26. Hudson
CHAPTER 26
Hudson
The sharp slam of the squad car door echoed through the crisp night air, and Rex’s voice cut through the quiet. “This isn’t over!” he bellowed, jagged and raw with fury.
Tommy stepped closer, his arms crossed. Our eyes met, and the look we shared said everything—this had been close. Too close, and it wouldn’t happen again.
As the squad car disappeared down the road, I finally let myself move. My gaze shifted to Dane’s SUV, and I strode over to grab my suit jacket from the backseat. By the time I reached Sofia, she was standing like a statue, arms wrapped around herself as the paramedics unloaded their gear.
I draped the jacket over her shoulders, adjusting it so it covered her completely. The dark fabric swallowed her whole, but when she grabbed the lapels and pulled it tighter, something inside me eased. She didn’t look at me, but the tension in her shoulders relaxed just slightly. It was enough.
The paramedics guided her to sit on the edge of the ambulance. One of them crouched in front of her, his voice gentle. “Let’s take a look at those wrists, miss.”
Sofia hesitated, her fingers trembling slightly as she held out her hands. The paramedic’s touch was careful, but her wince still hit me like a gut punch.
“Careful,” I snapped before I could stop myself. Several heads turned my way, but I didn’t care.
“Rope burns,” the paramedic muttered, more to himself than anyone else. “We’ll clean these up and wrap them. They’ll sting for a bit, but they’ll heal fine.”
Sofia nodded faintly, her gaze distant.
Another paramedic stepped closer and reached for the jacket. “Let me just?—”
“No.” Her voice cracked on the single syllable as she clutched it tighter, her shoulders tensing all over again.
I was between them in a second, my hands gently helping her pull the jacket tighter as I shot the guy a look. “Work around it.”
The older paramedic exchanged a glance with the younger one and nodded.
Good. It was the only thing I could give her right now.
I moved back, far enough so they could help her but close enough that I could breathe. They worked quickly, cleaning and wrapping the cuts on Sofia’s feet and hands. She winced now and then, but she didn’t pull away.
Tommy returned with three folded blankets, wrapping the first over Sofia. Then he tossed another blanket at me with a smirk. “Just put it on,” he said. “You’ll still look manly, I promise.”
I grumbled under my breath but draped the blanket over my shoulders.
A flash of headlights momentarily blinded me as another police car pulled up. Officer Carter—the same one who’d responded to the break-in at the inn—stepped out of his cruiser, notebook in hand.
He nodded at us as he rounded the ambulance and approached Sofia. Her legs dangled a few inches above the pavement, making her look even smaller than she was.
Carter crouched slightly so he was more at eye level with her. “Miss Sullivan, I know this is a lot to process, but we need your account of what happened. Just take your time, and we’ll work through it together.”
Sofia nodded, her grip on the blanket tightening. “Okay.”
“Whenever you’re ready,” he said gently, “just start at the beginning.”
“Chris spilled a drink on my dress,” she started, her voice barely audible. “I went to the bathroom to get cleaned up, and I passed a woman in the hallway…”
My jaw tightened at the mention of the hallway. I’d let her walk off alone. And then listening as she went on with the events that unfolded after she’d practically been taken from under my nose… It was a special kind of torture.
My fists clenched as she continued speaking, shaking with the effort it took to stay in control. Beside me, Tommy’s hand landed on my shoulder, grounding me enough to keep me from losing it entirely.
When she got to the part about trying to figure out where she was and then spotted the screened-in porch, I knew where she was going with that.
“It was how I knew I was in the house,” she said. “Hudson’s house.”
“Our house,” I whispered, but then I had to pace away for a beat to collect myself.
The words hit harder than I wanted to admit. The fixer-upper I’d been so proud of and so excited to work on. The one I couldn’t wait to show her. That monster had turned it into something straight out of a nightmare.
Sofia kept talking, recounting Rex’s fixation on her, his plans to use her as bait. But when she got to the part about escaping—running barefoot through broken glass—I actually thought I was going to be sick. Picturing her bleeding feet as she sprinted for her life was too much.
Sure, I’d seen the cuts. The bandages. I’d known it was bad. But hearing her describe it in her own words…
“You’re okay,” Tommy murmured under his breath, barely audible. I wasn’t sure if it was meant for me or her.
Sofia’s voice dropped as she described the moment Rex caught up to her. “He grabbed me and said I couldn’t get away. He had the gun, and I thought…”
She paused, swallowing hard, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I thought it was over.”
Carter’s voice was calm, almost soothing. “But it wasn’t. You’re here now. You’re safe.”
She nodded, her jaw tightening, but then she looked up at him, her expression twisting into something almost hesitant. “There’s… something else.”
