Page 4 of His End Game

“Rayna, remember what I said. You’ve got to be careful,” Holly warns her with her soft voice.

She’s looking tired, but I don’t care to linger on her as she lifts Rayna in her arms and sits her on the edge of the bed.

“I missed you, Daddy,” Rayna tells me, and it takes an effort to lift my hand and squeeze hers.

“I’ve missed you too.” Looking at Holly, I ask, “Where does she think I’ve been?”

“Nowhere in particular. We just kept telling her you’d be back soon and we’re not making a big deal about you being here now that she knows. I don’t think she understands, but she’s been missing you.”

Smiling, I give my full attention to my daughter. She looks so much like her mom—her dark hair having grown down past her shoulders and her dark eyes always shining when she’s happy. India by the fireplace back at the cabin flashes through my mind and I swallow thickly. As fast as it appears, it fades just as quick, and I look to Holly again as she asks, “So… um… how are you doing?”

“Some pain, but it’s not as bad as you think. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.”

Those two words grate on me like nothing else ever could. I’m not sure she even knows how robotic she sounds when she says them. From the day I brought her to the cabin and introduced her to Rayna, whenever I ask her how she is, it’s always fine. Even when she’s covered in sweat from one of her nightmares. The only time I believe it is when she’s with my daughter. Rayna’s innocence and purity soothe her, and I like that for her.

Mom returns with coffees for her and Holly and a juice box for Rayna.

Holly settles down on one of the chairs while Mom takes over, making sure Rayna doesn’t disturb any of the wires or climbs on me. Right at this moment, after nearly dying, I don’t care. I’m in the hospital so it’s not like the doctors can’t come in and fix what she disturbs.

Time flies by and Rayna begins to yawn. “I think that’s our cue to leave,” Mom says, grabbing her purse. “I’m going to go to the bathroom before we leave. I’ll meet you by the elevator?”

Holly nods and reaches for Rayna’s jacket from the bottom of the bed.

“And you, get some rest. I’ll be back in the morning,” she tells me before leaving.

“Ray-Ray, say goodnight to Daddy. He’s got to go to sleep now, and we have to go home.”

My little girl’s face falls and before she can play up for Holly, I say to her, “If you let Holly put your jacket on, she’ll get you some ice cream.”

It works like a charm, and I watch as they prepare to leave, half-relieved I can fall asleep without feeling guilty for missing time with her, and half-dreading it because I hate having her out of my sight. I never realised how much a father’s love can change a man. When she took her first breath, the shift in my heart was unlike anything I felt before and without knowing how I knew, I knew it would never be as it was.

“I’ll bring her by tomorrow.”

Holly slips a phone out of her pocket and places it on the unit beside my bed.

“I thought you’d want it. Perhaps you could call to say goodnight to her. She doesn’t like going to sleep without hearing from you. It’s been a nightmare the last few nights.”

“Sure.”

Rayna places a kiss on my cheek, and I haphazardly hug her in return before Holly collects her in her arms and pulls her away.

“Okay, say goodbye to Daddy and we’ll go find Grandma,” Holly says to Rayna as the door opens and a new kind of nightmare begins.

Zara struts into the room like she’s been invited, and I cast my eyes to Holly. You wouldn’t be able to tell she’s hurting under her mask of fineness. Rayna waves over her shoulder as they leave, and Zara makes herself comfortable in the chair to my right.

“I’m glad to see you’re still alive,” she states with a smile on her red-stained lips.

“What are you doing here?”

“You were shot. Normal people visit the wounded while they’re in the hospital.”

What the fuck is happening right now? We don’t do conversations or visits.

“We’re not normal people,” I remind her.

“Leo, I thought we… I’ve been so worried.”

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