“Hi.” she whispered, voice hoarse. A weak smile tugged at her lips.
I crossed the room in two strides, sinking onto the chair beside her. My hands trembled as I reached for hers. “Baby,” I breathed, my thumb brushing over her knuckles. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve—”
“You’re here,” she interrupted softly, squeezing my fingers. “That’s all that matters.”
Not to me.
To me, what mattered was making sure Jaxnevergot near her again.
I looked down at Elise, my heart breaking all over again. She was so fragile despite the strength she’d shown in the face of everything that had happened. She squeezed my hand again, her touch surprisingly firm despite everything she’d been through. “Don’t fire Ryan. It’s not his fault, Nathan.”
I shook my head, disbelief making my chest tighten. “He was supposed to protect you. He let that bastard get to you.”
“I made the choice to go up there alone,” She argued, her eyes meeting mine with a depth that made me feel guilty about the last few minutes. “He had no reason to think anything was wrong. I don’t blame him.”
I stared at her, dumbfounded. Her focus was still on everyone but herself. Even now, when she was the one lying in a hospital bed. It was beautiful and maddening.
“You’re incredible, you know that?” I whispered, my voice rough as I squeezed her hand back, my eyes softening.
She let out a small breath, something close to a smile curling on her lips, though it was tinged with pain. I stared down at her, my heart torn between my overwhelming need to protect her and the overwhelming respect I had for how she was handling this.
I moved to her side, sitting down carefully on the edge of the bed, my hand reaching for hers. “We’ll talk about this later. Right now, you need to rest.”
“Stay with me?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said, my voice low but steady. “I’m not leaving your side, no matter what. You’re safe now.”
Her eyes searched mine for a moment, a quiet sense of relief filling the space between us. “Promise?” she asked softly, her voice vulnerable in a way that almost broke me.
“I swear,” I replied, my thumb brushing the back of her hand.
She finally relaxed, the tension leaving her body as she leaned back into the pillows. “Good,” she whispered, her eyelids fluttering closed for a moment before she opened them again, just enough to meet my gaze. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I won’t let you find out.” I leaned down, pressing my forehead to hers, taking in her warmth, her scent and the way she made me feel like the luckiest man alive just by existing.
Her hand tightened around mine, and I felt her body relax completely into the bed, as if my promise was enough to finally allow her to rest.
I stayed by her side, my promise to never leave her unwavering. With her hand in mine, I finally let out a breath, knowing that no matter what came next, I wouldn’t let anything take her away from me.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
NATHAN
I CLEARED MYschedule for this.
I gave a nod to the two men who worked for me, they were the kind who didn’t deal in contracts or studio sessions, but handled things quietly whenever I needed a mess cleaned up. It had been three days since Jax put his hands on Elise and ran.
The son of a bitch had been inside my building the whole time, buried in our inmate rehabilitation program under his full first name and his mother’s surname, a loophole that kept “Henley” from ever hitting our security alerts and gave him exactly what he’d wanted—easy access to Elise. My men found him holed up in a run-down motel in Long Beach, shacked up with a bottle of bourbon and a burner phone like that was enough to keep him hidden from me after what he did.
They slipped out of the room, leaving me alone with the man of the hour.
Jax sat there, bound and gagged, his body slumped against the chair like a broken toy. I strode over to the center of the room where a single chair awaited me. The metal creaked under my weight as I sank into it. I let the silence hang between us for a moment, savoring the tension, then I leaned forward, my voice cutting through the thick air.
“My apologies for making you wait. I had business to handle.” I announced casually. Slowly, I reached for the bag covering his head and pulled it off.
Jax blinked, his eyes adjusting to the bright light. They were cold, and calculating, but there was also a fleeting glimpse of fear.
“Nathan Edge. We finally meet.”
