Free A Perfect Passion by Piper Kay Page B

please help him…please!  
    Red and blue lights highlight the night sky. I rush back to Damien, but trip and catch myself with my arms. I raise myself back up noticing the hunk of concrete that tripped me, lying behind me. It’s covered in wet, glossy red blood all over it. That has to be what he busted his head open on, but it doesn’t explain the bruise on his face. Someone must have hit him. There are two sets of fresh footprints here besides mine.
    Think, think! I’m infuriated at the fucking bastard who did this. Damien is one of the nicest people I’ve ever known. Someone’s ass is mine, guaranteed!
    The police show up first. I flag them down, waving them over to Damien.             
    ”He’s here, right over here. He must have hit his head on the rock over there, it’s bloody, and there are footprints.”
    “Are you the one who found him this way?” The officer pulls out his clipboard, while another officer checks on Damien.
    “Yes, Sir .”
    “What is your relationship to the victim?”
    “I’m his, uh… roommate.” I break eye contact with the officer, looking towards Damien, then back to the officer again.
    “What brought you out here, after dark, in a separate vehicle?” I put my hands on my hips, not really liking where he is taking this conversation at all.
    He rattles off about ten thousand questions over the next few minutes. The paramedics pull up. They bring a gurney, loading Damien onto it.
    “I’m going with him, ” I demand.
    “Sir, we still have some questions and paperwork to fill out first, then you can take your own vehicle to the hospital. It should only take about ten minutes.”
    “Fine. I need a wrec ker to tow his truck back to our house.” I point towards his truck, but continue watching them carry him away on the stretcher.
    I finish answering the questions, and I’m very much aware that I’m a suspect, their only suspect at this point, but I don’t care. I just need to get to the hospital. I told the wrecker driver to just leave the keys in the floorboard of Damien’s truck.
    I’ll find out who did this, there were only two people who knew where D amien was going. Ron and myself and I didn’t do it, so that leaves this dude Ron.
    He’ll be seeing me real soon. Real fucking soon!

Chapter 13
     
    Riverside General Hospital is only fifteen minutes from the site, so I haul ass to get there, to check on Damien. The parking is in the flat lot right in front of the entrance. I stomp my boots into the concrete to knock off the mud that covers them. With my hands ahead of me, I bust through the double doors to the front desk to find Damien. The nurse behind the counter informs me that he’s having tests and scans done. It’ll be at least two hours before he’s assigned a room, he’s still unconscious, but all of his vitals are stable at the moment.
    I’m fucking livid pissed. I’m having a hard time calming down, and it’s no t these peoples fault. Whoever hurt Damien has a damn death wish. I’m going home to take care of business. This Ron and I are about to have a ‘go to church’ meeting, Texan style.
    I toss my keys in the basket and walk to the phone. Scrolling through the call history, I get the number. I push star sixty-seven to block my number and call it back.
    “Hello.”
    “Is Ron around?”
    “Sorry, wrong number.” The man hung up.
    My ass wrong number, really? I start pacing the floor. It’s the number that called our house, I know that’s the number, I took the call. And that’s his voice, it’s familiar to me.  I light a smoke and stare at the phone. This is bull-fucking-shit. I know that was his voice, the voice that called.  Why would he say it wasn’t? Our home number isn’t showing up, it’s coming from an unknown number. I write down the number.
    After running upstairs to change out of the muddy clothes, my cell rings. It’s the nurse from the hospital, Damien is awake and in a room. I grab the paper with Ron’s