“How is she doing?” Noah asks, his voice just above a whisper.
“It was touch and go for a bit.” The words stick in my throat like burrs. “But she’s been upgraded to stable.”
I almost lost her twice yesterday. When she coded in the ambulance and during surgery when her body gave out on her. I haven’t been this terrified since finding out Colton had tried to end his life and the hospital was attempting to resuscitate him.
“Has she woken up yet?”
“No. Not yet. Any news about why the two men kidnapped her?”
“I can’t tell you much right now. The Feds have been investigating the case after new evidence came to light a few days before Jess went missing. But I did learn that Scott Moore—the man who shot Jess and killed her brother-in-law—had been part of the homicide unit investigating her husband’s murder. New evidence revealed he’d tampered with the police evidence collected from the murder scene, with the goal to frame Jess.”
“Jesus,” I mutter.
The steady beeping of the medical equipment is the only sound in the room for a long moment. Exhaustion weighs down my shoulders, dulls my ability to talk.
“She told me to tell you she loves you,” Noah says, looking at Jess. “I was also supposed to tell you she would have loved to have had a family with you.”
I should be happy to hear this, but instead, sadness and bitterness twist together inside me. “When did she tell you that?” When she thought she was dying? When she thought she wouldn’t have to say it to my face and finally admit her feelings? I shake my head, the movement barely registering.
“Shortly after we found her.” Noah clasps my shoulder in a gesture of support. “Keep me updated on her condition, would you?”
I go back to watching the steady rise and fall of Jess’s chest. “Will do.” I know he’s asking as a friend and not as a cop. As difficult as it has been for Jess to trust the police, she has let Noah in. They’ve become friends.
Who knows what it all means, though, for her opinion about cops in general. Two SDPD officers tortured her, but the Maple Ridge police department saved her life.
Noah’s soles squeak on the hospital floor as he turns to leave.
“Thank you. Thank you for being there for her and finding her.” It had killed me not to be the one who went looking for her, but Noah was right to tell me to stand down when all I wanted to do was tear Maple Ridge apart, searching for her. They only located her when a state trooper saw the car, which matched the description of a vehicle seen parked near her house, heading into the mountains. I want to make sure Scott Moore spends the rest of his life locked away for what he did to Jess. That might not have been possible if my brothers and I had tried to do Noah’s job.
“You’re welcome.”
This time I do let Noah leave.
The day of the festival, as I drove Nolan, Jared, and Mason to their tour bus, Nolan told me the emotional scars his abusive father left him with had really screwed him up, but Nolan’s girlfriend never gave up on him. And now they’re happily married. Jess might have left me twice, and nearly broke me into pieces each time, but I can’t walk away from her anymore. Being with her is worth the risk.
I stand and kiss the side of her face not covered in bandages. “I love you, Jess. Keep fighting for me. I’m not going anywhere.”
* * *
The next morning,Jess remains unconscious. Her condition improved slightly overnight. The swelling on her face is starting to go down, but the bruises are still a stark contrast to her pale skin.
Shit, when I think of all the ways I failed her…like I failed Colton…
I rub my hand over my face. “I’m so sorry, Jess. I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you.” I gently tap the back of her hand.Tap-tap. Tap-taaap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-taaap.
A movement in the doorway catches in my periphery. Mom is standing there, her lips pressed in a sad smile. Or a smile that barely hides her disappointment.
My finger stops tapping.
Mom and I haven’t talked about Jess or my feelings for her since the day of the barbecue, when Mom made Jess feel unwelcome. I’ve seen her at least once a week, but we haven’t talked about Jess or about Mom’s behavior that day. I’ve tried not to hold what happened against her. There doesn’t seem to be much point given that Jess and I are no longer together.
I know Mom loves me and was being overly protective. She’s my mother. I love her and I won’t turn my back on her. She put up with my sorry ass when I was a know-it-all teen.
I just want her to love Jess like I do.
Mom steps into the hospital room. “How’s she doing?” Her voice is low, barely louder than the beeping machines.
“Stable but still unconscious.”
