Laughing, he reached a hand toward her. “Come here, Mena.”
“How can you laugh right now? How can you even stand to look at me after what I did to you?” Mena asked.
“Because you did exactly what I would have wanted you to do in that situation. Your life is not worth protecting mine. I never wanted to put you in danger or get you arrested for helping me. You made the right choice,” Julian insisted.
Mena slipped an arm around his shoulders as he braced himself and stood. Towering over her, he slipped his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head.
“You have to know how sorry I am for setting you up. I never meant to hurt you like that,” Mena said, looking up at him. His heart broke as tears filled her eyes.
“You think that made me stop loving you? It didn’t. You were and you will always be the fierce, brave and courageous love of my life. Mena, you did what you needed to do to survive. I’m proud of you for making that choice. Do you know how much I would have hated to know that you were sitting in a jail cell trying to protect me? You don’t belong in a place like this.”
“Neither do you. I think there’s news about your case. I got a call from Octavia this morning telling me to meet her here at four p.m. Do you have any idea what it could be?”
A soft knock floated from behind. Julian lifted his head to see Octavia Constant entering the room.
Mena turned in his arms to face the lawyer.
“Don’t look so scared. It’s all good news.” Octavia said.
Julian held his breath, waiting to hear what she would say.
“The police were able to authenticate the video recording on the cell phone they found in your possession when they apprehended you. Adam Russell corroborated the footage. The detectives and the D.A. all agree that it is Priscilla Dumay and Adam Russell discussing the plot to set you up at the courthouse. The detectives couldn’t uncover any evidence that you’d escaped Tiverton and have closed the investigation as an abduction by an unknown party, likely hired by Priscilla Dumay. In addition, the post office box that you led them to had more damning evidence against Dumay that has the PIIB in high spirits. I wasn’t privy to those details and frankly, I didn’t think you’d care about that. What’s most important is what I’m going to tell you next. All the charges have been dropped against you, Julian. You’re a free man.”
Mena shrieked, turning toward him. Her smile brightened the entire room as she flung her arms around his neck. “Did you hear that? This nightmare is over!”
Julian lifted her in his arms and kissed her deeply, relieved that he’d stopped Dumay once again.
Chapter Fifty-Five
“You sure you don’t mind waiting here for me?” Julian asked, caressing Mena’s arms. “A hospital really isn’t the best place for you to kick off our vacation.”
They wasted no time setting sail after Julian was released from police custody. He wanted the last month of his life to be a distant memory. Living as a recluse for three years before he met Mena had dulled his skills, his ability to see threats and dismantle them before they could do damage. He had underestimated Priscilla Dumay, and that had almost been his downfall. Now he was ready to go on the offensive. He’d need to sharpen his skills, get back the precision he’d lost before he could hold up his end of the deal with Adam Russell.
But not until he got some TLC from Mena.
“Excuse me if it’s going to take a while before I feel comfortable being away from you. I know you want to check in on Broman before we sail down to Trinidad. I’m perfectly fine waiting here until your visit is over,” Mena said, giving him a playful wink. “I have a bag of snacks and my e-reader with some salacious erotica to get me in the mood. Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Erotica?” Julian raised an eyebrow.
“Where do you think I get all my ideas from?” Mena rubbed her hand down his chest, stopping just short of the belt on his jeans.
“I can’t wait to see what you have in store for me next,” Julian said. He leaned down and kissed her, brushing his lips seductively across hers.
“Then stop wasting time and go see Broman.”
Julian gave her a salute, then turned and walked down the wide hallway toward Broman’s new room on the exclusive private floor. Dawn had told him that Broman had been relocated to be with the rest of the patients undergoing the same protocol, some of whom had demanded an extra layer of secrecy and security to participate. Julian figured some forgotten celebrity or politician could be a patient now, dictating the change.
Approaching the door, Julian paused and stared at the name on the gold plaque—B. Garrison. What would Broman think about everything he’d gone through over the past month? Trying to save his own ass, he walked right into Dumay’s trap. Would Broman want him to man up and accept the consequences for his actions all those years ago? Or would he understand that he’d changed and maybe even deserved the happiness he had now with Mena?
Julian couldn’t be sure. The one thing he did know was that if Broman came out of the coma, he would let his best friend decide his fate. Dumay couldn’t be allowed to continue to wreak havoc on the lives of innocent people or to avoid the consequences of her crimes. Despite the terrible things Russell had done under her direction, the man couldn’t be blamed for trying to stay alive. The kill switch was a diabolical move and one that Dumay had used not just on Russell, but on the surrogates. By finding the controls and dismantling them, he could save Russell and the rest of the surrogates. Getting the laptop back was more like the cherry on top.
Pulling the door open, Julian stepped inside and stared at the empty bed. I scrunched the sheets toward the bottom, but there was no sign of Broman. Had he awoken from the coma?
“You just missed him,” a woman’s voice came from behind.
Julian turned and looked at the nurse entering the room. “Is he okay?”
“Julian, right?”
