Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
brACKEN
T he sensation of a cold void.
My thoughts are murky, fragmented pieces of the last moments before everything faded to black.
Then Rachel. Her terrified face as she hovers over my body.
It’s enough to force my eyelids open.
Pain flares up in my torso.
Right. I was stabbed.
“Bracken! You’re awake.” Rachel reaches for my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.
“Did we make it?” I ask, grimacing under the throbbing pain in my side.
“We’re at the hospital,” she says, her voice shaking. “You’re going to be okay.”
My head sinks back into the hospital pillow as relief washes over me. “And Price?”
Rachel gives me a pained look. “He’s in custody. The police came after I called for an ambulance. They found him unconscious and… And…”
I want to touch her. Want to offer her something. Anything. “Hey,” I say quietly, trying to ease her distress. “It’s over now. You’re safe.”
A tear slips from her eye. She quickly wipes it away and gives me a weak smile. “I was so scared, Bracken. I didn’t know if you were going to…”
I let out a gravelly chuckle. “Only the good die young, sweetheart.”
She cocks her head. “Bracken…”
I hold up a hand to quiet her. “This is the end of the line for me, Rachel. Go. Your debt is paid, and I’ll make sure the damage to your bakery is repaired. I’ll see to all of it. Leave. Take back your life. Forget you ever saw me.”
She drops her jaw.
But then she leaves the hospital room.
I scoff even as sadness overwhelms me.
Did I really think she would stay?