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The words should reassure me, but they don't. I'm nervous and feeling a little desperate.
Chapter 19
Simon
I don't know how many hours have gone by, but I'm thirsty. I ache all over, and my eye fills swollen shut.
I must have dozed because I'm jolted awake when the door bangs open. I can't tell who just came into the room.
“Holy shit, Simon, you look like you've been through hell,” Alec's voice gives me a small amount of relief. He makes quick work of getting me to my feet, and I wince.
“How did you find me?” I ask quietly.
“Your girl,” Alec says simply, and proceeds to drag me out of the room. I notice an elevator at the end of the hall and two guards on the floor. When we get to the ground level, we take a back exit with a single door leading out. Alec's SUV is the only vehicle parked there. When we pull out, I see a guard station with no one standing there. The gate is open.
***
About an hour later, Alec is pulling off the highway into a motel that might have been new in the 1950s. The sign has faded, but there is a vacancy sign.
“How did you find this place?” I ask.
Alec just smiles and shakes his head as Leilani comes out of the last room. God, I feel an intense longing run through me when I see her. Her dark hair is hanging down over her shoulder, and she's wearing shorts and a tank top. The love I feel for her is off the charts.
Alec comes around to my side of the vehicle and helps me get out. Leilani frowns when she sees me more clearly. She's in front of me in a few quick strides.
“What the fuck happened?” she asks, deep concern in her brown eyes.
“I met your brother Mano. I don't think I'm invited to Thanksgiving.” I try to smile, but my lips hurt. Alec steers me toward the bed as we go into the room, and I sit on the edge.
“I'll help him get cleaned up. Can you go up the road? About a mile from here is a drug store,” Leilani asks Alec, who nods and shuts the door behind him.
“Let me help you get undressed,” Leilani says.
The whole process of getting in the shower is bloody excruciating.
“I'm going to kill my brother. Look at the state of you,” she says, lightly touching me with the washcloth.
“It's over now. Once I'm healed, I have a date with my father, and then I'm out,” I say gruffly, wincing as I try to move.
“I'm surprised you can ignore it, but I guess your vengeful heart is set on just one gruesome score,” Leilani says. I know there's more than snark behind her words, but I can't deal with that right now, so I say nothing.
About half an hour later, I'm cleaned up and resting after taking some ibuprofen. The ice packs seem to be a necessary evil, but I hope I can sleep soon. I feel wrecked. I probably should go to the doctor about my ribs, but I decided against it since I'm not feeling any chest pain. Hopefully, my ribs are just cracked and not broken, given I have a timeline. Leilani is frowning at me from across the room.
“What's going through that stubborn brain of yours?” I ask.
“Oh, I'm the stubborn one, huh? I'm worried about you, and I wish you'd reconsider your plans,” she says, coming to sit on the other side of the bed, her knee bent with one leg touching the floor.
“Nothing will stop me from killing my father, Leilani. I have to do this,” I say firmly, adjusting the ice packs.
“I love you, you stupid jerk. Can't you see this is too much?” Leilani huffs, getting up as she starts pacing.
“I love you too,” I say honestly.
She stops and looks at me. I see the indecision on her face.
“I've never in my life met someone like you, and I probably fell in love with you on the beach that first night. But nothing, and no one is going to stop this.” I need her to understand or at least stop trying to dissuade me. I've spent so much time and energy on this goal, and I refuse to change course now. My mother deserves this. Hell, I deserve this.
I see her tears, and I wish I could get up and hold her close to me. She's not too happy right now because she exclaims, “Fuck!” then storms out, slamming the door behind her.
