Ravenous Book 2

RICHARD

“Mia! Mia, what’s wrong?” Richard wrapped her arms tightly around her, helping Mia keep upright as her legs gave out.

“Aunt Leanna, she’s—she’s at the hospital—accident…” Her words came out in a mumble.

“What? Leanna?” Richard asked again, trying to keep his composure.

He faintly heard someone still speaking on the phone. Then, with his right arm wrapped tightly around Mia, he reached out with his left, taking the phone dangling over the reception desk.

“Hello? This is Richard McKenzie speaking. Mia’s unable to speak right now. With whom am I speaking?” he asked, tucking the phone by his left cheek and shoulder.

Richard then guided Mia to the seat behind the desk.

“Ah, this is police detective Wallis from the Chicago Police department. I just have told Ms. Harnett, as Mrs. Leanna Stanton’s emergency contact, that she is currently at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

“Unluckily, at six earlier in the evening, her vehicle collided with a six-wheeler truck, resulting in her injuries. The doctors attending to her now informed me she’s been stabilized. But, unfortunately, she hasn’t woken up yet.

“So we asked Ms. Harnett to report to Northwestern Memorial Hospital to a police officer attending to Mrs. Stanton to sign off some paperwork as her representative.”

Richard felt like his breath was taken out of his lungs. However, he had a bit of strength left in him to talk.

“Aye, officer. But Ms. Harnett and I are currently residing in Seattle, Washington. Regrettably, we won’t be able to get there within the day.

“We might be able to take the next flight from here, but it’ll take at least a day or so to get there.”

“I see, Mr. McKenzie. But, then, is there someone in the city who is related to Mrs. Stanton who can be here for her?” Wallis asked.

“Aye, sir. Mrs. Stanton’s sister, Marjorie Harnett, is currently living in Chicago. D’ye need her contact information from me so ye can inform her?” Richard asked as he glanced at Mia, checking if she was responsive.

However, the glassy look in her eyes told him she hadn’t recovered from her initial shock.

“No, that’s not necessary. We’ll be able to contact Mrs. Harnett. But we need confirmation from you. Is Marjorie Harnett the wife of Lance Harnett, co-owner of Harnett and Harrison law firm?”

“Aye, detective, she’s the Marjorie Harnett yer looking for, and sister of Leanna Stanton,” Richard replied.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. McKenzie. And please let Ms. Harnett know we will be contacting her mother to attend to Mrs. Stanton,” Wallis stated before ending the call. “Have a good evening.”

“You too, detective.”

Many things were going through Richard’s head; however, his attention was solely on Mia. She remained motionless and distant while sitting down behind the reception desk.

He slowly walked around the table, trying not to startle her, and then bent down to her eye level. He placed his hand by her cheek, lightly caressing it until he saw Mia regain her composure.

“Richard, what—” She trailed off, breathless. Mia cleared her throat and tried again. “What did he say? What’s happened?”

“The detective told me that yer aunt is stable, and that he’ll be calling yer mom since she’s in the city. But he also said we’ll have to fly out.”

Mia abruptly got up. Richard nearly lost his balance but then regained his footing. He watched as Mia started pacing around the dance studio, picking up their takeaway food and then her things.

“Well then, let’s head home and pack up. How fast do you think we can book a flight to Chicago tonight?”

Richard got his satchel and coat and then took the takeaway bag from Mia. “None. It’s late in the day, Mia. I can try to make some calls tomorrow morning.”

“But—”

“Detective Wallis said he’ll call yer mom. I’m sure she’ll be contacting us tonight. And you need rest, Mia. I promise we’ll be on the first flight in the morning, love,” he interjected, sensing her objection.

She stopped and stared at him, her gaze glazed and blank. Mia tightened her grip on her coat, causing her knuckles to go white.

Richard reached out, sensing her agitation and frustration. “It’ll be fine, Mia. She will be fine,” he said reassuringly.

Mia relaxed and met his gaze. It was then he saw the weight of her fears. There was a dark shadow underneath her eyes and lines forming around the edges.

He’d watched Mia every day since they met in Scotland four years ago. Richard knew of the crippling memories that haunted her nights since he’d seen it himself.

A tall, elegant, yet a fierce-looking man. His robust features were his sapphire eyes, which showed a window to his coal, cold heart.

He carved a rooted impression to those he met, leaving the remnants of his essence. Even RIchard had difficulty forgetting him.

Nonetheless, Richard could not let a dead man haunt him and the women he loved. It wasn’t a life to live. So he now only dwells in the past without a sway of the future.

But he, on the other hand, had the power to change and move on.

It was a quiet walk back to their home. Richard knew Mia needed that time and space to her own thoughts. At a different time, Mia would have asked to be left alone.

But he was grateful and proud to see her progress from her past. Now, she welcomed in his company while she collected her thoughts. He had learned when to keep quiet and when to start asking questions.