Tommy and I both straightened at the same time, the air between us snapping taut.
Carter tilted his head, his pen hovering over his notebook. “Go on.”
Sofia glanced at me, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of guilt in her eyes. “When he grabbed me in the hallway, he put a rag over my nose and mouth. It smelled like chemicals, and I couldn’t fight it. I passed out.”
The weight of her words slammed into me, knocking the breath from my chest. I didn’t even realize I’d swayed on my feet until Tommy’s hand landed on my arm, steadying me.
“What kind of chemicals?” Carter asked.
“I don’t know,” Sofia admitted, her voice small. “It was sweet… and sharp. I think he put something on it to knock me out.”
Tommy’s grip on my arm tightened as if he knew I was seconds away from snapping.
Drugged. He’d drugged her.
I exchanged a sharp glance with Tommy, who looked like he was fighting the same battle I was: The urge to go back in time and make Rex pay—fully and completely.
Carter nodded, scribbling in his notebook. “That’s important, Sofia. Good job. We’ll make sure it’s added to the charges.”
She nodded faintly. “Does… does that mean he’ll be in more trouble?”
“Absolutely,” Carter said firmly, closing his notebook. “Everything you’ve told me tonight will ensure Rex faces the full extent of the law.”
Tommy stepped closer to me, his voice low enough that only I could hear. “You good?”
I didn’t respond, my gaze locked on Sofia. The hollow look in her eyes was enough to undo me all over again. I moved to sit beside her because I couldn’t take all that space anymore.
Sofia leaned into me, her head resting against my shoulder as the paramedics finished wrapping the last of her bandages. Her breathing had slowed, each exhale brushing softly against my neck.
Tommy crouched, his elbows resting on his knees as he rubbed a hand over his jaw. He looked like he was still deciding how much to say—or how to say it without breaking something. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight but steady. “The charges are going to stack up. Kidnapping alone? That’s a first-degree felony in Pennsylvania. We’re talking up to 20 years minimum.”
Sofia shifted as her gaze went to him. “Really?”
“Yeah. And that’s just the start. Felon in possession of a firearm? That’s federal—another 10 years, easy. Then there’s attempted murder, breaking and entering…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “It’s a lot, Fi. And with his record? No parole. He’s not getting out.”
“And what about… the stuff he put on the rag?” she asked. “Does that have charges attached to it?”
Tommy and I exchanged a glance, both of us barely holding back our emotions.
“Yes,” he assured her. “Every detail of what he did is going to be part of the charges. Every single thing. He won’t see daylight again.”
I felt her weight shift as she processed his words, her body curling tighter into my side. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, my throat tightening as the full weight of her trust in me settled over my chest.
“You don’t have to worry,” I said softly but firmly. “Not ever.”
Her eyes lifted to mine, vulnerable but trusting, and something in her gaze cracked me wide open. She nodded once before burrowing closer.
Tommy stood, brushing a hand over his face as his gaze swept between us. “He’s done,” he said, his voice harder now, as much a promise to himself as it was to her. “I’ll make sure of it.”
The inn was quiet when we stepped inside, the kind of quiet that only comes at the early hours of Christmas morning. The faint hum of the heating system was the only sound as I guided Sofia up the stairs, my hand resting lightly on her back.
She hadn’t said much on the drive back. Not that I blamed her. After everything she’d been through tonight, the last thing she needed was me bombarding her with questions or reassurances.
She just needed peace, and I was happy to give it to her.
When we reached my room, she hesitated in the doorway, glancing around like she was seeing it for the first time.
“Do you want to stay here?” I asked. “Or?—”
“No,” she interrupted, shaking her head quickly. “Here is good.”
I nodded and closed the door behind us, locking it with a flick of my wrist. Sofia wandered toward the bed, her fingers brushing lightly over the festive quilt before she sat down. Her shoulders sagged, and for a moment, she just sat there, staring at her hands.
I grabbed a glass from the bathroom and filled it with water from the tap, then set it on the nightstand next to her. She glanced up at me, her lips curving into the faintest of smiles.
“Thanks.”
“Of course.”
I sank into the armchair across from her, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. The words I wanted to say were stacked up in my chest like bricks, too heavy to push out all at once. I didn’t even know where to start.
“I was going to take you there in the morning,” I said, my voice low, breaking the quiet between us.
She glanced up, her dark eyes locking with mine. “To the house?”
I nodded, letting out a slow breath as I ran a hand over my jaw. “Yeah. A Christmas morning thing. I wanted to show you everything—the porch, the plans for the library, all of it.” I leaned back slightly, my hands gripping the arms of the chair. “I’ve been waiting for weeks to see your face when you walked through the door.”
