Chapter Thirty-Seven
C onner turned around when he heard them come into the kitchen. His stomach tightened at the sight of her. She looked so tiny in Daniel’s arms. He still couldn’t get the memory of her fighting for her life out of his head, and he didn’t think he ever would.
Daniel set her in one of the chairs at the table and went to grab plates, silverware, and glasses for them, which he filled with orange juice. “That smells good, Conner. What is it?”
Conner pulled his eyes from Keira. “Just scrambled eggs with vegetables and cheese. We definitely will have to go to the store tomorrow.” Conner pointed to Keira with the spoon he was using to dish out the food. “How’s she doing?” he whispered.
Daniel glanced at Keira as she looked around the kitchen. “She’s sore, tired, and has a headache, but otherwise pretty good. Her sass is definitely coming back.”
“She’s tough.”
Daniel nodded and walked to the table with a few plates and set one down in front of her.
She glanced up at Conner and then quickly down at her dinner. “This looks good, Conner. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Honey.”
All three ate in silence for several minutes before Conner got up and came back with a few aspirins. “Here, take these. Hopefully, they’ll help your headache.”
She stared at the little pills in the palm of his hand.
“Keira, it’s just aspirin, I promise. I wouldn’t give you pills without asking you.”
Keira took the pills and washed them with the juice.
All three silently went back to eating.
Keira pushed her plate away and groaned. “I can’t eat anymore.”
Daniel looked at her plate. “You hardly ate anything, Sweetheart.”
Keira’s eyes widened as she looked from one man’s scowl to the other. “For one thing, I’m at least half of both your sizes. These plates are huge, I will never under normal circumstances be able to eat a third of what you guys eat, and lastly, my stomach has shrunk a bit in the last week.”
She didn’t think their scowls could get any worse until she brought up the attack. “I’m going upstairs. Which room should I take?”
Conner’s eyes raced to Daniel’s, and his eyebrows raised.
“We already discussed this, Keira.”
She gritted her teeth when she saw Conner’s mouth twitch as he watched them, taking a bite every so often.
Daniel pushed his plate away and drank the rest of his juice before he stood. Without a word, he lifted her and started out of the kitchen. He turned at the door.
“Thank you, Conner, for dinner. I can get the dishes in the morning if you just put them in the sink. Take whatever bedroom you want.”
Conner waved them away. “Don’t worry about the dishes. I’ll be up after I check in with our men outside and check the doors and windows.”
“Thanks, man. We’ll see you in the morning.”
Conner listened to Daniel’s footsteps. He stood and gathered the dishes, rinsing them before putting them in the dishwasher. He swept his hand on the back of his neck where a ball of tension had sat all day. He was anxious about his appointment to meet Tammy, Daniel’s ex-girlfriend, tomorrow morning. Hopefully, she could help. He also had to apologize to her for not catching the guy when she had to deal with him. And it was the same guy. The similarities piling up were too much to ignore.
****
D aniel set Keira down in the bathroom. “I’ll give you a few minutes to use the toilet and brush your teeth.”
Keira watched him close the door before using the toilet. After she washed her hands, she leaned forward, taking a good look at herself for the first time, and grimaced. The woman staring back at her was someone she’d never seen before. She was thin, pale, and had dark smudges under her eyes. There were a multitude of bruises and little cuts all over her face, neck, and upper arms. She didn’t want to look at the rest.
“Are you about done?”
Keira jerked at the knock and hurriedly brushed her teeth.
Daniel stepped back when she opened the door. “The bed is ready, go lie down, and I’ll be right there.”
Keira didn’t say anything. She pulled the cover up to her chin and turned on her side away from where he would sleep.
Daniel bit back a sigh when he came back into the bedroom. She was over as far as she could get without falling off the bed. “You can have more room.”
“No, thank you. I’m fine. Good night.”
Daniel got in bed, turned off the light, and turned toward Keira. For a long moment, he didn’t say anything. He spoke when she stayed silent. “Good night, Honey.”
A scream ripped through the house in the middle of the night. Daniel was instantly holding her, talking softly, trying to calm her and bring her back from the ugly nightmare she was having.
