“Bay,” War murmurs into my ear, “it’s going to be okay. Calm down.”
But I can’t calm down. Jerking from his grasp, I run the length of the porch and make it to the railing just in time to puke over the side. I try to ignore Stark’s voice, which only seems to make things worse, but her words still find their way inside my head.
“Contact the local news and have them make an emergency police bulletin. We’re looking for a man named Gabriel Sharpe. Suspect is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous despite his life-threatening injuries.”
Hearing his name—confirmation that it isn’t over—sends me over the edge. Black crushes in around me and I go down, submerging into the darkness.
FOCUS. FOCUS. FOCUS.
Baylee. Baylee. Baylee.
Shit!
I’m naturally predetermined to freak the fuck out about the things I can’t control—blood, microbes, disease, toxins, her pain. My mind threatens to crack down the middle and split in half so the terrors can wreak their havoc on me. It seems imminent.
But I can control it.
I have to.
I will.
My fingers thread through her blood-caked hair as Dad drives us to the hospital and I find my calm. Baylee needs me and I won’t let her down now. I’ve been getting better, because of her, and I will be the one to help her through this. My precious Bay has been to hell and back. She’s had to be strong for so fucking long and now it’s time to reverse the roles. I will be the one to carry her to the end. The road won’t be an easy one and she’ll need a lot of counseling, but I’ll be there for her every step of the way. The demons in my own head are dead to me. They can go fuck with someone else because I’m over it. Fucking over it. I’m done fighting those bastards because I am fighting for her.
She is the most important part of me.
She’s the only part of me that truly matters.
“You okay back there, son?” Dad’s voice questions, the shakiness in it telling me he’s not as strong as he lets on.
“Yep,” I clip out and meet his eyes in the mirror with a firm gaze of my own. “I just want to get Baylee taken care of. That’s all that matters to me, Dad.”
He presses the accelerator and we glide around a slower car as he makes his way back to the hospital. We’d left Stark and the fucking chaos of emergency vehicles to get medical attention for both myself and Baylee with the promise they’d be by later to question us.
“Ten minutes, War. Hang in there kiddo.”
Her hot breaths as she sleeps burn through my jeans on the top of my thigh, almost scalding me. I stroke away her hair and admire her pretty, blood-stained face.
So beautiful.
So perfect.
So worth the fight.
I can look at her blood smeared face without losing my fucking mind because it’s her. It’s not blood and disease and disgust. It’s her. Bay. Deserving of love and so much more. She’s mine to love and care for. And I won’t fucking let her down.
Jerking my head back up when we hit a speed bump, I let out a relieved breath to see we’re turning down the side road that’ll lead us right to the hospital. When we pull up to the front, Dad jumps out of the car and hurries to open my car door. Baylee sits up, groggy from her short nap, and her frantic eyes dart around.
She’s looking for him.
Expecting him to step out from a shadow.
To take her again to do only God knows what.
But he’s not here.
As she realizes this, she climbs out with Dad’s assistance and I all but jump out after her, eager to keep her close to me. My eyes fixate on the crusty smears on her cheek and I reach for her, the urge to touch her as necessary as my next breath. The blood doesn’t scare me anymore. The pale skin and disoriented look on her face does though. When her knees buckle, I’m there to gather her light frame into my arms. People are shouting around us but I hold my girl to me.
I won’t let you fall, Bay.
Not now, not ever.
“Son, you need to readmit yourself. You don’t look well.” Dad’s concerns roll off me and I blow them off.
Nothing matters except her.
When she fainted earlier, they rushed to admit her. I stayed by her side, clutching her small hand, while they assessed her. She was severely dehydrated and in dire need of fluids. Now that she’s being taken care of properly, the color is beginning to return to her face. Her soft, rhythmic breaths as she sleeps are music to my ears.
And yes, I count every fucking one of them.
“I’ll be fine,” I assure him as I run my thumb across the top of her hand, ignoring the searing ache in my chest. I could really use some pain meds but it’ll have to wait. The last time I closed my eyes, Brandon took her right out from under my nose. I’m not eager to leave her vulnerable again.