“It would appear so.” Antoniou wears the face of someone who sees this sort of thing every day, not unsympathetic, but unsurprised and matter of fact.
I cannot share her calm.
“Where is he?” I manage to sound relatively cool, though my temper is burning hot and my jaw is clenched.
“As I said, we’re bringing him in for questioning.”
“And if I asked you for five minutes alone with him?”
The detective smiles wanly. “I’d say that, while I personally wouldn’t have a problem with that if it was up to me, it’s way more than my job is worth.”
Sadie’s hand slips over mine and squeezes, and it’s only then that I realise I’m shaking like buildings do during an earthquake. “I should have been there with you,” I murmur to her, anger and guilt tying my guts up in knots.
“You couldn’t have known,” she tells me sensibly, though her voice still quavers, “and you can’t watch over me every second of every day.”
I rub a hand over my face, trying hard to calm down. “I know that, I know, but I never evendreamed…”
“Why would you?” Sadie rests her forehead against my jaw, and I try to keep in mind what’s important: that Peter’s plan failed, and that Sadie and our baby are safe.
But the urge to wrap my hands around Peter’s throat and squeeze until his neck crumbles and collapses will probably stay with me for the rest of my life. I’ll always feel cheated that I couldn’t do it.
Eventually, a long, slow deep breath settles me enough to be able to turn to Antoniou, who is waiting so patiently, and ask, “So, what happens now?”
“Now, I go and question Lang, who will be under caution. We need more than just Jayden Ross’s word as proof, but I imagine a look at Lang’s laptop by our colleagues in forensics will shed further light on the matter.” She gives me adon’t-fuck-with-melook. “And in the event he is granted bail, you arenotto go looking for him, or I will come looking for you and make you regret risking jail when you have a beautiful family to take care of.”
Point taken. I look at Sadie, and then bump, and then give Antoniou a lopsided smile. “You make a good point,” I admit.
“Always. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Lang’s got some explaining to do, and I’m the lucky one who gets to pry it all out of him.” Her gruff smile almost meets her eyes, and then she and her constable have left.
“Leo?”
“Yes, my love,” I say, running a hand over her hair.
“I’d rather you didn’t leave me tonight.” She rubs her hands over her face. “I know there’s probably visiting hours and regulations, but…”
I smile, climbing next to her on the hospital bed. “Woman, they would have to knock me out with a mallet if they wanted to drag me out of here. It ain’t gonna happen.”
Eli
Watching them both through the door window, the last little piece of me that was still knotted with worry loosens up.
I’ve never seen anyone with an expression like Leo’s when he answered his phone. The way he looked both murderous and terrified in a single instance…I can’t describe it, and I hope I never see anything like it on his face or anyone else’s again.
After he ran off, my wife called me, and once I’d established thatshewas OK, Dean and I got to the hospital via cab. We ran fit to bust a lung through this massive fucking labyrinth of a hospital before we found everyone, and when I got the full story, I thought my head might explode.
If Leo wants to go after Peter, I’ll be going with him. I owe that rat bastard for putting Em in danger, too. A guy with a knife, who actuallycuta pregnant woman? How the fuck did Peter find someone like that among his student body, and what was he thinking?! And I imagine Dean would jump on board the vengeance train, too. But it sounds like Leo’s going to do the smart thing and just focus on himself and Sadie. And the baby.
I feel sick when I think of a knife anywhere near that little one while it sleeps inside my friend. I wonder if it was just a coincidence that all three of us were out of the parlour, leaving the women on their own. But this guy with a knife, and Peter, took on the wrong ladies. Sadie has always been a force to be reckoned with. A fighter, a survivor, a no-fooling lioness. Peter can’t have been in his right mind, to think what he planned was a good and viable idea. I’m in awe of what she did, physically fighting him off like that. I’m just sad and angry that she had to go through that ordeal.
My arm goes around Em’s shoulders, and I kiss the top of her head. Dean’s sitting in the waiting area texting like fury, I imagine filling Liaden in on events, and I just take a fewmoments to hold myChere. My brave darling girl, who took on an armed lunatic with nothing more than a plant pot at her disposal. My spine shivers when I think about her being in the same room as anyone as violent and dangerous as that,again. But I couldn’t be more proud of the way she handled herself.
Thank fuck they took up krav maga.
Thank fuck she’s OK, no broken bones or burn marks this time.
And thank fuckSadieand our niece or nephew are both safe.
She and Leo are locked in each other’s orbit right now, lying forehead to forehead, and all they need is to breathe in the other’s presence. So I think the rest of us can go home. We can rally around them both later. But right now, we’re not needed.
