The sirens were getting closer. “We’ll do it, now go,” I commanded.
His attention landed on Blake. “I have to hear him say it first.”
Huffing, Blake held out his hand. “Go, MacCabe, before I change my mind.” Connor shook his hand and I hugged him one more time before he took off at a sprint. “Hey,” Blake hollered after him. Connor stopped and turned around. “If you bring any kind of trouble to our doorstep, I will hunt you down and kill you. Got that?”
A wide grin spread across his face. “I’m not stupid enough to do that.” He turned and disappeared just in time for the police to barge in through the gate.
“I’m ready to go home,” I said.
Pulling me into his side, he kissed the side of my head. “Don’t worry, you’ll be back to California in no time.”
I looked up at him and smiled. “Nah. I think it’s time I found a place where I belonged.”
Hadley
“So I’m good to go?” I asked the doctor.
She smiled over the file in her hands. “You are, as soon as you sign these for my two little girls. I’m pretty sure I’ll never see you again after today,” she said, handing me two pieces of hospital stationary. “It’s not every day you meet someone who rose from the dead.”
I signed the papers and handed them back to her. “I’m glad to be back. But what about him?” I asked, nodding over at Blake. He rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath about being fine. I had to laugh at the sight. He looked like Grumpy Cat in a hospital gown.
Dr. Reese chuckled. “We’re just waiting on more of his test results and then he’ll be ready to go. It doesn’t look like anything’s broken.”
“Because there’s not,” he grumbled. “I’m perfectly fine.” They put us in the same room because he refused to let me out of his sight.
“Still, Mr. Evans, we have to make sure you’re okay. You’ll be out of here within the hour.”
“What about my father? Is he awake yet?”
She closed my folder and held it to her chest. “He’s in and out. We’re flushing the drugs out of his system as we speak. They gave him a large dose. He’s lucky to be alive.”
I held back my tears. “Thanks, Dr. Reese. And Nick?”
“Doing surprisingly well. There was a clean exit wound. He’ll be back on the ice before next season. He should be fine to leave tomorrow.”
“Thank goodness,” I replied, sighing with relief. He was probably tired of getting shot because of me.
“We contacted his sister so she should be here soon. She’s your agent, right?”
And she had no clue I was alive. The media hadn’t gotten hold of that story yet. “Yep, and it should be quite interesting when she sees me.”
“I bet,” she laughed, glancing down at her watch. “All right, let me check up on those test results and I’ll be back.”
Once she left, I climbed up on the bed with Blake. “I never thought about how weird it’s going to be to see everyone when we get back. It wouldn’t surprise me if the paparazzi comes up with some stupid story about how I faked my own death to get media attention.”
Blake snorted. “They can fuck themselves. We know the truth and that’s all that matters.” Wrapping his arm around my waist, he pulled me down next to him and held me.
“What am I going to say to my dad? I’m so confused right now.”
He squeezed me. “You have to tell him how you feel. If he wasn’t in a hospital bed right now, I’d have beaten the shit out of him for what he did. However, it’s up to you to forgive him.”
“What if I can’t?” Tears fell down my cheeks onto the pillow. What my father did would forever impact my life. Nothing in the world could take away those scars.
“You will one day. He just needs to know he doesn’t have to protect you anymore. You have me for that.”
“Does that mean you’re going to be my bodyguard?” I quipped.