I didn’t bother transferring to a hospital closer to Vegas. By the time all the tests were done to make sure I was well enough to transfer, the doctor said it shouldn’t be more than a week before I could leave completely., so we stayed in Arizona.
“He’s okay. Alexandria said she hasn’t heard from him in a couple of days. I’ll call him once we get you home and get settled in.”
I still can’t believe Cash got involved at all. I mean, Quin and he grew up together. During the altercation, he and Quin shot at each other. Cash was lucky, and the bullet missed any major arteries. It did end up hitting his liver, kidney, and a rib before exiting his body, but the surgery was a success. He left before I even woke up from the coma.
“So…Has there been any signs of Quin?”
Myles’s knuckles turn white as he grips the steering wheel. After Quin and Cash shot each other, Quin took off. Dex’s crew searched the house and the woods for hours but couldn’t find any trace of him. For all we know, he could have crawled to some hidden panic room and died from blood loss.
Either way, Dex and his crew have been searching for any sign of him for weeks.
“Nothing yet. I still think he was inside when they burned that place to the ground. He’s probably a pile of ash.” He takes my hand and brings it to his lips to kiss the back of my knuckles. He lowers my hand back to my lap but keeps holding it as I return my gaze out the window.
“I hope he was alive when the flames found him.” My voice is quiet.
“Me too, Sunshine. Me too.”
We drive in silence for a little while. His hand is in mine mindlessly caressing circles with his thumb. Finally, he speaks.
“Can I ask you something?” he says quietly.
“Sure…”
“What happened…back then. Do you remember anything? You were so young…” his voice trails off, and I can feel his muscles tense through his hand.
I take a deep breath. I haven’t talked much about that time since I moved back to San Antonio.
“I remember a bit. Ever since I met you, I’ve started remembering more. I think it was because I was back inside the house. I don’t remember much of the accident…” I can feel his grip tighten on my hand. “I remember the water and dad breaking the window to push me out. I barely knew how to swim. I was so scared…but then everything else is gone.”
I don’t even remember how I swam to shore or what happened after.
“I woke up eight months later. They said that a couple hiking had found my body along the shore. I think they said they found me the same day that our car went off the bridge, but no one knew who I was. We weren’t even in Texas anymore, so it’s not like anyone knew who I was.”
“I’m so sorry, Mina. If I’d gone to their funeral, I would’ve…”
“No. Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault. You’d just lost everyone that mattered to you. I can’t blame you for wanting to run and never look back…I would’ve done the same.”
He lifts my hand kissing the back of my knuckles.
“After that, I bounced around from foster home to foster home until a nice, older couple from Oklahoma adopted me when I was nine.”
“Did you have a good life with them?” he asks hesitantly.
“Yes, actually, I did. They felt more like grandparents, but they were the most loving people. They helped me find out about my past when I was thirteen and could understand what happened. Before then, I had flashes of memories that didn’t make sense, and so many nightmares. I decided when I was sixteen, I wanted to be a psychologist. I wanted to help people.”
We turn and pull off and drive through a gate onto a private road that winds up ahill.
“They passed away just before I turned eighteen. It was so hard. Madeline passed away from cancer, and Eugene passed in his sleep a month later. I turned eighteen a week later, sold the house, and moved back to San Antonio. The rest is history.” I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. It feels good to talk about what happened.
“I’m so sorry for all you had to go through, Sunshine. You’re so strong.”
He kisses my hand again as we continue up the driveway. I can see Vegas off in the distance. The road comes to a stop at the top of the hill next to an elegant-looking two-story home. Dark brick with black trim.
Myles opens the door and holds his hand out for me. My heart still skips a beat every time he’s near. Those damn butterflies. I take his hand and stand letting him lead me across the front lawn to a gazebo with a bench swing. It faces the overlook to view the city off in the distance.
He sits and has me relax next to him wrapping his arm around me protectively. The swing starts to rhythmically sway back and forth as I rest my head against his chest. My eyes close as I listen to the world around us. It’s quiet. I can hear the birds. No sounds of cars or the chaos of the city. Just us in our own little world.
The swinging mixed with the sound of Myles’s heartbeat slowly lulls me to sleep. My body calms, and I feel completely at peace…Something I haven’t felt in a very long time. I’m woken by Myles cradling me against his chest as he carries me to the house. When my eyes crack open, he’s looking down at me, smiling.