Once they reached the house, Mia started talking. Richard knew what to do, which was listen and support her decision until she was asked for his opinion.

“We should pack now so that we’ll be ready to head out to the airport tomorrow morning,” she stated as she headed up to their room, pulling out two travel luggage.

“How long do you think we’ll be there? And do you think we should reserve a hotel? I’m not too sure I’d want to stay with my parents… ah, we can ask David.

“But then, he just moved into his new place. So we shouldn’t impose, right? I don’t know,” she ranted.

Richard took one of the suitcases, putting it aside for his use, and nodded. “Whatever ye prefer, Mia, let’s go with that.”

Mia turned away from him, redirecting her focus on packing.

“Should we pack for a month or a couple of months? Oh no! I have to call Natalie about my absence and let the parents know I’ll be on leave for a family emergency. So we might be there for long, or not, maybe? But, wait—”

She paused, walking towards her dresser, pulling the top drawer. She took out her cellphone.

Mia had a slight aversion to technology since she had no affinity for it. Richard became a modern man when he reintegrated into city life.

He bought himself a cell phone for work and emergencies and owned a home computer in his small study.

But Mia saw no use for cell phones since she could easily be contacted through landline at home or the dance studio. It wasn’t until she started traveling for business with Leanna that she got a phone.

However, Mia only ever brought it with her on trips to keep in contact with Richard and Leanna. When she was home, she never took it with her.

Now, she concentrated on a task on her phone. After finding what she was looking for in the contacts, she placed the palm-sized phone by her ear.

“Who are ye calling?” Richard asked, watching her on the sidelines.

Mia held up her hand, letting him know she wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. A second later, the phone on the other end answered. “Hello, Isabel? This is Mia. Did you hear the news about Aunt Leanna?”

Upon hearing the name, Richard knew who she called. It was Leanna’s executive secretary, Isabel Corazon, who she hired nearly three years ago.

Mia was surprised her aunt managed her hectic work schedules and business meetings without an intermediary. Growing up with her father and brothers, she knew how efficient their work had been at the law firm with a secretary.

Leanna allotted most of the months in a year focusing on other matters besides business meetings, especially her yearly trip to Scotland, where she took her personal work with her on those trips.

As a designer by trade, she continued taking projects from her own company while taking her responsibilities as chairman and representative of Stanton Enterprise as her husband’s heiress.

Leanna Stanton was the definition of an independent working boss lady. And she was slowly shaping Mia to be her heiress as well.

Richard left Mia to her conversation with Isabel and started packing up. There wasn’t much he put on his luggage, sensing he won’t be staying there for a month.

He had to come back to Seattle for work and fly back to Chicago over the weekend to check on Mia.

Before he could plan out his life for the next couple of weeks, Mia finished her conversation with Isabel, giving Richard her attention.

“Isabel is heading out to the hospital. She told me she could book the hotel for us. She’ll also pick us up at the airport—well, not her, but she’ll hire a town car to take us to the hospital.

“So that’s covered now,” she paused and stared at the phone, “do you think I can call the airline and book a flight for tomorrow?” she considered.

“I dinna ken,” Richard replied, “but I’m sure we can buy it at the airport. Although, it’ll cost a wee bit more—”

Mia waved him off in dismissal. “Money’s not a problem. But what if the flight is full? Can you do it on the computer?”

“Oh, right, we can do that,” he said and dropped what he was doing as he headed to his study below.

Mia followed him downstairs, forgetting her task of packing. Richard booted up the computer, and a few minutes later, he was online looking through flight time from Seattle to Chicago.

He wasn’t a stranger to the internet and online transactions; however, he wasn’t an expert. It took some time to get it done, but eventually, Richard could get their tickets on the earliest flight to Chicago.

Since Mia heard the news, there was hope and satisfaction in her eyes for the first time.

Once all of Mia’s checklist was done, she returned to her task of packing her things. It was past ten in the evening before her unease receded.

Richard drew Mia close to him as they lay on their side facing each other. He turned to lay on his back, pulling Mia slightly on top of him.

Her hair was sprawled on his chest. He faintly smelled her raspberry shampoo. Without much thought, his finger glided through the tresses of her hair soothingly.

“Do you think that her accident was—” Mia said but stopped, choking to even say it aloud. “I mean, Aunt Leanna is not an irresponsible driver. I ride with her, and she’s careful, you know.”

“Aye, dinna think about it, Mia. Ye’d only make yerself daft contemplating what happened. Ye weren’t there,” Richard countered. “We should sleep now, wake up early, and head to the airport, aye?”

“But, do you think—”

Richard lightly brushed her hair back and kissed her head lightly. “Mo chridhe, ~we canna think every grievous event has something to do with him.

