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“I’m going to go get Knox. I know he wants to see his brother.”
I silently nod in acknowledgment.
When Jude leaves, I lay my head next to Linc’s, trying not to disturb his sleeping form.
“Please open your eyes. Everyone here is waiting for you to come back.”
There’s no change in any of the monitors.
“Listen, if you open your eyes, I’ll let you give me any nickname you want. Charlie bird? Sounds great. Charlie bug? Even better. And if you’re really attached to it, you can call me Cha Cha. Anything you want. You just have to wake up.”
The pressure in my bruised eye from crying is pounding through my skull, but I can’t stop the tears from running over my nose and onto the pillow next to his head.
I hear his breath hitch first, then see his eyelids flutter.
“Linc?” I ask, praying to any god who will listen that this means what I think it means.
His eyes blink open, and his hazel gaze connects with my face.
“Mine,” he croaks out.
“What?”
Linc clears his throat and swallows hard.
“The only thing I want to call you is mine.”
Chapter twenty-one
Linc
Ihearhersoftwhispers before it registers what she’s saying.
“If you’re really attached to it, you can call me Cha Cha. Anything you want. You just have to wake up.”
Charlie’s voice is a broken whisper in my ear. I need to get to her, to comfort her. She needs to know I hear her and that I love her. Nothing is going to keep me from her. Attempting to open my eyes takes a few tries before the lids separate and her beautiful tear-stained face comes into view.
“Mine,” I say, but it doesn’t come out right. My throat is scratchy, and my voice sounds foreign to my ears. I clear my throat and try to swallow some moisture so I don’t sound like a pack-a-day smoker.
“The only thing I want to call you is mine.”
“Oh, thank God.” Rivulets of tears run down her face, but her smile shines fucking brilliantly through the wetness.
“How do you feel?” Her voice is whisper soft as we face each other, breathing the same air, both of us beyond grateful to be alive.
“Like a bullet tore through my gut.” I raise a hand and carefully brush my finger over her bruised eye. “How about you?”
“Like I got punched in the face.” Charlie turns her head and kisses my palm. “I don’t care about my stupid black eye,” she says. “You’re still with me.”
“Babe, it’s going to take a lot more than a bullet to keep us apart.”
Her light laugh brightens her bruised face. “My tough biker.”
I nod, and a painful chuckle escapes me. I’m going to have to be careful about that.
“I am yours, Charlie, and you’re mine.”
The softness and understanding in her gaze, as she tilts her head forward to kiss me, lets me know she gets it. We’ve made it to the other side, and I’m not letting her go.
