Page 162 of Captivated

Yeah, the media.

His face.

Separation of church and state, so to speak.

Joe had to go underground, and keep his name out of it. He needed to go back to his life, and pretend like he hadn’t left it. He needed to let the hell this had caused blow over so the trail went cold, and the case was closed. Or, as closed as it could be, all things considered.

How long was that going to take?

He didn’t know.

“Maybe someday,” Joe told Lucian.

Lucian smiled faintly. “There’s definitely going to be a someday, Joe.”

Liliana was sleeping when Joe finally slipped into her hospital room. The clock on the wall showed it was just past one in the morning, but this was the safest time. The nurses were focused on their work, the detectives were gone, and the families of other patients had left, too.

Well, mostly.

“Wondered when you were going to sneak in here,” Lucian muttered in the corner.

Joe shrugged one shoulder. “Have to be careful.”

“I appreciate the effort, Joe.”

Beside the man, his wife slept peacefully covered in her husband’s suit jacket. Joe had drifted around—although made sure to stay out of sight—the hospital and grounds enough to watch people come and go for Liliana all day.

Her sisters.

Brother.

Cousins.

Aunts and uncles.

Grandparents, too.

Even friends, and the owner of the ballet company.

She had a steady stream of guests, and her room showcased it with all the flowers, cards, and helium balloons filling one corner. She certainly hadn’t gone without attention and visitors which made him feel somewhat better.

And entirely lonely.

Because he hadn’t been one.

He was sure she noticed it.

“Jordyn,” Lucian murmured, carefully waking his wife from her sleep.

“W-what?”

The woman blinked sleepy eyes at her husband, but didn’t seem to notice Joe standing just beyond the closed doors.

“Let’s step out for a minute, Jord.”

“Why would we—”

Her words cut off when her gaze landed on Joe.