“He canna crawl out of the grave and haunts us for the rest of our lives. And those who died that tainted us shouldn’t be given the privilege to live freely in our minds. He is gone. The dead should be buried.”

Mia clutched on his shirt. Her silence spoke volumes. “How do you know what I was thinking?” she asked a minute later.

“I havna been with ye for show, love. I see what ye see, feel what ye feel, and I ken it fine what he’d done to ye,” he whispered the words, but he was sure she’d heard him.

“I don’t know how you put up with me for so long.” She chuckled, yet there was a nuance in her words.

“It’s not without love, determination, and sincerity. I’m here as long as ye still want me.” He started caressing her back, lulling her to sleep.

There was another short silence in the room.

“I will always want you.” Her words were nearly a sigh. “Always.”

“Sleep well, mo chridhe.”

The following day, there were hardly any words exchanged between them unless it was to point out something about their flight or remind each other of forgotten things.

Richard’s repetitious and straightforward words of assurance consisted of “It’s fine,” or “She’ll be alright.”

Richard was grateful once they were on board the plane and up in the air. Mia relaxed enough to take a nap until the pilot announced they were about to land.

Once they disembarked from the plane, she was like a ball of concentration as they weaved through the crowd in the arrival terminal. Mia searched for the driver of the town car Isabel had hired to take them to the hospital.

Shortly after getting their luggage from the conveyer belt of bags, he found Mia. She had already asked the driver to have the car ready by the exit while Richard got their loads.

By then, it was another anxiety-filled waiting game for Mia. Feeling her nerves slowly affecting him, Richard grabbed her hand, taking her attention away from her trouble for a moment.

“Mia, why don’t ye call Isabel for an update on yer aunt? I’m sure she’s there with yer mom at the hospital,” Richard said, composed.

She stared at him for a second. The creases between her eyebrows slowly subsided. “I’m sorry. Yes, I should do that, right?” she muttered and then took out her cell phone from her purse.

“Should I call Mom instead? Or would it be better to call Isabel? I mean, I know Mom’s there with her.”

“Yer mom would want to have her attention to yer aunt. And I’m certain she’d rather Isabel talks to ye,” he replied, giving her a firm decision from her cluttered thoughts.

“Right. You’re right,” she said and nodded. She then made the call as the town car drove up on the pavement in front of them.

Mia waved her hand to signal the driver to give Richard a hand with the luggage while she jumped in the passenger seat with the phone by her ear.

Richard took over the communication with the driver while Mia talked with Isabel on the phone.

The drive to Northwestern Memorial Hospital was long and arduous, in the mental sense. Since they left Seattle, Mia looked anxious and fidgety. But now, she was composed like the clear skies before the storm.

Yet Richard wasn’t concerned he couldn’t handle it when the dam broke. He’d seen Mia at her worst. Yet, even then, she was strong like a mountain in winter.

Arriving at the hospital, Richard stayed behind to manage their luggage and transaction from the driver.

He watched Mia enter the lobby; her stride was quick and confrontational. He hoped no one crossed her path to her goal.

Richard followed a minute later, inquiring of the lobby receptionist on the whereabouts of Leanna’s room. He kept his leisurely pace, knowing there wasn’t much he could do once he was there.

He reached Leanna’s private room after Mia and her mother, Marjorie, finished exchanging pleasantries and worries about Leann’s condition.

While they talked amongst themselves, Richard saw a petite yet stout woman with dark wavy hair and a golden complexion.

He quickly guessed she was Isabel from the picture Mia showed him during her business trips with Leanna.

Since Leanna hired her for the last three years, Richard was absent during Mia’s short business trips. So naturally, he’d never met Isabel in person. And from the knowing look on Isabel’s face, she’d seen him in photographs.

“Mr. McKenzie, I presume?” she asked, holding out her hand to him. “I’m Isabel Corazon, Mrs. Stanton’s secretary. I’ve heard a lot about you from Ms. Harnett.”

Richard briefly shook her hand and let go. “Likewise, Ms. Corazon.”

“Please, call me Isabel. It’s what the ladies call me,” she said and smiled sweetly, giving off a motherly affection. “I’ve already got a reservation for you and Mia at the Hilton.”

“Thank ye, Isabel. We’ll head on there once Mia’s comfortable and ready to go,” he replied and nodded in the general direction of Mia and Marjorie.

Isabel turned and watched with Richard as the mother and daughter chatted softly. They kept an arm wrapped around the other as they observed Leanna, who looked like she was merely sleeping rather than in a coma.

“Her surgery went fine. But she got a concussion, which may be why she’s not awake yet. However, the doctors assured us that she’ll wake up,” Isabel informed without his prompt.

“But, will they be okay?” he asked pensively.

“These ladies have gone through a lot in life. But, even if I wasn’t there to witness the majority of it, I know they are resilient. They’ll get through this.”