“Is he gone?” Kayden asked.
Lana hopped up on the bed and positioned herself as well as she could. She started mixing the shaving cream in the small plastic bowl and then used the cheap brush to apply it to his face.
“I told him his presence was no longer needed and thanked him for his help. I think he got the message,” she replied, and winked at him.
“Good. I don’t like the way he looks at you like you’re his. You aremine,” Kayden declared.
She started to slowly shave away the five o’clock shadow that had reappeared on his cheeks and felt her stomach get a warm, tingly sensation from his declaration.
“You have nothing to worry about, mister,” Lana reassured, intently shaving and washing the razor in the cup of water. He grabbed her hand before she could put it on his face again and stopped her.
“I love you. Did I tell you that today?” he asked, his one good eye searching her face.
She smiled widely but winced as her bottom lip pulled against the stitches in it—courtesy of Kim’s self-bought engagement ring colliding with her mouth.
“Ouch,” she frowned.
Kayden pulled her towards him and planted a sweet kiss on the broken skin of her lip, the shaving cream smearing all over her face.
“I love you too.”
She leaned back and returned to her duty when Kayden’s smile faded slowly, and he gazed beyond her.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, wiping the cold shaving cream off her chin with her wrist.
“When I was out…in the coma…I was with my dad and Joel,” he confessed, “It was so vivid. We were on a fishing boat, and it was just like we used to do. Drinking beers, you know—just having a good time. And for a minute, just for a minute, I didn’t want to leave. It felt warm and inviting and...”
“Safe.”
His gaze met hers, rimmed in tears.
“What do you think it means?” he questioned, his face searching hers for an answer.
“I don’t know, exactly. Maybe that was their way of watching out for you or...”
“Do you think it means they forgive me?” he interrupted, tears rolling down his face.
The question caught her off guard, and seeing him so raw and emotional caused her eyes to water next.
“Of course. I think that’s exactly what it meant. I think it also means that they not only forgiveyou, they want you to forgiveyourself.”
Lana placed the plastic bowl and brush on the table and pushed it aside. Kayden couldn’t contain his emotions anymore and sobbed at her comforting words. She wrapped her arms around him, and he held onto her tightly as he let it all out. Lana couldn’t imagine what an experience like that could mean to him and hoped that he found peace in it, finally forgiving himself for the person he used to be. She kissed the top of his head and held him for what felt like forever, never wanting to let him go.
3
danger left breathing
Kim crouched down in the corner of the ice-cold jail cell, wrapping her arms around her knees. The room, no bigger than a gas station bathroom, smelled like one, too, and she fought he urge to gag. Confined there for over a week now, she had no idea what was happening in the outside world. The judge denied her a bond, so she had to sit in there until her court date.How was Kayden? Would Maureen ever forgive me? Am I gonna spend the rest of my life in jail?
The questions played on repeat in her mind daily. The thought of spending the rest of her days in a place like that caused a shiver to run down her spine, and she almost regretted what she’d done.If Lana had just done what she had agreed to, Kayden wouldn’t be in a coma right now.They’d be planning the luxurious wedding she’d spent hours of her life preparing for instead. Kim stood up and walked around the small cage as she planned her next step. She had to speak with Maureen.
That was her only hope; otherwise, she would rot away in there while Lana continued to poison Kayden and maybe even Maureen against her! Kim was grateful she didn’t kill her, though; that wasn’t her intention. She wasn’t sure what herintention was. That night, all she could think about was the two of them going back up to Paula’s house together, and everyone else forgetting she ever existed.
Hell, even Maureen had a new man in her life, Paula hated her, and the first piece of evidence that could frame Kayden and Maureen was long gone. It wasn’t the best idea she had to try and hold onto him, but it was all she could think of at the time. Now, she had nothing left—well,almostnothing. Kim banged on the cell, rattling the rusting metal until the guard’s footsteps drew near. The sound of keys sauntering down the hall meant she was on the way.
Officer Betty Woodbourne dragged down the hall and settled in front of the cell, folded her arms over her chest, and cocked her head to the side. She was an older Black woman, tall, with a pristine curly pixie cut.
“What’s the problem?” Betty sneered as she opened a hard caramel candy and popped it in her mouth.
