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He glanced up and immediately sucked in a gasp. “You’re here.” His voice was breathless, his blue eyes alive with emotion. “When you passed out, I didn’t know if the bullet had gone through me and hit you or what.”
She blanched, pretty sure she never wanted him to learn that’s exactly what had happened.
“You were there too?” One of his brothers glanced at her with wide, curious eyes as she slowly edged into the room. “Sweet. What happened?”
Logan shook his head. “Trust me. It was not sweet.”
“So what happened?” the other brother repeated. He looked like the older of the two. Caleb, Paige decided, remembering his name.
“He saved my life,” she spoke up, her eyes only for Logan. “That’s what happened. We were hiding in this alley away from…from…” Einstein. Her insides wrenched with misery just thinking about Einstein. “…the gunman, when he found us. Logan lunged in front of me and shielded me with his body.”
“Dude.” Jake, the younger brother, gawked at Logan in awe. “You’re, like, a hero.”
Logan shook his head again and winced. “No.”
“Yes,” Paige countered. “You kept me trapped behind you.” She shuddered, remembering those helpless horrifying moments. “You protected me with your own body.”
“And you were talking him down until I opened my big mouth,” he countered.
She hugged herself. “I don’t think so. He was so unstable he would’ve shot us both.” The dull dead look in Einstein’s eyes the moment before he’d pulled the trigger would haunt her for the rest of her life.
“Well, however it happened,” Logan’s mom spoke up, cuddling reassuringly close to her son, “I’m just glad it’s over and you’re both okay.”
“Me too,” Logan echoed, his gaze sliding to Paige. She felt warm and cherished under his inspection.
When a soft knock came from behind her, everyone in the room glanced up to see two more people hovering hesitantly in the doorway.
Her father made eye contact with her and moaned out a sound like a wounded animal. “My baby.” He charged forward and enveloped her into a large bear hug. “I’m so glad, I’m so glad,” he chanted into her hair as he hugged her tight.
Unable to remember the last time she’d touched Paul Zukowski, Paige clung to him, noticing he didn’t feel as full in her arms as he used to. He’d lost a great deal of weight over the last few years.
Skinny or not, he was holding her now, and she was glad to be in his arms. She buried her face in his neck and shuddered. “Daddy.”
“That was too close,” he said as he pulled back to look her over. “Too close. I can’t lose my little girl. I just…can’t.” When he cupped her cheeks in his hands, his face went red as he began to cry. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for the way I’ve treated you. I’ll change. I swear to God. Just don’t leave me too.”
When he hugged her once more, she whispered, “I won’t. Not ever.”
Kayla crowded in then to make it a group hug, and Paige realized her best friend wasn’t just a friend, she was a part of her family. Glad she had her family with her and that they’d progressed to human contact, and Logan’s family had come for him, she had a feeling things could only get better from here.
With the support of their loved ones, she knew they could handle whatever happened next.
Chapter Thirty-Six
AFTER HER HUG-FEST settled down in the middle of Logan’s recovery room, Paige went around introducing everyone and catching Kayla and her dad up on what had happened in the alley.
The link they shared from three years before stirred up a stilted uncomfortable silence as the Xander clan eyed the Zukowski clan with unease. And Paige’s dad narrowed his glare right back at them. But she figured they might as well start getting over the awkwardness now, because if she had her way, she and Logan would be together for a good, long while, and the two families would be pushed together more in the future.
When her father slid a wary gaze to Logan, she held her breath. The two studied each other for far too long before her dad said, “You saved my daughter’s life.”
Logan glanced at her and then back to her father. He didn’t confirm or deny it.
Paul Zukowski cleared his throat and glanced at the floor before he mumbled, “Thank you.”
Logan’s eyes moistened. With his own nod of acknowledgement, he looked too choked up to respond. Paige wanted to go to his side and take his hand. She needed to be close to him. She needed to touch him for that added reassurance to make sure he was okay. But his family was here. Her family was here. She hugged her own waist, feeling bereft.
Her dad touched her elbow. “We should get going.”
When Kayla crowded around her from the other side, she realized they wanted her to go with them. But she shook her head.
