CHAPTER 29
REGAN
I’m at the bottom of the lake. There’s light above me, but no matter how hard I swim, I can’t get any closer. I feel the muddy, silty depths dragging at my feet, tugging me down, but I don’t want to be there. I swim and swim, screaming, breath running out, panic setting in, this must be how it ends?—
I sit up with a gasp. My chest heaves and my head pounds. I groan, rolling onto my side, checking my body but I’m whole. There’s no water, only a mattress and blankets. I’m groggy and confused. It takes a few minutes before I realize I’m back home.
Back in Liam’s apartment.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay, you’re okay.” He’s beside me and helps me sit up. Liam’s touch is gentle. He’s in different clothes, which is confusing. I accept a glass of water and drink. “Take it easy. The doctor said we need to monitor you closely. You took a bad knock to the head.”
“What… I don’t know…” I search his face, confusion ringing in my brain. “Luke? We found Luke? At the dock, and he had a gun…”
Liam’s expression tightens. He touches my cheek and takes the glass away, setting it on the nightstand. “Don’t worry about that right now. Just rest for a minute, okay? I’ll explain everything soon.” He shifts into the bed beside me and pulls me close.
I accept the comfort. I’m not in a good spot to argue right now even if I wanted to. My skull feels like it’s going to split in half. I reach up and touch a bandage wrapped around my forehead, wincing at a sharp pain.
“How long was I asleep?”
“Half a day. We need to get you scanned soon. But for now, the doctor said to take it easy.”
“Jesus… half a day? Are you serious?”
“I’m sorry, love. You took a bad spill.” He touches the bandage. “Twenty-six stitches.”
“What?!”
“I know. He had to shave some of your hair.”
“Oh god.” I groan and reach to touch myself again, but he stops me.
“It’ll grow back. You’ll get one of those sexy cuts with the shaved sides of the head or something. You can pull it off.”
“I doubt that.”
“Trust me, love, you can pull anything off.”
His arms hold me tight and I lean into him silently. My brain’s working but it’s sluggish, like I’m still in that dream at the bottom of the lake. We found Luke… found him at the dock, but he had a gun… I got pushed…
Pieces start to come together.
“You got shot.” I turn to him, unsure of myself. “But you don’t look like it.”
He lifts his shirt and shows me a patch on his ribs. “He missed. I think he was distracted by you almost breaking your head open. Which is my fault, I pushed you too hard. I’m sorry, love, I was trying to get you out of the way.”
“He wasn’t really going to shoot me, was he?”
“In retrospect, probably not. I think he was always aiming for me. But you were between us and I didn’t want to take the chance.” He grazes a thumb down my cheek. “I’m so sorry, love.”
“It’s okay. You were trying to protect me.”
There’s guilt in his expression even though he did nothing wrong. “We’ll take care of you now though, don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“But what about Luke? What about you?”
“I’m fine. My wound’s a bad graze. As for your brother…” He trails off, his eyes cutting toward the door.
Understanding creeps up on me. “What did you do? Did you hurt him?”
