After Nate and Phoebe leave, Chase and Gemma come in. Followed by Chrissy and Shelby. Followed by Lila and Colton. And, finally, by Luca, who needs no entourage.
I see his big frame fill the doorway and feel my eyes start to tingle. To my great surprise, I see Luca and Parker exchange nods and even shake hands before Parker slips out the door to give me some privacy with my best friend.
Luca’s eyes are red when he stops beside my bed.
“Babe.”
“Hey, Luke.”
“Not gonna lie: you’ve looked better.”
“Thanks, buddy.”
He smirks. “You keep winding up in danger, I’m gonna have to put some kind of tracking device on you.”
“Creep.”
“I mean it.” His light blue eyes hold mine. “Then again, I suppose I’m not the one who has to look out for you, now. Time to pass the torch, I suppose.”
My eyes water. “I’ll always need you to look out for me, Luca. You’re my brother.”
He looks swiftly toward the wall and I know it’s because he’s holding his emotions tightly in check. When he speaks, his voice is gruffer than usual.
“Could’ve done worse.”
“What?” I ask.
He looks back at me with red eyes. “Parker. You could’ve done worse.” He shrugs. “He’s not a bad guy.”
Wow. That’s the closest thing to an endorsement I’ve ever heard Luca give.
“Thanks, Luke.”
He scowls. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m gonna be braiding friendship bracelets with the guy any time soon. But for the past few days, he’s never left your side. And that night, when you went missing — I’ve never seen anyone like that. He was like...”
“Like what?”
“A man possessed.” Something flashes in his light blue eyes. “He loves you, you know.”
“I know,” I whisper softly.
“You love him, too?”
I nod miserably. “I do.”
He pulls in a breath. “Then tell him. Nothing I want more than to see you happy, babe. You deserve it. You deserve it so much.”
He hugs me, then, and I let my tears flow. He’ll never admit it, but I’m not the only one with wet eyes when we pull away.
In some ways, it’s an ending.
For so long, it’s just been Luca and me. Us against the world.
Now, things are changing. We’ve opened the doors to a whole new family of people, and that’s going to take some getting used to — for both of us. But, like Luca told me not too long ago…
Change is scary. But you’re not required to be the same person you were ten years ago, ten weeks ago, ten days ago. Hell, you don’t even have to be the person you were ten minutes ago. You’re free to be whoever the hell you want.
This life — full of friends and laughter and love — is a change I’m ready for.
My last visitor of the day is an unexpected one.
When Agent Conor Gallagher walks into my hospital room later that night, I’m pretty positive I’m hallucinating. I sit up straighter against my pillows and try to clear my parched throat. Parker’s conveniently absent – he disappeared a few minutes ago with a flimsy excuse about getting me ice water. Apparently, he thought I’d need space for whatever conversation I’m about to have with the FBI.
“Miss Bloom.” Conor’s voice is gruff but his icy blue eyes have thawed a bit. “Feeling better, I hope?”
“Much.”
“Glad to hear it. “
“Why are you here, Agent Gallagher?”
“People who help me take down bad guys get to call me Conor.”
My lips twitch. “Why are you here, Conor?”
“Two reasons.” He takes a step closer to the bed. “First, to officially thank you for your help on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Robert Lancaster is behind bars because of you. Thousands of his former employees will get compensation for a slew of illnesses because of you. That’s fine work, Bloom.”
My eyes are stinging again.
Damn it. When did I become such a cry baby?
I nod because I don’t trust myself to speak.
“The second reason I came will probably be more interesting to you,” he adds, his voice careful.
My eyebrows lift. “Oh?”
“A few days ago, when things were touch-and-go with your health, I got a call from your boyfriend. Actually, I got about ten calls, until I finally realized he wasn’t about to give up and called him back.” His mouth twists into a grin. “Persistent bastard, isn’t he?”
I laugh. “Yes. He is.”
“Anyway, he told me about your parents.”
I go still.
Conor’s eyes narrow. “Guess that explains why you were so intent on hacking FBI files.”
“I…” I swallow hard. “I…”
“I didn’t come here to call you out.” Conor shrugs. “I came here because I looked into it.” He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a blank envelope. “I’m not supposed to give you this – it’s technically classified. But I’ve never been overly fond of bullshit protocols.”
My eyes are locked on the envelope as he passes it to me. For a moment, I just stare at it, afraid to reach out and take it.