THE pain, the tightness in my chest won’t ebb. I always knew I’d find her, but I never thought about what it would be like when I did. I hope she’s okay. I hope she will be okay. My heart is broken for her, and I just don’t know what to do in this situation. What if she doesn’t want me to stay with her? I take comfort in Ranger’s hand in mine as he softly runs his thumb over my knuckles and down my fingers. I don’t know what I would do if he wasn’t here, if I had to do all of this alone. I’d probably be more of a wreck right now, if that’s even possible.
“What do we do now?” I ask him, puffing out a breath. “Wait until she’s allowed to leave, then take her home to heal? I need to call my family, they’re all going to want to fly here as soon as possible.”
“I think that’s probably the best,” he tells me, tone gentle. “She will need everyone she loves around her right now. If they can get here on the next flight, that would be good. I think she might need some time to deal with what happened. I don’t know how she will react. I guess we’re going to have to wait and see, but either way, yes, her immediate family need to be here.”
I pull out my phone and send out a few texts, telling everyone that we found Elizabeth and they need to get here as soon as possible, and to call me if they want any further information. When we get to the hospital, it’s hectic. There are people with cameras out front; I have no idea how the media found out about this so fast, but they’re really on it.
“This will be the hot story for the week,” I say in a dry tone, not liking that this whole thing is going to go public. Not only will Elizabeth have to handle so much, now she’s going to have to deal with the media backlash, and the fact that everyone will know she was kidnapped and sold into human trafficking.
“Come on,” Ranger says, taking my hand and leading me through the doors, then down the hall to the emergency room. “Do you think they’ll even let us back there right now?”
I look around, at all the medical staff rushing around, and wonder the same thing.
“I’ll go ask about her at the front desk,” I say, letting go of his hand and approaching the receptionist. I can feel Ranger at my back as I give Elizabeth’s full name and ask when I’m going to be able to see her.
“Are you her family?” the lady asks, looking over some documents.
“Yes, I’m her cousin.”
“She was only just brought in,” the lady tells me, pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. “You can take a seat, but it’s going to be a bit of a wait. The doctor needs to see her, run some tests, and run a psych evaluation on her.”
“Is that necessary?” I say, even though I know it is.
She nods. “It just depends on your cousin and what she wants and needs right now. I don’t think they’ll let you in there for a while, unless she’s demanding to see you.”
“We’ll wait,” Ranger says, resting his hands on my shoulders. “Let’s go sit down, yeah? I’ll grab you some coffee and something to eat.”
I don’t feel very hungry, but coffee sounds amazing. He leads me to a vacant seat, and I practically drop into it.
“Any requests?”
“Just coffee please,” I say, glancing up at him.
“Okay,” he says, pressing a kiss to my forehead before walking toward the café in the hospital. I watch him disappear, then check my phone and reply to a few texts from family members. I need to keep reminding myself that at least she’s safe now. That’s what matters. I can’t change what happened, but at least she’s away from that hell; she’s safe. We can get through the rest together. Ranger reappears with a giant cup of coffee in his hand, and I take it from him gratefully. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Anything you need, you just ask, okay? I’ve got you,” he says, sitting down next to me, holding his own cup of coffee.
“Likewise,” I say, resting my head on his arm. “She’s your friend too, this isn’t only about how I’m feeling. I just wish I could take the pain away, you know? I need to be strong for her, but it’s hard. I don’t know what to expect.”
“We need to talk to her,” he replies, kissing the top of my head. When did we start acting like a couple? Why does it feel so natural? I don’t know, but I don’t want it to go away. I’m not a woman who has ever relied on a man before, but right here right now, I need Ranger. I don’t think I’d ever admit that out loud, but it’s true. I need him here. He knows how to handle every situation, and he knows how to take care of me. He’ll know how to take care of Elizabeth too; I know it. It’s so different having someone like him around. I don’t always have to lead now. I don’t always have to take control of a situation, and I don’t have to be the strong one for everyone. That doesn’t mean I’ll ever be weak, it just means I can relax a little more knowing that for the first time in my life, someone actually has my back, physically and emotionally.
An hour passes, then two and three, and eventually I fall asleep wrapped in Ranger’s arms. I don’t know how much time passes, but when he wakes me up and tells me we can finally go in and see her, I stand up and follow behind the doctor.
“Let her know that you’re here,” the doctor says. “It’s up to her if she wants you to stay or leave.”
He opens the door and we both walk in. She sits propped up in her bed, her face pale and her eyes tired.
“Hey,” I say, walking over to her and taking her hand.
“Jo,” she says, squeezing my hand. “You’re here.”
“Of course I am,” I tell her, brow furrowing. “Our family is on the way. Everyone has been so worried about you.”
She then looks over to Ranger, her eyes widening.
“I thought I imagined seeing you,” she says to him.
“No, I’m here,” he says, sitting down beside her on the other side. She reaches her hand out to him, and he takes it.
“I wanted to see you again,” she says, looking down at their hands. “But not like this. How were you there?”
“I’ve been helping Jo look for you,” he explains, looking toward me. “We flew here when someone sighted you.”
She turns to Jo and lays her head back. “Thank you for bringing Cam with you.”
Cam?
My eyes dart to Ranger, and in this moment, I know I’ve fucked up. No. This can’t be happening to me.
No. Surely not.
He can’t be.
I didn’t know his name, until now. Why didn’t I ask his name? I just called him Ranger, like I assume everyone else does. I didn’t put two and two together. How did I miss this?
You see, Elizabeth has an old friend named Cam who she always talks about.
Her one who got away.
The so-called love of her life.
The same man I’m currently falling in love with.
? ? ?