I could hear the sound of beeping and that's what brought me to attention.
My eyes immediately opened and I tried to sit up but was immediately pushed down by strong hands. A sharp pain ran through my side as my back hit the bed.
My first instinct was to get back up and fight but then I heard a familiar voice speak.
"Relax, it's just me." I registered my Uncle Ben's face and also my surroundings.
I was in a hospital room.
Another person appeared by my side and put her hand on my shoulder. "Jason." My mother's voice spoke. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"
I pulled out one of the tubes that was connected to my wrist and tried to get up again. "I don't want to be here." I spoke.
I've always hated hospitals. Being in them makes me feel weak. I never feel like I'm in control. And bad things always seem to happen in hospitals.
Uncle Ben pushed me down again. "Relax, son, you'll rip your stitches." He warned.
My hand instinctively flew to my side where a white bandage was stuck.
My mind went back to what happened earlier in my hotel room.
The masked guy who somehow broke into my room and snuck up behind me before stabbing me.
I remembered Kate... her touch... her concern.
"Where is she?" I asked immediately, looking between my mother and Uncle.
My mother rolled her eyes."If you mean your little wench, she's out in the waiting room. She refuses to go home." My mother scoffed. "What an act. She's just putting on a show for the paparazzi."
"She's not pretending." I seethed. I could still feel her hand perfectly molding into mine.
My mother gave me one of her infamous 'ice queen' glares.
"You might be easily tricked by anything in a short skirt, Jason. But I am not fooled. That girl is nothing but a-"
"Mother, I suggest that you don't say anything else." I spoke through gritted teeth.
The look on her face was a combination of shock and anger. I had a feeling I'd be hearing from my father soon about disrespecting my mother.
But I almost forgot who the other person in the room was.
Uncle Ben smacked the back of my head.
"Don't forget your manners when addressing your mother, boy."
Trust me when I say that Uncle Benjamin has an iron fist. Literally speaking and figuratively.
My mother pursed her lips and kept quiet which I knew for a fact was dangerous. It's one thing to get yelled at by her but when she doesn't give you any response at all that's when you should be scared for your life.
"Explain to us exactly what happened before the cops get here. We need a solid story." My Uncle Ben spoke.
I furrowed my brows at him. "Why are we getting the cops involved?"
This wasn't the first time I was getting attacked. Sure it was the first time someone had the balls to attack me in my own territory but I had no doubt in my mind that I would be able to find them myself and deliver the justice that even the police couldn't deliver like I always do.
"The paparazzi got involved in this one so we can't handle it quietly." Uncle Ben explained.
My father pretty much has the police in his pockets so it's easy to usually slip out of legal situations but the paparazzi aren't that easily controlled. They live for controversial stories.
I hadn't even been paying attention to the paparazzi. At that moment all I saw was Kate by my side.
"Someone snuck into my room and snuck up on me." I explained.
Uncle Benjamin shook his head. "How the heck did someone sneak up on you without you noticing?" I could sense the disappointment in his voice. I couldn't blame him. After all, he was the one who taught me how to always be alert.
"I must've been tired." I muttered. But I knew exactly why I hadn't been at my best... it's because I was thinking about Kate. About how we had ended things. About the look she had on her face when I walked away. About how badly I had wanted to kiss her.
"Did you see his face? Or anything we could use to identify him?" Uncle Ben asked again.
I shook my head. "It happened really fast."
I felt so pathetic giving the excuse. That was the exact type of excuse Callahans were trained not to give. We were expected to be on high alert at all times.
"Dang it Jason!" Uncle Ben snapped. "Why the hell didn't you chase after him?"
Leave it to a Callahan to expect you to fight while you're injured.
I decided not to lie on this one. "Katelyn came in. I couldn't do anything while she was there."
"And she didn't see anything?" Uncle Ben asked.
"No." I spoke.
"Are you sure? Because she seemed nervous when we were talking to her." My mother spoke snarkily.
"You talked to her or you accused her?" I asked narrowing my eyes at my mother knowing fully exactly how she felt about her.
She folded her arms across her chest. "I don't trust her. I think she's hiding something. For all we know, she orchestrated that attack for publicity."
"Katelyn isn't like that." I snapped risking another disciplinary action from my Uncle Benjamin but to my surprise he remained silent.
My mother looked at him for appeal but he didn't say anything.
Of course my mother didn't need anyone to talk for her.
"What are you still doing with her, Jason? You're going against your father's direct orders."
"Don't you mean your orders?" I spoke making sure sarcasm dripped from my voice.
She gave me a cold look.
My mother pursed her lips.
I had learnt as a child that my mother thought before she spoke. Every action she executed was always clearly and carefully thought out. When she wanted results or even when she wanted to find out something, you could bet she would always get what she wanted. As a kid, I always thought she had some sort of super power because she always had a way of getting things her way.
"Isabella called earlier to find out how you were doing." She spoke. From the way she studied my face, I could tell she was hoping to get a reaction out of me. Not only her but my Uncle Ben too. He stood back quietly not wanting to overstep any boundaries but this wasn't just about my dysfunctional relationship with my mother. His daughter was involved too.
