Chapter Thirty-Four
Carrie
Present Day. Columbia Memorial Hospital. Astoria, OR.
The steady beat of the heart monitor was the only thing I could hear as I stared down at the email from Special Agent James Garner. He’d sent it to Grayson three days ago, and he never got the chance to tell me.
You have forty-eight hours to release the Hales and turn yourself in.
Don’t run. It will only make things worse, and I don’t want to see you, your team, or Carrie get hurt.
Would he have run? If so, would he have taken me?
I chewed the inside of my cheek, already knowing the answer. He wouldn’t have wanted that kind of life for me—for us.
“Carrie.”
I quickly wiped the tear from my eye and looked up to where Hayes stood in the corner of the room. “Hm?”
He stepped out of the shadows, holding his phone out, showing me a text thread. “They’re here, sweetheart.”
Another round of pain slammed into me, but I was used to it now. It wouldn’t be long before I was completely numb. I pressed my lips together, biting down on my tongue in an effort not to cry anymore. Instead, I nodded and closed Grayson’s laptop.
Hayes returned my nod, his throat working. “I’ll be…” He cleared his throat. “I’ll be right outside, okay? I won’t let them in until you’re done.”
Despite my best efforts, I felt a tear fall onto my cheek. I gave him another nod. “I’d appreciate that. Thank you, Hayes.”
Pain etched into his features, staring at me for a moment. Then, his eyes dropped as he headed to the door, pausing at the end of the hospital bed. He put his hand on top of the light blue blanket, holding it there for a moment as he whispered something. When he was gone, closing the door behind him with a soft click, my shoulders deflated, and I buried my head in my hands, sobs jerking my body.
Agent Garner was here to officially arrest Grayson.
Slowly, I let my hands fall from my face, and I looked over to the man in the hospital bed. There were multiple IVs in both of his arms, the needles piercing his snake tattoos, but other than that, he looked like my Grayson. My dark, selfless, strong Grayson. His face was relaxed, the mask over his mouth and nose feeding him clean oxygen, a lock of his thick, dark hair hanging down over his forehead.
Sniffling, I set his laptop on the side table and rose from my seat, brushing the hair from his forehead as I leaned over the bed. “Hi, handsome,” I whispered, playing with his hair now as my eyes scanned his face.
He, of course, said nothing.
I doubted he would even wake up in time to say goodbye to me, but that didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that he was here— alive . The man who kidnapped Sarah, Margo, and me had a plan. One that included taking Grayson out first. He’d camped out in my backyard, waiting until I’d left for the bookstore, and when Grayson came out of the office, he took his shot. Multiple of them. Hayes, Michael, and I watched on my security system cameras that Jake had installed the night Grayson killed Leo in horror.
Grayson was shot in the shoulder and twice in the leg. He was also hit a fourth time, but the bullet grazed the side of his head, causing him to fall, and on his way down, his head slammed into the countertop. He’d laid there, bleeding out for some time. When he came to, he crawled into the living room to grab his gun. It took him a while to stand, and I whimpered as I watched him cry out in pain in the recording, but once he was on his feet, he came to me.
He’d lost a lot of blood, and that was what made him lose consciousness on the dock. He also suffered horrible damage to his leg muscles, and it was up in the air whether he would be able to run ever again. He would be able to walk, but pain would be a battle he would have to fight the rest of his life.
Despite all of that, I was still grateful.
He was alive.
We would be okay.
Would we be together?
No.
But my love for him wasn’t going away.
I’d already come up with a plan. I’d visit him every single week, every holiday.
Another tear fell, landing on his cheek. I leaned down, pressing my lips to it. “It’s okay. We’re going to be okay, Grayson,” I murmured, my lips quivering.
I heard muffled voices on the other side of his room door then, causing me to look over my shoulder.
My time was almost up.
Swallowing the glass in my throat, I looked back down at the only man I’d ever loved, soaking in his beauty one more time. Then, I bent down, my lips brushing against his ear. “I’ll always be your sunshine, and you’ll always be my home. I love you, Joseph Grayson. Nothing will ever change that.”