The door burst open, letting in the hallway light and Conner with his gun in hand. He instantly took in the situation and relaxed. “Jesus. That is some nightmare. Is she doing that every night?”
Daniel looked at Conner over the top of Keira’s head. “Only the last few. It started when she began to remember.”
Conner walked to the bathroom, wet a washcloth, and brought it back, sliding it over her forehead and cheeks. Jesus. Going through it once was traumatic, but having to relive it every night would take down a lesser person. Daniel held her against his chest, murmuring softly to her as his hand ran soothingly up and down her back. “The doctor gave us sedatives if we needed them.”
“No sedatives,” Keira whispered against Daniel’s chest.
His hand swept her hair off her face so he could see her eyes. His heart broke at the tears and anguish in them. “I know, Baby, but if that’s the only way you can get some decent sleep, we have to think about it.”
Keira’s eyes widened when she caught sight of Conner sitting on the bed beside her feet. “Conner, do you realize you’re sitting there in your boxers?”
Daniel and Conner looked down unconcerned. Conner shrugged. “It covers the same a bathing suit would.”
Keira lay her head back down and closed her eyes.
Daniel pulled the blanket up over them when she shivered. “Do you think you can go back to sleep?”
“I’m afraid to, but my body doesn’t have any more energy. I just hope the nightmares stay away for the rest of the night.” Keira lifted herself off Daniel’s chest and tried to slide toward her side of the mattress.
Daniel tightened his arm. “Where are you going?”
“To the other side. I can’t sleep on top of you.”
“Why the hell not? You’ve done that every time we’ve slept together.”
Keira shook her head. “That was before. We’re not, you know, a couple. It’s bad enough I’m sleeping in a bed with you.”
Daniel cupped the back of her head and pressed it against his shoulder.
Conner held up his hands, palms out. “This is my cue to leave. Night, guys.”
Daniel waited until the door closed and the room went dark again. “I can’t take it when you say we’re not together, Keira. I know there’s a lot for us to talk about and some hurdles we have to face, but I’m really hoping you’ll give me another chance. I understand why it’s so hard for you to trust, but I’m hoping eventually you do come to trust me.”
Keira lay with her head tucked into his shoulder and an arm and leg thrown over his body. It felt natural, good, and made her feel safe to be this close to him.
“Keira?”
“I still love you, Daniel, and I always will, but...”
Daniel’s body stiffened. “But what?”
“I think you need time to think about this. Take a step back. Are you here because you love me, or do you just feel guilty?”
“I already know it’s love.”
“We were broken up before this happened, so why now if it’s not guilt?”
“The hell we were broken up. There was never any break between us. You started to push me away, but I didn’t go.”
Keira tilted her head back to look up at him. “What do you mean by that?”
Daniel paused. Did he really want to talk about this now? “The way you were acting. You thought I didn’t believe you at first, but I did, Honey. I don’t know where you got the idea I didn’t. I started checking into some things right away.”
Daniel looked at her. “I put cameras outside your home and sensors at every door. I also added heavy-duty locks to the windows so I could protect you. I had surveillance on you most of the time. The only time I didn’t know was when you were at the shop, and I still had cops going by there several times a day. I never stopped protecting you. You made it hard as hell sometimes, but I never gave up.”
Keira was shocked. He had believed her enough to take those steps. “Who did you have to watch me? I didn’t see anyone.”
“I had my men and the police check on you several times a day, and I sat outside your house at night when you wouldn’t let me in. The last night I was on my way back to town from a job, so I had Conner watch you until I got back to take over. Thank God Conner heard your screams.”
“The sensors didn’t go off?”
“No. He didn’t come through the doors or windows. He climbed the tree in the backyard and entered through a window in the attic. The hatch for the attic was in the guest room closet and nearly undetectable. Your sister didn’t know it was there, and she’d lived there for over a year.”
Neither said a word for several moments.
“Can I hold you tonight, Baby?”
Keira laid her head back down and nodded against his shoulder. “Yes. I’d like that.”
Daniel exhaled and tightened his arm, tucking her closer to his side. “Good night, Sweetheart.”
“Good night.”