The best part of yesterday was Rico telling me he had news of Emily. Through his connections he had found out she was alive. He couldn’t get all the details of her condition, but just knowing that she was alive was good enough for me. So even with the cops still sniffing around lately, today was still a good day. Today I got a renewed hope in getting Emily back.

For the first time in days, my heart relaxed a little. I just needed to wait a little while to let the cops trail run cold and then I could make my move. I wanted to give Emily some time to cool down as well. She was undoubtedly still angry with me. I would just have to explain to her why I did what I did. She would understand when I told her how much I loved her and that I only did what I did because I thought she was leaving me for another man. Then I would do what I should’ve done days ago. I would kill Reed Alexander. I would kill for what he’d done to me and Emily.

So tonight, I would sleep soundly knowing she was still here on this earth, knowing there was still a chance for us to try again.

I was in the bedroom, just about to call it a night when I heard the front door open. Rico knew better than to walk in unannounced. The guy was loyal, but he wasn’t very smart.

“Dammit, Rico. What is it?” I said darkly as I stomped back into the living room.

When my eyes met the man who was standing ten feet in front of me, I couldn’t believe it. My stomach tightened and I tried to convince myself that I was hallucinating. The days of no sleep and drinking myself into a stupor must have finally caught up with me. There was no way this guy was standing in front of me. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He was supposed to be dead.

“Surprised to see me?” The man smiled and fear ripped through every inch of my body.

20

REED

ABOUT AN hour later, Kim, the nurse that had been so nice to me, came into the waiting room. Her eyes locked with mine and she gave me a small smile, gesturing me over. I jumped out of my seat and practically ran to her, eager to hear any news she had to tell me.

"The cops have finished their questioning." Her smile grew. "She's asking for you, but the doctor only wants one visitor at a time right now."

I let out a large breath. She’s asking for me. That’s something. God, right now, that is everything.

Lexi and Brandon were beside me, and Lexi reached out to touch my arm. "Tell her we're here and that we're thinking of her."

I nodded, gave her a big hug, and then followed Kim down the hall. I wanted to run past her, run right to Emily's room, but I walked as calmly as I could beside her.

Detective Palmer and his partner were standing across the hall from Emily's room and didn't even look in my direction as I approached. They both wore stone-cold faces and only seemed to be interested in what the other one was saying. As much as I wanted to stop and quiz them, ask them if they were going to get the bastard, knowing that Emily gave them the same story I did and probably even more information, all I really wanted to do was see Emily.

The two police officers, who had stopped me before, stepped aside and let me through. I gathered a breath, bracing myself against the door. I was scared and anxious but most of all, hopeful. I just wanted to see that she was okay.

Emily was lying in bed with her eyes closed, looking like she had the past few days. She looked peaceful as she breathed softly. My eyes roamed over her face. I saw no change. It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. My chest ached. So many things went through my mind. Why aren't her eyes open? Am I too late? Has she fallen asleep? Has she fallen back into a coma? The only thing I wanted was to hear her voice. To see her eyes open. To see her smile. However, there was nothing.

I stood in front of her bed, just staring at her, not able to move another muscle toward her. Dammit, I missed it. She woke up and I missed it. Does she even know I’m here? Or did she think I abandoned her?

Just as I was about to run out of the room and question the nurses, Emily's eyes fluttered open. She was looking right at me. I gasped for air, like I hadn't taken a breath since the last time I'd seen her eyes staring back at me. It was hard to hold back my emotions. A part of me was certain I'd never see them again.

"Reed." Her voice was soft, hoarse.

My eyes fell closed for just a moment to savor the sound of her voice. "God, it's so good to hear your voice and to see you with your eyes open. I've been—" I choked on the words, feeling my emotions burn in my chest. I cleared my throat, hoping to keep them from coming out completely. "I've been so worried about you."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry you got involved in this. I should've told you. It's all my fault. I should've told you everything. I was just scared and I didn't want anyone involved. I thought I was protecting you. I'm so, so sorry for not telling you about him and about my past."

