Page 16 of Promised Love

I pick it up and glance at the screen. “It’s not Mom and Dad.”

“Whoever it is, it seems urgent.”

I press on the green button on the display. “Hello.”

“Hello, is this Mrs. Autumn Spencer?” a female voice asks.

Spencer.

My heartbeat goes wild, and I can almost hear the pumping of my blood along with the faint background noises coming from the other side.

“Wh-who’s this?” I whisper in a state of shock.

“We’re calling from St. Peppers City Hospital, ma’am. Are you the wife of Mr. Lukas Spencer? We have your number listed as his emergency contact.”

When I don’t reply for several seconds, she asks again, “Are you not, ma’am?”

“I… I am. What happened to…him?” My voice trembles as fear grips my chest tight.

“He was shot, Mrs. Spencer.” As the nurse gives me the horrid details of how much blood he lost, I feel the onset of nausea growing by every second.

“H-he’ll be alright?”

“He’ll be fine. Your husband is very lucky that the bullets didn’t do any serious damage. He saved a young girl’s life.”

“Please take care of him. I’ll be there soon.” My hands shake and the phone slips through my fingers, falling onto the desk with a clatter.

“Hey, Auttie. What is it? Are your parents okay?” Chiara reaches for my phone before it drops to the floor.

“They’re fine. It’s Lukas Spencer.” I peer at Mr. Big.

Outside of my family, he and Chiara are the only people who know about…my husband.

“He’s in St. Peppers City Hospital. I need to leave. Right now.”

Mr. Big’s lips twist into a grim line, and he nods. “I’ll call a cab.”

Once he leaves, I turn to Chiara. “Can you please help with the inn until my parents are back?”

She circles the desk and squeezes my hand. “Don’t worry about the inn, Auttie. But do you want me to come with you?”

I shake my head.

My best friend gives me a long look before she nods. “Okay, then you go pack your stuff. We’ll take care of things here.”

I run to my suite and throw some of my clothes into a duffel bag, then I pull out my documents file from the bottom drawer of the TV stand. My hands shake as I take out the marriage certificate we signed four years ago.

What is he doing in St. Peppers?

The question runs on a loop in my mind as I place the file back and grab the small wooden box next to it. I flip it open to take out a dog tag hanging on a ball chain, remembering our email conversation from two years ago.

From: autumnthefallqueen

To: lukasspencer

Hi, Lukas,

Thank you for the surprise birthday gift. I must say, I wasn’t really expecting to receive your dog tag. I sent you a picture of me wearing it. How do I look?