. Her mother had sounded weak on the phone earlier, and Kimmy hated leaving her there alone. She quickly closed the register and walked to her boss.

“ Mrs Nora, please can I close early today? My mother’s at the hospital and I need to check on her.”

Mrs Nora looked up from her newspaper and sighed, “You’ve been distracted all day, Kimmy. Go. Just make sure you show up tomorrow.”

“Thank you, ma.” Kimmy said as relief washed over her. She grabbed her bag and hurried out. The evening air was cool as she rushed toward the hospital, but the uneasy feeling in her chest only grew stronger with every step. By the time she reached the hospital building, her palms were already sweating.

Something felt… wrong.

The hospital was too quiet. As she entered the corridor leading to her mother’s ward, her footsteps slowed and her heart dropped.There were men standing there. Big, rough-looking men dressed in dark clothes, standing in the hallway like they owned the place. Their expressions were hard, dangerous. They didn't look like hospital visitors or family member,they were gang men.

Kimmy’s throat tightened as she immediately recognized danger. At the far corner of the hallway, the nurse assigned to her mother stood frozen, trembling violently, tears gathered in her eyes as she avoided looking at anyone.

Two men stood directly outside Mara’s ward like guards. The silence in the corridor was terrifying. Kimmy swallowed hard,her legs wanted to turn and run but her mother was inside and she couldn't leave her. Taking a shaky breath, she forced herself forward.

The men noticed her immediately as she walked forward. The one who looked like their leader stepped forward, he had a cold and unreadable face. He looked her up and down and said,

“You’re Kimmy Anderson.”

“Yes.” Kimmy said as she tried to steady her voice.

He stepped closer. “Where is Gabriel West?”

Her blood ran cold,“I...I don’t know.” she said. The next thing that followed was a slap that landed on her cheeks. The slap came so suddenly she didn’t even see it.

CRACK.

Pain exploded across her face and she stumbled hard, falling to her knees on the cold hospital floor. Her ears began to ring and her cheek burned like fire,tears instantly filled her eyes. The man crouched in front of her, grabbing her chin roughly and forcing her to look at him.

“Don’t lie to me.” he said.

“I’m not lying...I swear...I don’t know where he is...” Kimmy's voice shook as she replied.

He tightened his grip. “You helped him. You sheltered him. Don’t play stupid with me.”

“I’m telling the truth!” she yelled out of pain.

He shoved her backward and said, “If you don’t start talking, we’ll kill your mother first… then you.”

Kimmy’s entire body went cold when she heard this, “No..please...please don’t hurt her...she’s sick...she has nothing to do with this...please...” Her voice cracked as tears spilled freely.

The man stood and gave a signal to his men. “Bring the old woman out.”

Kimmy’s eyes widened in horror. “No!”

Two men immediately pushed open Mara’s ward door and rushed inside.That was the moment Kimmy acted, With shaking hands, she quickly reached into her bag, pulled out her phone, and typed one message as fast as she could.

Help. Hospital. Please.

She sent it to Roy,she had saved his number. The message delivered. Just then one of the gang member noticed,

“Hey!”

Before she could react, the phone was violently slapped from her hand and smashed against the wall, shattering into pieces.

Kimmy’s heart pounded. She prayed in her mind,Please let it be enough. The leader grabbed her arm painfully and yanked her to her feet.

“You think that was smart?”

He dragged her toward the room. Inside, Mara sat up weakly in her hospital bed, fear written all over her pale face as she saw the tough looking men drag Kimmy.

“Kimmy? What’s happening? Who are these people?”, mara asked looking scared.

“Mum...” Kimmy tried to reach her, but the man held her back.

“Kimmy!” Mara called out as her breathing became uneven.

“Please don’t touch her!” Kimmy cried.

The leader smirked and said,“Maybe we take both of you.”

"Noo please...just take only me,my mum is too sick... please leave her out of this." Kimmy said as she cried out begging.

The leader of the gang smirked and said," no..I think the both of you will be useful,I could torture your mother if you refuse to comply. He then grabbed Kimmy harder, dragging her toward the door. Just then,

BANG!.

The hospital room door burst open and everyone froze immediately. Roy stood there and behind him were several armed men. His calm expression was gone,now his eyes were deadly. For the first time, Kimmy saw that despite his gentle nature…

Roy West was still Gabriel West’s brother.

The room turned silent as Roy’s gaze landed on Kimmy first. His jaw tightened as he saw her swollen cheek and the bruises already forming on her wrist . Then he looked at the men and said very calmly,

“You touched her.”

The leader gave a mocking laugh. “And what if we did?”

Roy stepped forward slowly, his voice was terrifyingly quiet. “Then tonight… you die.” immediately he said that chaos exploded.

Gunshots followed by screams and shattered glasses. Mara cried out in fear as the whole room was turned upside down.

Kimmy dropped to the floor, covering her head as bullets flew across the room.

Roy’s men stormed the ward like shadows, taking down everyone in sight, the hospital corridor erupted into complete panic. Patients were screaming as doctors and visitors ran for safety. Everything became madness.

Kimmy could barely breathe,then suddenly one of the attackers grabbed her arm, trying to drag her away, but Roy reached them first. He slammed the man into the wall so hard it echoed through the room then he turned to Kimmy and asked,

“Are you hurt?”

She was shaking too hard to answer so Roy crouched in front of her, his voice softening instantly.

“Kimmy. Look at me.”

She did and somehow, seeing him there made the terror break and tears began to spill down her face.

“I was so scared…”

Roy gently helped her up. “I know.”

He looked at Mara, who was crying on the hospital bed.

“You and your mother are leaving with me. Right now.”

Kimmy looked around at the destroyed hospital room,the broken glass, blood,dead men lay everywhere. It was then that she realised...There was no going back.

Gabriel had been right...her life had changed.

And now…

there was no escape.