My mind quickly raced as I tried to settle on a suitable response. How did they expect me to react? Did they actually expect me to get excited? Especially after she revealed what Bella had done with Harry?
I kept my expression neutral.
"Okay." was all I said.
That clearly wasn't what she had been wanting to hear. "You should call her back soon, she sounded extremely worried." She continued.
Wow, she really was running this one into the ground.
''We don't exactly have much to talk about.'' I muttered gruffly.
My mother clearly wasn't happy about that response but before she could say anything else, the door burst open, I heard lots of chattering and yelling as my father was ushered into the room by Carl and Simon. Anthony was right behind him with two other of my father's body guards behind them. I could tell that they were fighting off paparazzi.
As soon as Simon managed to close the door behind them, my father started barking out orders.
"Can someone get those damn reporters out of the hallway! In fact clear out the whole floor. Make sure no one bothers us.''
Uncle Ben nodded and walked towards the guards. ''Carl, Simon, guard the door. The rest of you, make sure no one is within twenty feet of this room.''
The men immediately rushed out the room to execute their duties.
''How are you doing sport?" Anthony asked as soon as the door closed again.
He helped our father out of his coat.
''It was just a scratch, nothing to worry about.'' I responded.
''Well at least they didn't touch that pretty boy face of yours.'' Anthony spoke as he took off his own coat. ''It's really your only redeeming quality.'' He winked at me.
Leave it to Anthony to make a joke in a situation like this.
''Enough with the fooling around, Anthony.'' My father spoke impatiently.
I didn't expect him to show any concern about my well being, I learnt a long time ago that unless your injury was fatal, my father wouldn't even blink in your direction.
When I was thirteen and doing a job, I dislocated my knee and tried to call for reinforcements. But my father told me to just pop that sucker back in place and shake it off.
I expected Anthony to shoot back a witty response but he kept quiet and started closing the blinds. it's only then that I saw the dark circles around his eyes.
Not only that, he seemed... older. Like my father did every time he was worried which was all the time by the way.
''What do we know so far?" He asked as he settled into the love seat next to my mother.
It was funny how Callahan men claimed to have all the strength in the world but you would always find them drawn to their women. As if they drew strength from them.
''We weren't able to identify Jason's attacker.'' Uncle Ben spoke.
My father cursed. ''The security footage?"
''I supervised a team in analyzing it... we're still working and doing background checks but we still can't find anything. Whoever did this, planned it very carefully, he could have checked in as a guest, disguised himself as a guard or employee... there's no telling. I have reason to believe they've been planning this for a while now. We have no record of any suspicious new perssonel in the hotel.''
''How in the world did this happen? The Dynasty hotel is probably one of the most secure places in the world. Where were the guards who were supposed to be on that floor?''
''Apparently they got an emergency call from the car park.'' Uncle Benjamin spoke.
My father looked beyond frustrated. He ran a hand through his hair.
''And where were you during all this, Jason?" he demanded. "You've been taking out intruders since you were thirteen, how the hell did this one slip past you?"
I sighed. The only thing worse than telling my Uncle that I got distracted by a girl was telling my father that I got distracted by a girl.
"Listen, I messed up. I know but I'll even take point on this one. I'll find him. I promise."
I didn't miss the looks the three men in the room shared. I immediately sat up, this time having no one to push me back down. I fought the urge to clutch my side when more pain shot through my side.
"What's going on?" I asked
None of them said a word. It was my mother who spoke.
''You might as well tell him."
The three men shared a look before my father reluctantly spoke. "It looks like someone might be trying to bring my empire down."
I would have snorted out a laugh if everyone hadn't looked so serious and grim.
"What else is new? A lot of people don't like us. That's no secret." I stated matter of factly.
"Yeah but most of the people who don't like us are too scared or lack the brains to try and pull something and the ones who do lack the resources to do it. But this group is different.'' Anthony spoke.
''Group?" I asked. "How do you know it's a group? I'm pretty sure only one guy attacked me."
"This attack was just the third incident so far."
"They've been more?" I asked.
They shared that look again before my father spoke. "Someone sabotaged three of my ferry boats, one in Moscow, another in Japan and another in Dubai. They would have taken down more if I hadn't caught on sooner." he explained. "And last week the De Beers partners pulled out of our latest motor deal. Grey found out that an anonymous source informed him that something had been found on me in the DA's office."
"And now it looks like they're getting bold. You don't attack a Callaha.... especially in their home ground and leave alive." Anthony spoke.
"When did all this start happening?" I asked.
"About three weeks ago." Anthony answered.
I clenched my fist. "And you're just telling me now?" I yelled.
"We didn't trust you until now." My father shrugged.
I looked at him in disbelief. "Do you really think I could have something to do with this?"
"Well not anymore." Uncle Ben spoke.
I studied all four faces. "You've got to be kidding me. You really thought I could have plotted against my family?"
"You haven't exactly been the poster child, Jason. You've been bringing outsiders into your bed and to all these family events, who knows what you've been up to?" my mother spoke.
