Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
I’d begun to fall back asleep when I heard him say again, “I love you.”
I couldn’t answer him, not yet. Even though he was making me feel better, there was still too much hurt. So instead, I entwined our fingers, sliding mine against his.
He squeezed my hand. I settled back against him, and I fell asleep.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
There were whispers from the nurses as I was bundled up in a wheelchair, getting ready to leave. They’d been whispering for the last few days. Kai never left my side, and his guards never left him, so it was a nice circus because of that. I knew the doctor was slightly scared of Kai, but who wouldn’t be?
I hadn’t thought anyone knew who he was—I mean, he wasn’t a celebrity—until I heard one nurse telling another outside in the hallway, “That’s him. I’m telling you.”
“What?” Her friend had laughed, scoffing. “No way. Get real.”
“I’m telling you. It’s him. It was his sister who was missing a while back. You remember, the mafia princess. They showed his picture on the news. He’s in the mafia.”
“Come on,” her friend had murmured, sounding slightly less incredulous. “What are the chances?”
“Chances are good, Silvia. I’m telling you, it’s him.” A pause. “Look! There it is.”
“Oh my God.” Her friend had sucked in some air. “Holy shit. Holy shit!”
A hiss back. “I know!”
“Holy—”
Kai had been curled up behind me that night, but he’d moved swiftly and silently. Easing out of bed, he walked to the door. “I’m aware that rumors and gossip are unavoidable, but move it along so you’re not disturbing my woman’s sleep.”
They had both gasped.
And I guess they hadn’t moved quickly enough, because he’d snapped out, quietly, “Now.”
I’d heard them hurrying along as he crawled back under the covers, his arms wrapping around me. “Sleep, Riles. We leave soon.”
Riles.
The first time he called me that, I hadn’t processed it. I did now, and I liked it. A lot.
After that, the looks of intrigue, fear, lust, and desperation had been more prominent among the nursing staff. The only person who didn’t seem to care was a nurse aid. She always had a cheerful wave as she refilled the medical supplies and brought back new nightgowns for me, though I didn’t use them. It didn’t matter to her. She took out the ones left behind, replaced them with the new ones, and repeated the process the next day.
For some reason, I knew I’d miss her the most, though she barely spoke a word to us.
Kai was conferring with the doctor outside in the hallway, and a large number of nurses were in the room, all watching as he came back in after shaking the doctor’s hand.
I noticed the look of relief on the doctor’s face as he poked his head in and smiled at me. “You’re in good hands, Riley. I’ve conferred with Dr. Bennett, and he’ll be keeping me updated with your progress.” That was news to me. “You’re going to be fine. Have a safe trip back to Vancouver.”
He darted down the hallway after that.
I looked at Kai. “Vancouver?”
“You cut all your ties here.” He frowned a little. “I thought you’d want to go back?”
We hadn’t talked about the after—my life since he’d destroyed me. We hadn’t even fully talked about what had happened between us. I’d listened to his proclamations, but I hadn’t had time to digest any of it. The loss of her—that’s what the doctor told us when I asked—hadn’t fully set in either.
Kai waited once we had left the hospital and were safe in the back of the SUV before he brought it up again.
“Did you not want to go to Vancouver?”
Did I?
I frowned. “I don’t know, actually.”
He rested his head back, watching me. “We can go wherever you want. Just… I’m going with you. That’s the only stipulation.” His eyes darkened. They were fierce. “I tried walking from you once. It nearly killed me. I won’t be doing it again, so that’s out of the question.”
His words warmed me.
He took my hand, and I gazed down at our joined fingers on my lap. I felt a tear falling.
“I was going to Montana.” I told him everything. “It wasn’t too far over the border. Blade and Carol were going to meet me there, and after the fireworks settled, they were going to reach back out to the Network. They were going to try to work with them again, just from where we were. That was a few years down the road. We all thought it’d take that long. There was a cabin on a lake. I had enough cash with me to buy it, and we had the papers all ready. I was never going to let you know about her.”
His hand spasmed against mine, but unlike the last few days, I held him tight. He tried to withdraw, but I clamped down and made sure he was meeting my gaze. I wanted him to see inside of me.