30. Travis
“Your scans show no major internal injuries, and you”re lucky to have a clean gunshot wound – it passed through without hitting any vital organs. The concussion from the collision appears mild, but we”ll monitor you closely for any changes.”
The doctor tapped on the X-ray printout with a pen as he spoke to Emily. I sat on the bed beside her and listened attentively, squeezing her hand gently for support.
“So, nothing to be worried about?” I asked, wanting to be certain.
“Nothing to be afraid about,” he replied with a smile. “You may still be experiencing some headaches and dizziness, but that’s to be expected. Let me know if these symptoms don’t subside within a few weeks. But for now, we see no reason to believe you’re in danger.
The doctor shook his head. “I heard about your ordeal. You may come away from this with a few small scars, but all things considered, you’re to get through this with just some bruises.”
He was right. Emily had been kidnapped, bound, interrogated, shot at, and behind the wheel in a car crash. That she was even alive at all was a miracle.
The doctor droned on about the precautions we were to take while we recovered from our injuries. My attention wandered as I stared at her face.
“That should be all, then,” he concluded. “You should be free to leave tonight, as soon as the paperwork comes through.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Emily said. “You’ve been a blessing.”
The doctor smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. We shook hands before he left the room, and then I shut the door softly behind him.
Emily and I were alone again. The doctor had forced us to send everyone home, to give her a chance to get some rest. I returned to my perch on the bed beside her. “Looks like we’re going home.”
She smiled. “I know right? I can’t wait. I feel like I haven’t had a proper night’s rest in weeks. The last few days were… crazy.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” I replied. “Now the question is…whose home?”
I peered at Emily. She stared at me.
“You don’t mean…”
“I’d feel better if you stayed with me for a while. With me, and my security.”
The security was an excuse, and she knew it. Emily bit her lip. “Are you sure? It’s a big step…”
“Please?” I put on my best puppy-dog eyes and was rewarded with her laughter.
“Okay! Okay. Let’s…let’s try it.”
I heaved a huge sigh of relief at her answer. That was all I could feel right now: relief. Elation would come later, when she’d lived with me for a few days and hadn’t decided she couldn’t stand me.
“We also need a vacation,” I suggested, emboldened by her first ‘yes.’ “Once you’re strong enough for it, of course. What do you think?”
“A vacation would be…nice.” She watched me almost timidly. “Where do you have in mind?”
“To be honest, I was thinking of hopping on the plane first, and then figuring out a possible destination afterwards.”
She chuckled. “That sounds awfully convenient, it’s almost unfair.” She narrowed her eyes at me, before breaking into another beautiful smile. “Of course, I love it.”
My phone rang just before I could respond to her. I pulled it out of my pocket and raised a brow. It was Brendan.
“Travis, listen. We’ve got a slight problem.” There was an urgency to his tone that alarmed me. I stood up from the bed and walked to the corner of the room.
“I’m still in the hospital with Emily, Brendan. What’s up?”
“It won’t be long,” he said in a matter of fact way. “There’s a development regarding Blackwell’s goons who turned themselves in.”
I gritted my teeth “I’ll be there in fifteen,” I managed, through the blinding rage that still came up when I thought of the man who’d shot at Emily. I clicked off the call and turned around to see Emily watching me. I smiled and returned to her side. “I’m sorry. Duty calls.”
“What’s wrong?” She looked concerned. Was my anger at the thought of Blackwell that obvious?
“I’m not sure yet,” I replied honestly. “Whatever it is, though, I’d handle it. I want you to focus on resting. Will you be okay without me for a few hours?”
She made a shooing gesture with her hands. “Get out of here! I’m not a child. Don’t worry on my account.”
I kissed her on the forehead before leaving her room. It felt wrong to leave her alone, and the thought of something bad happening to her still haunted me. But the sooner we found a solution to Bryce Blackwell, the safer she would be.
I drove fast on the road to the family villa. I didn’t want to be away from Emily’s side for too long.
Alexi opened the front door before I could knock and we exchanged rushed pleasantries. Together we walked up to the study on the first floor, where I found my brothers and Leo gathered.