Her gaze softened, her lips curving into the faintest smile. “You were excited.”
“Yeah, I was. That place—it’s not just about the house. It’s what I saw for us. A fresh start. A home. I couldn’t wait to share it with you.”
She licked her lips as she stared at me. “But now…?”
I hesitated, the words catching in my throat. “Now it feels different. Tainted.” My jaw tightened, the admission tasting bitter. “It was supposed to be ours, but after what happened… I don’t know if it can ever be that.”
Sofia shifted on the bed, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. “It doesn’t have to be the place where something bad happened, Hudson.”
A dark chuckle escaped me. “How can it not be?”
“That’s up to us. Instead, it can be the place where you came for me. Where you showed me, again , how safe I am with you.”
I let out a shuddering breath, and I couldn’t meet her eyes.
“It can be a place that represents our strength,” she went on. “Yours, mine, and ours together. We can choose not to let Rex take it from us.”
For a long moment, I couldn’t speak as I dragged my gaze back to hers. After all she’d been through tonight, I couldn’t believe she still had the energy to pull me out of my own head—to remind me of what mattered.
Finally, I nodded, my throat tight. “You’re right.”
She smiled faintly, and for the first time since we left the station, it reached her eyes. “Of course I am.”
I let out a short laugh, the sound surprising both of us. “And humble, too.”
“Always,” she said, her smile widening just a fraction.
I stood, crossing the small space between us to sit beside her on the bed. She leaned into me, her head resting on my shoulder, and I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.
“You amaze me, you know that?” I murmured.
She didn’t respond right away, but when she did, her voice was quiet and steady. “I think we amaze each other.”
I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, closing my eyes. She was right. About the house. About us. About all of it. Rex might have tried to take something from us tonight, but he failed.
For a long moment, everything else fell away as we held each other. The tension, the danger, even the faint hum of the inn’s decrepit heating system—it all faded into the background.
Her voice broke the silence, soft but steady. “You know, I’ve been thinking.”
“Uh oh.”
She dug her elbow into my side. “I’m serious.”
“Okay.” I shifted slightly, shifting so I could see her face. “What’s on your mind?”
She let out a soft breath. “I’ve been through a lot,” she said, her voice low but sure. “And for a long time, I thought I’d handled my relationships so far in a way that made me… weak. Like how I stayed with Dane only to literally run from my problems with him? I worried it made me some kind of… failure.”
“Sofia—”
“Wait,” she said, cutting me off. She reached for my hand, her fingers threading through mine. “But tonight, when I was running… when I was hiding, and then fighting to get away… I didn’t feel weak. I felt scared, yeah, but I also felt strong. Like I could survive. Like I had to.”
“You are strong,” I said, my voice rough. “You always have been.”
Her lips twitched into a small, self-deprecating smile. “I didn’t feel that way until tonight. But now… I don’t know. It’s like something shifted. And I think part of that is because of you.”
I frowned, shaking my head. “Sofia, you’re the one who got out of that house. You’re the one who fought.”
“Yeah,” she said, squeezing my hand. “But you’re the one who helped me believe I could. And plus… I didn’t want you to show up in the house only for him to shoot you.”
I couldn’t breathe. I’d spent so much of the night feeling like I hadn’t done enough. Like I’d failed her by letting this happen in the first place. But hearing her say that…
“You and Tommy,” she continued, her voice softer now. “The way you both showed up for me—I finally get that I’m not alone. That I don’t have to face things like this on my own. I know you’ve both been trying to tell me that, but I get it now. And that… that means everything.”
I hesitated, then reached up, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “You scared me tonight,” I admitted. “When we realized you were gone… I don’t think I’ve ever felt fear like that. Not even in combat. Not even at Wolf Pack Park.”
I’d added that last part because I’d needed another one of her smiles, and I was rewarded with a small one before she rolled her eyes.
“Jokes aside, I mean it,” I went on. “I’ve been through a lot of dark stuff in my life. But nothing—not one thing—has ever terrified me the way the thought of losing you did.”
She stared at me, her dark eyes wide and unguarded, and it was like she was seeing me—really seeing me—for the first time.
“I love you,” I said, meaning it now more than ever.
“I love you, too,” she whispered just before she surged forward, her hands sliding up to cup my face as her lips met mine.
The kiss was soft at first—tentative, almost—but it didn’t stay that way. It deepened quickly, her fingers tangling in my hair as I pulled her closer. Grateful for the release, I poured every word, thought, or emotion that’d gutted me throughout the night into our kiss, and I felt her doing the same. I felt it down to my bones.