Making my way around to the side of her bed, I grabbed her hand in mine. I leaned close to her and said, "Don't apologize. What happened was not your fault. I'm just glad you're okay."

"I feel so stupid. I was such an idiot. I thought I could start a new life. I thought I could get away. It was selfish and dumb, and it almost got you killed, Reed. I would've never forgiven myself if anything happened to you because of me."

Her lips folded inward and her eyes closed, as if she were trying to hold in the tears. It killed me to see her so upset. The last thing she should feel right now was shame or guilt. Emily was a victim and she was acting like she had control over what happened.

"Open your eyes and look at me." I tried to keep my voice soft. She did as I asked, tears rolling out of the corners of her eyes. "You don't need to apologize or feel guilty for what happened. It wasn't your fault. None of it."

She nodded and then closed her eyes again. As I sat there, I wondered if she knew about the baby. Had the doctors told her yet? With all that had happened, they might have thought it best to wait before saying anything. She had only been awake for a couple minutes before the detectives bombarded her with questions.

"I told the cops everything," she said, reopening her eyes. "I told them it was Jake who did this to us. I told them what he tried to do to me before I got to your place, about how I barely got away. I told them everything about the last few years and how I had tried to get help in Vegas but couldn't." Her voice cracked and then she finally broke into tears.

Crawling on the bed and trying not to hurt her or mess with her IVs, I did the only thing I could think to do. I wrapped my arms tightly around her and told her over and over it was going to be okay. I told her I was sorry for not protecting her. That I was sorry he hurt her again. My mouth opened to say something about the baby, but I didn't because I wasn't sure she was ready to hear that yet. Instead, I promised her I would do everything in my power to make sure Jake paid for what he did and that I would die before I let anything like this happen to her again.

She didn't say anything in return. She just cried as I held her tight until she fell asleep in my arms. I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but it must have been hours because the sky outside her window grew dark. No one interrupted us, and I cherished every second I had with her. In that moment, when I had her in my arms, I was finally convinced that she was going to be okay.

Kim came in around nine p.m., giving me a soft smile. She had a few new bags of clear liquid that she hooked up to the IV.

"You've worked a long day," I said, keeping my voice low. She had been here since early this morning. I was thankful she was still here.

"Yeah," she whispered and smiled. "You haven't gotten rid of me quite yet. This will be my last rotation for tonight, though."

Carefully, I sat up in bed, hoping not to wake Emily. "Does she know about the baby?" I spoke so softly that I wasn't sure she heard me, but she finally nodded and the smile dropped from her face.

"The doctor told her after she woke up, but I don't think she believed them. She was clearly in shock over it and then the detectives came in and started questioning her. I'm not sure she really even processed it."

It killed me to know that I wasn't in here with her when she found out. I should've been in here with her.

"The detectives are still out there waiting for you," Kim said, jerking her head toward the hallway. "Why don't you go out and talk to them while I'm in here. I'll come get you if she wakes up."

I nodded. "Thank you."

When I exited the room, the detectives were standing across the hall almost like they were bodyguards hired to protect her. If they really wanted to protect her, they should have been hunting down the piece of shit that did this to her.

"Mr. Alexander, do you have a moment?" Detective Palmer asked.

"We can talk right here. I'm not leaving her again." My voice was firm. I had about all I could handle of these two.

Detective Palmer nodded his head once and then glanced over to Detective Wallace.

"Emily told us what happened," Detective Wallace said. "We know what Jake has done to her over the years and what he did to the two of you a few nights ago. It's not that we didn't believe you, but you have to understand that we were just doing our jobs and we had to cover all the bases, especially with someone like Jake Terrell, who clearly lives by his own rules. When those people gave us an ironclad alibi for him, our hands were tied." He sighed and paused for a few seconds. The demeanor in the air around us had changed. Something didn't feel right and the look on their faces already had my heart hammering.