"You just really want Katelyn to be guilty, don't you? I already told you she has nothing to do with this?" I snapped.
By the look on her face, I knew she had gotten the reaction she wanted.
My father stood up. He marched to the bedside and glared down at me. "Do not talk to your mother like that Jason.'' He spoke in a low threatening tone.
I looked down at the ground. ''I'm sorry, father.'' I muttered.
''It isn't me you should be apologising to.'' he growled.
I turned to look at the blonde woman behind him. ''Sorry mother.''
She gave me a smug look and nodded curtly. ''You're forgiven.''
My father pulled down his jacket and cleared his throat. ''Anthony, I want you to keep on doing what you're doing, Ben, you're taking point on Jason's case. Find whoever did this and bring him to me.''
He turned to look at me. ''And you... Lay low.''
''Are you seriously cutting me out of the loop? You know I can help. Give me something to do.''
My father clearly didn't appreciate my tone. He fixed a cold look on me.
''You want to do something? Keep an eye on that girl of yours. She's a suspect too."
"I already told you-"
"I don't care what you say. Her arrival into your life is way too much of a coincidence with everything thats been going on. You're to keep her around strictly to keep an eye on her and only to keep an eye on her."
"Frank, Jason is supposed to propose to Isabella soon." My mother spoke up.
''Hold up on those plans then.'' He ordered. '''This is more important. Besides, Ben made it clear that he wants Isabella to finish off her punishment.''
"But this girl-" my mother continued.
''I've made my decision." My father spoke with finality.
He held his arm out to my mother. She forced a smile before taking it.
''Of course my love.''
''Get out of here as soon as you can.'' he spoke to me. ''Joey and Greg will be at your side at all times.''
He nodded at Uncle Ben and Anthony to follow him as he started walking towards the door.
''I'll catch up in a bit.'' Anthony announced as he helped the Boss into his coat.
He shut the door behind Uncle Benjamin.
''What are we going to do?" I asked immediately referring to Kate. If my father suspected her, I had no doubt in my mind that he'd be spying on her from this day forth. And my mother would most definitely make sure he did.
''I don't know.'' Anthony sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He looked defeated and exhausted.
''What do you mean you don't know?" I demanded. ''You always have a plan.''
''It means I don't flipping know, Jason!'' He sunk down in the love seat and hung his head low. ''I just... I don't know what to do this time around.'' He buried his head into is hands.
I expected him to look up at me grin and say 'Just kidding!' and venture into a carefully devised plan only he could come up with.
But he didn't. He remained in the same depressed position.
''What's going on, man?" I asked in concern.
He let out a humourless chuckle. ''Where do you want me to start? I'm so in over my head, for the first time in my life, I don't feel like I'm in control of anything.''
''You're Anthony Callahan.'' I told him with a chuckle, ''You're always on top of things."
He just shook his head and refused to look at me.
"You just need to shake your self out of this funk. Kate needs you and that big brain of yours."
"Jason! Don't you hear me? I said I can't." He stood up and looked around as if afraid someone might be listening to us. "This attack has got everyone on edge. The Boss doesn't even trust our Uncles. Or any of the people on his council at this point. For goodness sake, he didn't even trust you! If I step out of line even by an inch, I'm going to be under fire. I can't help Kate."
"Anthony, you need to try." I told him sternly.
His eyes snapped at me. "In case you don't remember, I took the Boss' threats for granted with Trixie and remember what happened to her?" He asked, his voice cracking.
My jaw stiffened and I tried not to think about that happening to Kate.
I knew I had stumbled upon an extremely sensitive spot with Anthony.
He never talked about Trixie. I knew how painful it still was for him.
"I can't do anything." He spoke in a low voice. "And trust me. I know it's my fault she's still here. I know I'm letting down Harry."
For some reason, something roared in my gut the minute he mentioned Harry's name.
"It's okay Tony. Everything is going to be okay" I assured him.
He let out a humourless laugh. "Unless you're a magician, I don't know how it is."
"We're not magicians. We're Callahans." I told him with a smirk.
He chuckled. "Right."
"We'll protect Kate and take down whoever is trying to screw with us."
Anthony narrowed his eyes at me. "Interesting order of words." He commented, suspicion was written in his voice.
"What?" I asked.
"It's just that you mentioned Kate before Callahan business."
I almost cursed. I knew what he meant. I always put family first but this time... This time I put a girl first... and it didn't feel wrong.
I felt obliged to protect her. Like it was my duty now.
But Anthony couldn't know that. No one could.
Who knew what they'd start thinking?
I tried to shrug casually. "Does it matter?"
Anthony just studied me.
"Is there something you want to tell me, brother?" He asked.
I kept my face straight and shook my head.
"No. Is there something you want to tell me brother?"
We were having a stare down at this point and I couldn't help but feel like he was seeing right through me.
"No." He finally answered. "I need to go." He spoke.
I nodded.
He still stared at me suspiciously before he finally turned around and left.
I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding in.
I ran a hand through my hair.
Jason Callahan, what are you thinking?