Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
“Okay.” I shifted, trying to pull myself up and grimacing.
He stood and helped me.
“My shoulders hurt the most.”
He looked angry, but his voice was calm. “I know. I want you to stay on top of the pain meds. I hate seeing you in discomfort. When we get home, I’ll have a massage therapist in for you daily.”
I didn’t respond, and he sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you coming home with me, Anna?”
“What?”
“I’m sure you’re thinking how dangerous my world is now. If you’ve changed your mind—”
I stopped him by covering his mouth. “Stop it. Because of your world, I am here. Alive and with you. I was taken before I knew you. He came after me again because of his obsession. Both times, you rescued me. I’m grateful for ‘your world.’” I drew in a deep breath. “And I love you. I never want to leave you.”
He was silent.
“I knew you’d come for me. Find me. I believed that the same way Una knew Finn would find her. Because of you, I had hope.” I touched his hand. “And I was right. You found me.”
I watched as emotions crossed his face. I was shocked to see tears in his eyes. He took my hand, kissing the palm and holding it to his cheek. “I thought I’d lost you. Even after we got you out, you were so lifeless in my arms—I was terrified.” A tear rolled over my hand as he spoke. “I can’t lose you, Anna. You have become so ingrained in my heart. The thought of anything happening to you tears me up inside, and I—”
I shook my head. “Then the safest place in the world for me is with you, isn’t it?”
He inhaled, his emotions so clearly visible in his fierce expression. “Yes.”
“Then the matter is settled. I’m staying with you, and you’ll protect me and love me.”
He smiled even as another tear splashed on my hand. “And you’ll bake me cookies and love me.”
“Always.”
He rested his head on my chest, letting his emotions out. I stroked his hair, crooning softly, knowing I would be the only one he allowed to see his fear.
When he lifted his face, he met my eyes, his once again calm.
“Always.”
Finn and Una came in, looking worried. I had moved to the chair, propped up with pillows, and Niall sat on the bed, feeding me tidbits of the food he had ordered in. I wasn’t overly hungry, but I ate to please him.
Una saw I was awake and promptly burst into tears, racing to me and hugging me as she wept. I patted her back, grateful she was gentle. My shoulders and arms ached constantly. I let her cry, offering the box of tissues when she pulled back.
“I was so frightened,” she whispered.
I squeezed her hand. “Me too.”
Finn came over, bending and kissing my cheek. “Good to see you alert and sitting up.”
“Thank you.”
I glanced between him and Niall. “Maybe you two could go for coffee,” I suggested. “Get Niall to eat something substantial, Finn.” I indicated the morsels on the table. “He needs more than this.”
Niall began to protest, and I smiled. “Una is here. You have a man outside. And I’d like to talk to my friend.”
His face softened in understanding. He knew what a close bond I had with Una.
Finn nodded. “I brought food from the hotel for both of you. It’s in the lounge.”
Niall bent and kissed me. “Right down the hall.”
“Okay.”
Una held my hands. “She walked right past me…I didn’t know.”
“I know. Niall told me everything.”
“I never liked her.”
That made me chuckle. “I know.”
“I wish I could slap her a few times,” she confessed.
“Finn shot her.”
She nodded. “He told me.”
“Dead,” I emphasized.
“I think that was the point.”
“She was a bitch.”
“Tell me.”
I told her what I could recall. Some things were blurry. Some things too painful to relive, but I got them out. Una listened, letting me get all the words out in the open. She understood.
“Do you know what she called Niall?” I asked after we’d been quiet for a few moments.
“What?”
“Doughy.”
Una frowned. “Doughy? What, compared to her stick of a wannabe man?”
“Exactly. I told her off.”
“Bitch.”
“She hit me.”
“Finn killed her.” She grinned. “He’d have killed her again if he’d heard that. He and Niall are a bit vain about their physique.”
“As they should be.”
We started to laugh, and it felt good.
She sighed. “Niall was beside himself. He loves you the way Finn loves me.”
“I know.”
“We’re postponing the wedding.”
“No, you can’t. I’m fine. I can stand up for you—just maybe no pictures.”
I had seen myself in the mirror. I was bruised, and I had a cut on my cheek where the bracelet had hit me. Another one by my mouth. A long one on my neck from the knife, which luckily was only surface, not a deep cut. But I wouldn’t be camera-ready in a few days.