The door burst open, and I shot up, eyes wide with horror as James Garner walked in, more agents filing in behind him. His dark eyes landed on me, then moved to Grayson. His jaw jumped a few times before he softly said, “I’m going to need you to get off the bed, Carrie.”
Behind him, I saw Hayes in the hall, being handcuffed by Michael. We knew this would happen, and Michael already apologized for the part he would have to play in this.
Hayes’ green eyes met mine, and he gave me a single nod.
Be strong.
“Hello, James,” I said softly, standing up and grabbing Grayson’s limp hand.
The agent got straight to it. “Carrie, let go of his hand.”
I didn’t.
He sighed, removing his hands from his pockets. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“How’s Haley?” I asked.
His nostrils flared. “Dammit, Carrie. I’m warning you right now, this is the only warning you’re going to get, do you hear me? Let. Go. Of. His. Hand. Or you’ll leave here in cuffs.”
My breath hitched then, the fingers I’d been holding onto flexing. A whimper left me as I turned to find Grayson’s eyes opening.
“Grayson?” I breathed, not caring about James or the Feds surrounding me. “Grayson, can you hear me?” I scrambled back onto the bed, hovering over him, my curls falling off my shoulders.
His eyes held mine, his hand tightening around my fingers. He nodded, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of his white snake before he pulled the oxygen mask off his face.
“Carrie,” he pushed out weakly.
A sob left me. “Hi.”
His features were the softest I’d ever seen them. “Hi, baby.”
I leaned back down, pressing my lips to his as my body shook.
“Carrie,” James called out to my back softly. That was when I heard it, the regret in his voice.
I pulled myself away from Grayson, shifting to stand beside his bed again. “Please,” I begged.
James shook his head.
“I know he has to go,” I cried, losing my grip. “I know, I’m not asking for his freedom. I know you can’t give it to me. I just want five minutes with him, James. Please.”
“Garner,” Grayson greeted, his voice weak. “What a fucking pleasure.”
I laced my fingers through his then, his warm hand tight around mine.
“There’s nothing I can do, Carrie,” James said softly. “It’s out of my hands.”
“Then I suggest you find a way to get it back into your hands,” a deep voice said.
James turned to the side, his eyes on the doorway as a tall, dark figure rounded the corner, stepping into the room. The sunlight hit him then, highlighting his tattoos, his sharp, ice-blue eyes, jet black hair. He was dressed in an expensive black suit, a gray button-up sans the tie with the top two buttons undone, showing his tattooed chest.
All the air in my lungs left me then.
The man shot a glare to James before they sliced to me, quick as a blade. Chills scattered down my spine, but they always did when he looked at me. “It’s good to see you again, Carrie, despite the unfortunate circumstances,” he greeted, his deep voice carrying across the room like a dark melody.
“H-hello, Collin,” I stammered.
He gave me a small smile before addressing the rest of the room. “Gentlemen, if you would be so kind as to give Agent Garner and me the room. We have some things to discuss.”
All the agents looked to James, waiting for instruction.
With a sigh, the lead agent jerked his head to the door, and everyone moved. Seconds later, it was just the four of us, and Collin murmured a thank you to the last agent, shutting the door calmly. He put his hands into his pockets then, walking back to the end of Grayson’s bed, facing the three of us.
“What the hell are you doing here, Stevens?” James asked, sighing.
“Cutting a deal,” he answered.
“I’m not making a deal with the fucking Mafia,” Grayson said.
Collin looked at him, his lips twitching as he tilted his head to the side slowly. Goosebumps scattered across my skin. “Grayson, don’t—”
“—I’m not here for him, Carrie. I’m here on behalf of Karina,” Collin said, cutting me off before he looked back to Grayson. “My wife.”
“I know who she is,” Grayson shot back.
Collin chuckled. “So you do.”
“This is out of my hands,” James cut in, reminding everyone of the dark truth.
“And I’m getting back in your hands,” Collin assured. A second later, a cell phone ringing sounded throughout the room, and James fished his device out of his pocket. He looked down to the screen and then to Collin. “What did you do?”
