“What?” Luis’s whisper jerks me out of a doze I didn’t realize I’d managed.
I blink in the darkness. Something’s flashing. “Emergency lights!” I exclaim to Luis. “HELP!” I shout as loud as I can. Agony screams through me.
“HELP US!” Luis adds.
We both shout, and we keep shouting. We make ourselves as loud as we can get.
The barn door swings open. Flashlights blind us.
“Help!” I beg, relieved to see people in uniform.
They shout over us, and quickly someone cuts me down. I fall, hitting my knees over the body. The movement drags a scream out of me, pain fires through all the deadened nervesin my arms and hands, through the place where the hammer is lodged in my bone, and in my back where I’ve been stabbed.
The rescue workers help, but they leave the tool inside me. Bleary and relieved, I let myself lose my grip on reality, floating in a place of worry, stress, and agony. It’s not a good place.
Sir! You’re not allowed?—”
“That’s my husband! I’m here.”
Magnus.
“I knew you’d find me.”
“I said I’d protect you.”
I’m finally safe.
“I love you.”
Chapter 41
Magnus
He’s not my husband,but I’m sticking to that story until he’s out of the hospital. I told them that because they were going to try to keep me away from him, and there’s no reality that exists in which I would sheepishly allow anyone to keep me away from Trent. Sitting beside his hospital bed while he recovers from surgery and gets fluids isn’t as agonizing as the media makes it out to be when it happens in movies and books. It’s a relief to watch him breathe and to know that he’s alive and in recovery already.
I texted my therapist, letting her know I’m going to recommend her to him. According to the physical evidence and Luis’s witness statement, Trent accidentally killed Joseph Farnum defending himself. The knife sticking out of his ribs when they found him was damning enough that no one’s genuinely thinking of charging my boyfriend with homicide.
Trent whimpers in his sleep, and I check my watch. It’s about time for another dose of pain meds for him. He sleeps until they wear off, and then he wakes up long enough for the next dose to kick in. The blood infection he developed from being stabbed is the only real complication for his recovery, but the bag ofantibiotics is working well, and the doctors think he’ll be out of here in three days.
“Shouldn’t you be in class?” he whispers, and I immediately set my laptop aside and reach for his cup so he can get a sip of water.
I help him with that, cradling his head so he doesn’t have to strain the muscles in his back that were cut when he was stabbed. “I left while you were sleeping, taught all my classes, and now I’m catching up on grading. When I’m done with that, I’ll work on my dissertation using the data from our stream. I also posted a video for our subscribers. Do you know how hard it is to get off when your husband is recovering in the hospital from being abducted?”
Trent smiles, taking my free hand in his and bringing it to his lips to kiss. “I don’t, and I don’t ever want to find out. What did you do?”
“I used the video of us in the shower,” I confess, pushing the hair on his forehead to the side. “And I prepared for it by jacking myself in the bathroom every hour without coming so that I was primed even though my mental state was preoccupied.”
We can’t tell our subscribers what happened while the investigation is on-going, so we have to act like everything is fine, or we have to tell them we’re taking a hiatus for personal reasons and risk losing some of them. I’m not losing any of our research subjects because of this, and Trent agreed.
“I did mention that you were in the hospital recovering from surgery, and that they were stuck with me for now. You should respond to some of the comments wishing you a speedy recovery. I also told them not to ask because we wouldn’t tell personal medical information. Some of them still asked.” I shrug, bending to swipe a kiss across his forehead.
“You’ve had a busy day,” he huffs, eyes falling closed again. “Love you.”
I breathe in the scent of his hair. He’s clean-ish, but his natural scent is a comforting balm as he slides back into a doze.
“Love you, too.”
***
