I roll over and brush his tears away. “I’m right here. You saved me.”
He shakes his head. “No, baby, you saved yourself. I just found you.”
“It wasn’t Adam,” I croak out, voicing what we’ve been ignoring all evening.
“No, it wasn’t.” He sighs next to me. “But he’s still out there, and we will find him.”
“What’s going to happen to Garrett?”
“He’ll plead insanity. He’s looking at about five years.”
“Will he get help?”
“Help?” West’s nose scrunches like he isn’t sure what I’m asking.
“Like with a therapist? I don’t blame him, West. I truly believe he is just sick.”
“Your heart is far bigger than mine, Jade. I don’t care what happens with Garrett as long as he’s behind bars. I’m just so grateful you’re home now.”
Home.
I bring my lips to Wests and kiss him passionately.
West is my home.
“How’s she doing?” my brother asks two days later when he stops by the house to update me on Garrett.
“She hasn’t left bed.” I shake my head and swallow back the pain of seeing her like this. “He had her for a fucking week, Cade. You got her statement. You know the conditions she was left in.”
Giving me a reassuring squeeze, he pulls me in for a hug. “He’ll get his payback.”
“You should see her wrists, Cade. They were rubbed raw. I had to apply ointment the doctor gave us and wrap them up.” My voice cracks, and I itch to punch something.
“All you can do is continue to take care of her.”
My head shakes, and I feel tears cloud my vision. “She won’t talk about it. And the fucking light in her eyes is just gone.”
“Just give her time, man.”
“Nick’s going to come by later. I hope seeing him heals a part of her.”
“I never really got the full story there. Who exactly is Nick?”
I point my thumb towards the kitchen. “Beer?”
“Sure.”
After popping our caps, we take a seat at the island.
“Nick is the officer that helped Jade change her identity and go into hiding,” I explain. He already knows the rest of Jade’s story.
“Ahh. Okay. And have you spoken to Ian at all?”
I sigh. “He asked if he could speak with Jade and apologize. I haven’t told her it was him that had been emailing her. I didn’t want to add more to her plate right now. I’m pissed she didn’t think she could tell me about all of this, though. If I would have known about her past, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
“You can’t beat yourself up over it, man. All that matters is that she’s here, you got her back.”
The sound of a shower turning on above us has my eyes raising. This is the first time she’s gotten out of bed since we got back home. Cade and I finish our beers, and not long after he leaves, Jade makes her way downstairs. The colour in her cheeks has returned, and she looks much better than she has, but her eyes still look haunted.
