“Thought that was a dream.” He smiles sleepily. “Love you too.”
I give him one more kiss, then step out of the way for Carter and the doctor to do what they need to do to get him ready for transport.
Kai wraps his arm around my shoulder, more to keep me in place than to offer comfort. I want to go to Declan, to be the one helping him sit up and get dressed. I want it to be me he leans on instead of Carter, but he’s his brother. I can have him to myself when Declan is at his cabin. There, he’ll be mine to take care of and Carter will just have to deal. When Kai had a concussion, Carter barely let me see him, and they didn’t even like each other yet. I’m in love with Declan, so he’s my responsibility now.
Once he’s dressed, Carter helps Declan into a wheelchair.
The doctor tells a drowsy Declan, “I pushed meds beforewe removed your IV, so you shouldn’t be in any pain for the next few hours. When we get to your cabin, I’ll set you up with another IV with a morphine drip.”
“The good stuff,” Declan mutters.
Laughing, the doctor nods and pats him on the shoulder. “The good stuff. Let’s get you out of here so you can get settled.”
Carter goes to the desk to sign Declan out against medical advice as a crew of twenty men converge around me, Declan, and the doctor, escorting us to a vehicle waiting out front.
One of our guys, Dev, hops out of the driver’s seat and hands the keys to Manuel. I help Declan out of the wheelchair, taking on most of his weight as he shuffles to the backseat.
I get him settled inside, then slide in beside him, wrapping my arms as tightly around him as he can bear.
“I’m so sorry I let that happen to you,” I whisper into his hair. “It’s my?—”
“Not right now,” he whispers. “Head too fuzzy.” He looks up at me with a twinkle in his visible eye. “Someone told me I have to think through my emotions, but pain is something different. When I’m better?”
“Okay, handsome.”
“I love you, Nico.” He breathes a laugh that mingles with a sob. “I never thought I’d say that. Never thought I’d get a chance to say it to you.”
“I’m here, Declan. And I’m not going anywhere.”
CHAPTER 28
DECLAN
TWO WEEKS LATER
“Lie back, D. Damn, you’re the worst patient ever,” Nico grumbles as he gently pushes me back against the pillows.
“I’m good. I’m not even that sore anymore.”
Nico gives me a dry look, and I scowl and turn away.
I woke up this morning in pain, my hand and ribs screaming at me. Tears ran down my face, but I tried to keep it to myself. But Nico knew. He always knows.
He wiped my tears and helped me take meds so I could go back to sleep.
“D, baby,” he whispers, sliding closer to me. Almost against my will, I reach out for him with my good hand, taking his warm palm in mine. “I wasn’t able to find you and help you get out of your situation, and I’ll always regret that. I’ll always feel like shit because you suffered for a week and I had no idea where you were. But I can help you with this. Ican find that asshole that thought he could get away with torturing you.” I hiss and Nico’s face softens. “I’m sorry. I really am, but you gotta stay here.”
For the past two weeks, Nico has been here with me day and night, waiting on me hand and foot. It’s kind of annoying, really, but I can’t get him to stop.
After a few days—once the pain receded enough that I could think—I remembered I had a video from IT of the car exiting the parking garage after the letter was planted. I used Nico’s phone to log into my email account to find the video, and we were able to get a clear look at the plates.
We sent it to one of my contacts in the police department and he got back to us this morning with an address. An address that could lead to us finding out where the fuck Austin is. Which is where Nico is heading.
Without me.
Manuel and his guys didn’t find any clues at the house where I was held. There’s been no sighting of Austin or Maskless since I escaped. All of their old haunts have turned up nothing. I’m not even sure they’re in the state anymore.
It doesn’t matter. My family won’t stop until we’ve found him and anyone else that was involved in my kidnapping.