“What was necessary,” the Mafia leader answered simply as he looked at me again.
He assessed me for a moment as James answered the phone, stepping away. “Yes, sir.”
“Stop looking at her,” Grayson growled, baring his teeth, the oxygen mask off his head now as he sat up.
A feral, maddening grin stretched across Collin’s face then as he looked at my bounty hunter, a chuckle coming from him. “I like that, Grayson.”
“What’s that?” he shot back.
“You’d burn the fucking world for her, wouldn’t you?”
“All she has to do is hand me the fucking match,” Grayson returned, not breaking the Mafia leader’s gaze.
My heart skipped a beat.
Collin hummed in approval as he finally looked over to me again. “I approve. Well done, Carrie.”
“Whatever you say, sir. I didn’t want to do this in the first place,” James said into the phone.
Collin clicked his tongue. “Nothing like making a deal with the devil to brighten your wife’s day.”
“What did you do?” I asked him, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Added to my sentence, thus, taking away Grayson’s.”
My eyes widened. I didn’t know everything about Collin’s past, but I knew this: he made a deal with the FBI years ago to stay out of prison. In exchange for his freedom, he would help the FBI bring down the people on the Red List. I didn’t know much about that, but the people on that list were horrible people, the worst of the worst, and Collin was using his powerful position to take them down alongside the FBI.
“Why?” I croaked, not fully understanding.
Collin brushed his thumb over his bottom lip. “To make Karina happy, of course. She loves you. Not to mention, my brother-in-law was twisting my arm before she did.”
Jeremy was trying to help us?
James hung up the phone and returned to us before I had a chance to respond. The regret and anger melted from him as he held his hand out to Collin. “Fuck, I should’ve called you first.”
“Don’t know why you didn’t,” Collin muttered, rolling his eyes.
James looked at Grayson. “You’re free to go. Your team is being released as we speak.” He paused, looking at me for a second. “I’m so sorry, Grayson. For all of it.”
I looked at my man, seeing the history between them flash in his eyes. “You’re not arresting me?” he asked.
James shook his head. “No. Collin pulled some strings. You’re free.”
“Thank you,” I rasped, tears falling from my eyes again.
The Mafia leader moved then, coming around the bed, not stopping until he was directly in front of me. “You’re missed, you know. In St. Louis.”
I said nothing, only staring up at him.
“Jeremy told me what happened between you two.”
I looked away. “It wasn’t like that. I just—I just—”
“—needed to get out of your own version of hell,” he finished for me. “I get it.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, nodding. “Yeah.”
“Promise me one thing, okay? That’s all you have to do,” he said, lowering his voice.
“What?”
He leaned in close to the side of my head. “Be happy.” Then, his back was to me, and he was moving to the door, not stopping as he said, “See you on Sunday,” to James.
Silence stretched across the hospital room, and James ran a hand through his hair. “Jesus, I’m getting too old for this shit.”
“James,” I called, staring at the floor where Collin was just standing.
“Yes?”
I brought my head up, blindly reaching for Grayson’s hand. “Did she tell you? Donna?”
The agent studied me for a moment. “Tell me what, Carrie?”
Grayson whispered my name, but I couldn’t look at him. If I did, then the truth would never be out, and the families of Robert’s victims would never get closure. “If I tell you, you have to promise me Grayson and everyone at Red Snake will remain free. That you’ll never come after them,” I stressed in an unsteady voice as nausea swirled in my belly.
“Carrie, the deal is done. I can have a contract pulled up if you like, but the deal is between the Bureau and Mr. Stevens. Even if I wanted to, which I don’t, I can’t go after Grayson, Red Snake, or you.”
“Tell him, baby,” Grayson murmured, his thumb stroking the top of my hand now. My eyes met his dark ones, seeing nothing but love. He tipped his head in James’ direction. “I’m right here beside you. Go ahead.”
When I looked back at James, his arms were over his chest, concern splashed across his face. “What is it?”
I lifted my chin, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ghost Robert. I didn’t pay attention to him. As the truth left my lips, the ghost of my dead husband faded away.
“Robert was the St. Louis River Killer.”