I took a seat and crossed my legs, then waited for them to tell me what the hell was going on. What could be so important that they had to drag my ass across town for it?
“Sorry for calling you here on such short notice, Travis,” Brendan apologized. “But with everything going on, I thought it would be better if we could speak in person for the time being.”
“Sure. What’s wrong?” I tried and failed to keep the impatience out of my voice.
“You know how we’ve been trying to pressure Blackwell’s men into accepting a deal? Well, I think one of them was about to squeal. But this morning, Bryce Blackwell rolled out the big boys.
The goons were being represented by his personal attorneys now, and our boys can’t get anywhere close to them. They’re pushing for a plea deal, and have agreed to sign written confessions for a reduced sentence.
“I’m still putting pressure on the DA, but he considers it a lost cause. He thinks the judge will agree to the plea deal within the next twenty-four hours. The feds need a conviction, and this makes it easy for them. I think Bryce Blackwell is walking away from this unscathed.”
I took the news relatively well, all things considered. I saw red for a moment, but I’d come to terms with the fact that men like my father and Bryce Blackwell rarely paid the price for their actions.
At least, not through legal means. I remembered how Blackwell had confessed to murdering my father. How he’d explained how he got away with it.
Jackson read my thoughts on my face and frowned. “You’re seriously not considering that, are you?”
“I’m not,” I replied with a false conviction. “Bryce Blackwell has a lot of enemies, but if we made a move on him now, it would be too suspicious. The same applies to him. Everyone knows he was behind the attack, and he knows he’s lucky to be getting away with it. I doubt he’s foolish enough to jeopardize that by trying something else any time soon. I think we’re safe, for now. We have to improve our security, but all things considered, we should be fine.”
I only actually believed about half of that, but I was used to other people relying on me for confidence. When I was calm and confident, everything ran more smoothly.
I looked around the room and was glad to see collective nods of approval. I turned to Brendan. “Speaking of prosecution. Were you serious about letting Emily and Michael off the hook?”
He shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I mean, Alexi and Leo told us how much you cared for her. Plus, she almost lost her life trying to save you. That counts. If she loves you half as much as she says she does, she’s family.”
“We also investigated the file she stole,” Jackson added. “And it doesn’t look like they used it for anything sinister. Emily stole it back from Blackwell’s man before he could do anything with it. I don’t think she, or Michael, are dangers to us anymore.”
I nodded quietly, relief flooding through me. Emily and her friend had committed several federal felonies, and they were beyond lucky to escape having the book thrown at them.
“Beyond refusing to press charges against them, I think it’s a good idea to have Michael working here for us.” His voice carried a reluctant respect. . “He’s a decent hacker, and I think he could really be a good addition to our cyber-security team. What’s more, his name is also on the list for reparations.”
I nodded, pushing back the urge to smile. Michael was clearly more than skilled enough to earn the position, and I genuinely believed we’d be safer with him onboard.
We spent the next hour talking out the events of the last few days. Everyone was still slowly coming to terms with what had happened. We’d known our father ran with a dangerous crowd, but the danger had never hit so close to home before.
After giving the family an hour, I could wait no more: I had to return to Emily.
She was asleep when I crept into her hospital room, but she opened her eyes as I sat down on the chair beside her bed. She blinked slowly and yawned, then sat up in the bed. The concerned look returned to her face. “What happened?”
I laughed. “Actually, nothing happened. Nothing bad, at least. Everything’s fine, Emily. It all worked out after all.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, watching me curiously. Then she smiled. “Tell me.”
I spent the next half hour telling her everything that had happened. She deserved to know that Blackwell was still out there. But I ended with the best news I could think of: the decision my brothers had made to recruit Michael to the team.
She listened quietly, and wept what I hoped were tears of joy when she heard the news about Michael. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You may not know this, but I don’t have too many people in my life I trust. Michael’s one of the few.”
And then, a thought occurred to me. I took her hands and squeezed them gently. “Emily, I’d love to meet your parents.”
My request caught her entirely by surprise, and the shocked expression she wore was priceless. “What?”
“You heard me,” I said. “I’d love to meet your parents.”