I sighed against his mouth, reveling in the beautiful magic that he’d come for me and we were reunited—again.
“I’m not joking about anything,” he replied as the plane lowered in the sky. “I’m taking you straight to my bed and not letting anything or anyone bother you until you can admit you’re on the path to recovery.”
I smiled, resting back against the chair. “The doctor seems to think I won’t need to recover from much.” No serious medical concerns had been noted.
“Hey, not all trauma is physical.” He tapped the side of his temple. “I want you to recover in every way.”
I smiled and slightly shook my head. “I will. And I have before. That was the longest I was held hostage, but it wasn’t the first time.” The last time I’d been taken and held hostage before this experience was whenhehad taken me. Before that, I had been captured during an operation. That probably didn’t count because I had “let” myself be taken for the purpose of getting closer to the enemy. But I would survive. I would get over this experience as well.
After we exited the plane, we got in one of several cars to be taken home. It should’ve stood out to me how different it was to be treated like this. Escorted, surrounded by security. Like I was royalty. The Dubininswerelike royalty, though, at the helm of ruling a kingdom of their own making.
He wasn’t playing around when he said he would protect me and make sure I had the peace to recover. We arrived at the mansion I’d snuck into that one day to find him. Unlike how I’d crept near and stalked the guards to slip inside then, I was carried right through the front door like a precious gift.
No one stopped him. No one asked him to wait and explain what was going on. Like he owned the place, he strode all the way upstairs until he opened the doors to a large bedroom. He didn’t stop there, carrying me all the way to a huge bathroom where he began a slow and careful process of stripping us both so he could stand in the shower. He held me, then washed me, and brought me to bed.
After weeks of not seeing him, it was strange to go through this process and get into bed without any rush to have sex. But he was right. I needed to recover. I had to acclimate to the idea that I was here and safe.
“I appreciate that you’re here with me,” I told him as he tucked me into bed. Even though we were both wearing pajamas, it was weird to have the additional special treatment of a nurse coming in to give me fluids through the IV again and check my vitals, then the baby’s.
“I appreciate that you are letting me bring you here,” he replied before kissing the top of my head.
We both had a lot to be grateful for. We were together. Our baby was okay so far.
This reunion wouldn’t be the only occasion to make time for, though. Once I had recovered, I would be catching up with the plans we’d been kept from before. After my capture and being held hostage for so long, I was eager to speak with Luka about the Obsidian Eye group. If they were the ones behind the hell I endured for the last five weeks, then I wanted to waste no time in telling him what to expect from these other families.
Because they would pay. Not from the hand of the law with the agency I used to work for, but from other sources. Like theDubinins who would keep me and my child safe. I closed my eyes and knew that without a doubt.
27
EMIL
That night when I fell asleep, Sadie wasn’t just on my mind. She was also in my arms, snug against me in bed. I wasn’t obsessed with missing her and worrying whether she was alive and unharmed. Instead, I was overwhelmed with the reality and relief that she was with me again.
I couldn’t believe that the doctor who was waiting for us on the plane could give us such an optimistic outlook for both her and the baby. Yes, she had lost weight and needed nutrients. She was tired and stressed. But it was a miracle that she hadn’t been harmed.
It was a blessing that the baby was deemed healthy and growing appropriately, no cause for concern.
I knew it was because this was Sadie Langer. One of the strongest women I’d ever met.
From when I kidnapped her in Cozumel, I knew firsthand how strong and fierce of a fighter this woman was. How scrappy of a resourceful survivor she was. Pairing her tenacity to survive withthe determination to protect our baby she was a force to reckon with.
That night, at last, I fell asleep peacefully.
Missing her and panicking about her had kept me perpetually exhausted for over a month. Now, my body could shut down with her pressed flush against me. We could both relax and truly rest, and we both needed it.
She was still hooked up to monitors to better track all her vitals and to triple-check that the baby was okay. But in the morning, Gabby’s obstetrician, Dr. Hannan, stopped in the room and checked over Sadie as well.
“I don’t really think it’s necessary to have all these on anymore,” Dr. Hannan said with a kind smile as she began to remove the pads that monitored the baby. She gestured at the monitor panel. “You can wait a while yet before needing that again.”
“Not much longer,” I said as I sat on the bed and supervised.
“I didn’t realize it was necessary to have another doctor’s second opinion,” Sadie said.
“Well, I was already here,” Dr. Hannan said. “Gabriella suggested that I introduce myself.”
Sadie raised her brows in a silent question, but before I could explain that Dr. Hannan was Gabby’s doctor who came often for house calls because my father insisted on the best care for her, Gabby popped in.
The door had been left slightly open. She knocked as she walked in. Or waddled, more like.
