“She’s OK,” she whispers, and then quietly walks to me and wraps her arms around my waist. “The police are here, and they’ll want to talk to you. They’ve had a quick talk with her already, but then the doctor needed to…to finish looking her over, and…” Her voice cracks.
I hug her absently, unable to take my eyes off Sadie. Her hair is spread over the pillow, her face resting to one side. She has adrip in, and her hands are still cradling her stomach protectively, her new maternal instincts undiminished in the face of sedation.
“Tell me everything,” I say in a low voice, slow fury twisting through me now that I’ve seen with my own eyes that she’s safe.
Pulling me further from the bed so we don’t disturb her, she tells me the whole story. Walking out to a scene from a nightmare. My crazy fucking valkyrie doing martial arts on her attacker. The fall. Gary charging in, our little winged avenger, who isdefinitelygetting extra treats for the rest of his life. The plant pot. The police, and the ambulance.
I hear footsteps running down the corridor, and then Dean and Eli are in the room as well, catching their breath and looking everyone over, trying to figure out what happened and if everyone is OK. Giving me one look, Em decides to usher them both out for explanations and leave me with Sadie.
My life.
My entire universe.
I don’t know if I’ve sat here for minutes or days, but it’s fraying me. Just watching, holding her hand and kissing her knuckles as gently as I can, waiting for her to wake up.
Finally, her eyes slowly open, and it takes a couple of moments for her to register me sitting on the bed before she gives me a weak smile. “Hey.”
With just that one word, spoken in a croaky voice, it all just hits me. I could have lost her. I might never have heard her speak again. And our little compadre in her womb…I may never have gotten to hold our child. They were so nearly snatched from me on some random, unremarkable Saturday out of nowhere, everything I’ve ever wanted stolen at the last moment.
“Fuck, Sades,” I whisper, before gently scooping her into my arms and breathing her in. Taking time to truly appreciate the smell of her hair, the feel of her tucked under my chin. It’s all somuch more precious now than ever before, even when I longed for her the most back in the day.
“I was so scared,” she whimpers, rigid as she forces herself not to cry. I kiss her face cupped between my hands, torn between my adoration for her and her bravery and rage for the motherfucker who dared to threaten my family for nothing more than just some cash.
I can’t find any words. I can’t find anything coherent in me except bone deep relief that steals my ability to do anything else except hold them close and figure out a way to keep them both there permanently. I’m sure I can get used to living my life with one arm occupied by clutching them to me twenty four hours a day.
I’m not sure how long we silently hold each other, drawing peace and calm from each other’s arms, but after a while, there’s a cough behind me. I turn, and there’s a uniformed policeman next to a woman in a grey suit with a white shirt, her hair tied back in a tight no-nonsense ponytail. She unfolds her ID to show us both. “Sorry for interrupting. I’m Detective Antoniou. I’m guessing you’re the Leo she was asking for?” There’s a faint hint of Australian in her voice.
I look back at Sadie, my heart cracking once again at the thought of her asking for me. “Yeah, that’s me.” I hold out a hand for her to shake, and although she’s firm rather than brutal, I can tell she could break my hand if she wanted to. It’s reassuring.
She turns to Sadie. “You spoke to my colleague earlier. How are you feeling?”
I look back at her, keen to hear the answer myself. “Tired, mostly. And relieved that…” She looks down at her stomach and runs a loving hand over it.
Detective Antoniou nods with understanding. “From what I hear, you did a great job fighting him off.”
Sadie shrugs. “The krav maga lessons paid off when it counted.”
“They certainly did.” She sighs. “I’ll cut to the chase, because lord knows you could both use some more rest. Does the name Peter Lang mean anything to you?”
I frown, and Sadie stares. “Yes, he’s my ex. Why?”
The detective gives us both an even look, and that, more than anything else, lets me know I need to brace myself for what she’s about to say. “Your assailant has been, as they say, singing like a canary since we started questioning him. It seems Mr Lang was the one who employed him to try to rob you.”
If Antoniou had told us that Peter was the tooth fairy, I don’t think I could be any more shocked. Sadie’s mouth drops open, my feelings mirrored in her face. “But…why?!” she splutters. “There has to be a mistake, Peter wouldn’t - ”
“Your ex has built some sizeable debts, by all accounts. Jayden Ross, the one who attacked you, is one of his students. Lang convinced him to do it in exchange for straight firsts in all his coursework and a cut of anything he stole.” She looks grim. “We’re bringing Lang in for questioning, but if what Ross has told us is true, Lang has not only conspired to commit armed robbery, he’s also committed fraud using cloned credit cards to fund his lifestyle supplied by Ross’s associates,andwe believe he may have been behind your recent problems withyourbank account. And your credit rating tanking.”
“I…” Sadie looks like she’s been smacked around the face with a sack of wet cement. “But he…” She struggles, and then exhales and gives up.
My whole body feels both cold and hot at the same time. My vision throbs. My hands shake with rage.
I have never, ever been this angry in all my life. Not once.
I am going to find Peter Fuckface Lang, and I am going to end his life, slowly, using pliers, a blowtorch, and my bare hands. I am going to make Sadie’s beloved Art the Clown looktame.
“Were you aware of any financial troubles he may have had?” Antoniou asks Sadie, but she can only shake her head. “No large purchases, no gambling problems?”
“No - wait…” Sadie’s eyes wander all over her blanket as she casts her mind back. “I mean…he did have a lot of fancy things, but I mean, he’s a lecturer. Ofeconomics. I just put it down to a decent wage and financial nous. Savings, and dividends, and…that kind of thing…” Her face is white. “Hestolefrom me?”
