“But they weren’t arrested that night? Right?” Maya asks. It’s clear she thought that was part of the reason I ghosted her all those years ago.
I shake my head. “They were arrested a few weeks later. But that night…” A shudder wracks through my body. “That was the night someone came for them.”
Her eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
I scrub a hand through my hair, focusing on a spot on the wall behind her. “It was a family member of one of the patients. My father had taken the man’s wife off the ventilator and forged his signature, all because a celebrity needed a room and was willing to pay cash to get the entire wing to themselves.” I can’t even say the words without feeling guilty, even though I did nothing wrong. “The man… he wanted to get even.”
Maya shaking her head, and I haven’t even gotten to the hard part yet.
“I was packing my bags, about to leave, when three armed men broke into the house. My parents weren’t home; they never were. But Rosie was downstairs watching TV. I heard her screams.” I shiver, still reeling after all these years. “I raced down there, but I was too late. They took her. I tried to follow in my truck but lost them.”
Maya’s hand jumps to my arm, and I realize I’m gripping the countertop.
“I went to the house and waited for the police and my parents. The ransom came, but my dad couldn’t pay it and refused to say why. I didn’t understand then. I had no idea who he really was and what he’d done, and I was so mad. No one was going to save her.” My voice cracks, but I push on. “There was a man, Liam, I’d met a couple of weeks earlier. He was looking into my dad. He said something was happening at the hospital he needed to fix. I was just a kid, though. I didn’t take him seriously.”
Maybe if I had, I could have saved some people from dying.
“Hey…” Maya touches my cheek. “Don’t take that on yourself; it wasn’t your fault.”
I swallow back the rising emotion and continue. “I realized Liam was my only hope. So I called him.”
I’m aware of Maya’s thumb tracing slow circles on my arm, offering me comfort I so badly needed back then while I paced the house filled with people who weren’t doing anything. The utter fear and helplessness was so torturous… I’d forgotten about Maya.
“The man is a tech genius and located them based on my description of their vehicle and the directions they went. The police didn’t believe me when I tried to tell them. So I went alone.”
“Soren…” Maya’s hand flies to her mouth, my name on her lips a horrified whisper.
I clench my jaw. “Yeah, it was a bad idea. They found me sneaking around the bushes, knocked me out, and when I came to, I was tied up on the floor next to Rosie.”
Twin tears fall from Maya’s pained eyes, but the sad part is over. I brush them away and finish my story. “Not twenty minutes later, Liam knocked on a door, holding a black duffel bag.” I shake my head with a laugh. “The confidence of this man. I thought they’d shoot him and us. But he held up the bag, said there was double the amount they’d asked for and demanded they release us. He said he’d destroy them all if they didn’t deliver. They were terrified; they pushed us out the door, and we escaped.”
She lets out a low whistle. “Who is this Liam?”
I smile softly. “Liam Hawthorne.”
Her eyes narrow as she thinks. “Wasn’t he the thief who found a treasure in Scotland?”
Of course she would have been interested in that finding. I nod. “He’s a good guy.”
“He’s really hot,” she muses, a smile touching her lips.
I chuckle. “I’m slightly offended, but I’ve heard his wife thinks so too.”
“He’s married? Dang it.” Her eyes flash wickedly before softening, becoming vulnerable. “So, what happened after that?”
“Liam made us promise not to mention him, to say we escaped ourselves. It was he who finally got the evidence on my father to get him arrested.”
“That’s… wow.”
“That’s why I couldn’t tell you. Liam was on the run for a crime he didn’t commit. He swore us to secrecy and then recruited me to help him. But I also knew I couldn’t make you promises right then. My parents went away, and Rosie still had two more years of high school. She was my responsibility.”
Maya’s eyes are focused on something over my shoulder as she nods absently. “What about now? Do you still have to protect her?”
I haven’t had to save Rosie from anyone except herself since then. The other threats that have faced us have been easily dispelled. Rosie has taken down countless criminals with the click of a button. She… doesn’t need me at all. That realization feels scary, but at the same time, a small weight lifts off my chest.
Maya shivers and tucks her arms around herself. “Now I feel bad for being mad at you. You should have told me. I would have stayed. Heaven knows you probably needed all the support you could get.”
I should have told her; she deserved the truth. But she was going places, and I refused to hold her back. Instead, I shut out all forms of help. I didn’t know who to trust, so I didn’t trust anyone except Rosie and Liam. I still haven’t allowed anyone else inside. Maybe it’s time I do.
