Chapter 20 #2
“I figured as much,” my father answered as he extended his hand. “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate you looking after our daughter. She means the world to us, and I don’t know what we would’ve done if you hadn’t been there to help her.”
“Just glad I was able to help.” Noah reached down and took my hand in his, holding it tightly. “It’s nice to meet you both. Remington has told me a lot about you.”
“It’s really nice to meet you too,” my mother answered. “It’s pretty evident that Remington thinks a lot about you.”
“And I her.” Concern flashed through his eyes as he looked down at me and asked, “What did the doctors have to say?”
Before I could answer, my dad replied, “They said her vitals were good, but they want to keep her overnight to do some more testing. They’ve already drawn blood and did an exam. That’s all we really know right now.”
“Okay, good.”
Mom looked over at Dad as she said, “We should give them a little privacy, dear. We could go downstairs and grab a cup of coffee.”
“Okay,” I could hear the hesitation in my father’s voice, “if you think so.”
“I’ll be okay, Dad. I’m in good hands.”
My father’s eyes skirted over Noah with uncertainty. He gave me a quick nod, then walked out of the room. As Mom followed him out into the hall, she announced, “We’ll be back soon.”
As soon as the door closed behind them, I gave Noah’s hand a quick tug, pulling him towards me as I pressed my lips against his. I kissed him deeply, then looked up at him and asked, “Did they get Mathews?”
“They did. He’ll be going away for a long time.”
“The police were here earlier. They asked my parents lots of questions. I’m sure they’ll be back any minute.”
“I’m sure they will, but I’ll be here. I won’t let them take things too far.” His eyes locked on mine as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “This will all be over soon, and then we can get on with our lives.”
“I can’t tell you how I’m looking forward to that.” I gave him a little nudge as I teased. “Maybe when I get out of here, you can take me out on a real date.”
“I’ll take you wherever you wanna go. As long as you’re with me, I don’t care what we do or where we go.”
“You’re so good to me. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”
It seemed so strange to me. If I hadn’t gone out with Thomas that night and hadn’t been attacked by those men and left for dead, I would’ve never met Noah.
I would’ve never felt the love I have for him nor the love he feels for me.
I would’ve never felt so utterly complete.
Without that night, my entire fate would’ve been written in different ink, and that was something I simply couldn’t fathom.
I loved Noah. He completed me in ways I never dreamed possible, and I would spend the rest of my life trying to make him as happy as he’d made me.
I slipped my hand down to the nape of his neck and inched him closer, pulling him in for another kiss.
His lips had barely touched mine when I heard someone clear their throat and say, “Excuse me, Ms. Taylor. I was hoping to ask you a few questions.”
Noah quickly turned to look at the man. “You got a name?”
“Yes, sir.” The officer held up his badge as he replied, “I’m Officer Wade. I know you’ve been through quite an ordeal, so I won’t take up much of your time.”
“Oh, okay.”
Wade reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small notepad. With a click of his pen, he asked, “You and Detective Long had met for dinner on the night you were attacked, is that right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“He was walking you out to your car when several men appeared and threatened you.”
“Yes.”
“Can you describe these men who attacked you and Detective Long?”
“Not all that well. It was pretty dark, but I do remember that they had a lot of tattoos. One of them being a skull on their throats.”
“Very good. It was at that time when you both were kidnapped and taken to Detective Mathews’ home?”
“I’m not really sure where we were,” I lied. “To be honest, I’m not sure about much after that.”
“Yeah, Long mentioned that he thought you’d been drugged.”
“You’ve spoken with Thomas?”
Wade nodded as he answered, “Yeah, I was able to talk to him for a few minutes before they took him up to surgery.”
After seeing how bad he looked, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Hell, Mathews had beaten him something awful, but I’d hoped his wounds weren’t anything serious. “Why is he having surgery?”
“Got a shattered hand and a few wounds that are pretty infected. They’re hoping they can save his hand and keep him from going septic.”
“Oh, that poor man.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty rough.”
Officer Wade asked me a few more questions, but nothing I couldn’t answer.
Something told me that I wouldn’t have gotten off so easy if it hadn’t been for Thomas.
As promised, he paved the way, making it clear to everyone concerned I’d already been through enough and was off-limits.
I was surprised that they’d agreed to leave me alone, especially with a case as important as this, but I could only assume he had enough on Mathews to put him away for a very long time.
The officer asked for my contact information, then after stating he’d be in touch, he said his goodbyes and left.
I thought Noah and I would finally have a chance to catch our breath, but no such luck. Officer Wade hadn’t been gone for more than five minutes when my parents returned. Mom was talking a mile a minute about all the news reporters that were circling the front door.
Like a bunch of hungry vultures, they were hoping to find some bit of information they could snatch up and put in their morning papers.
I knew it wouldn’t be long before they were off to their next big story.
Until then, I’d just have to lay low and keep my mouth shut—and my parents would have to do the same.
Once visiting hours were over, my parents said their goodbyes, hugging me tightly before they left to go home.
Noah, on the other hand, had no intention of leaving.
He made that clear when the shift nurse came in.
Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and her makeup was dark, making her look older than she really was.
The second she spotted him standing next to the bed, her eyes skirted over his body with disapproval.
She placed her hand on her round hip, making her snug scrubs look even smaller as she grumbled, “Visiting hours were over ten minutes ago.”
“I’m aware.”
“Good. Then, you know it’s time for you to go, sir.”
“About that.” Noah took a step towards her and smiled, showing off those sexy dimples and dashing blue eyes. “I don’t know if you’ve read her reports, but my girl has been through a lot, and she’s a little nervous about being left alone.”
“She has nothing to be nervous about, sir.” Her forceful tone was unwavering as she continued, “We will keep a close eye on her.”
“What did you say your name was?”
“I’m Abigail Heart, the head nightshift nurse.”
“Well, Abigail. I’m sure you would take very good care of Remington. You’re clearly the best nurse in this joint. Bet you keep everyone on their toes.”
“I do what I can.”
“I don’t doubt that, and as much as I appreciate that, I’d feel a lot better if I could stay here with her.
” A slight smile crept over her round face, and I knew then, he’d won her over.
Just for good measure, he gave her a quick wink, then motioned his hand over to the chair.
“I’ll be quiet. You won’t even know I’m here. I swear it.”
“It’s against regulations, but I don’t guess it would hurt anything.” She pointed her pen in his direction as she told him, “If anyone asks, you’re her husband. Got it?”
“Sure do.” Noah smiled as he said, “Thank you, Abigail. I owe you one.”
After Abigail checked my vitals and filled out some needed paperwork, she stepped out to grab some blankets and a pillow, then brought them back for Noah. Before leaving, she pointed her finger at us like a scolding mother and said, “You two behave yourselves.”
“We’ll do our best.”
As soon as she was gone, Noah stepped to the edge of the bed. “You doing okay?”
“I’d be doing better if you’d lay down here next to me.”
“There’s no room for me, babe.”
“Sure, there is.”
I scooted over a little and patted the empty spot. “See. There’s plenty of room.”
As Noah lay down on the bed next to me, he asked, “Did you see how I won over Nurse Ratchet?”
“Oh, yeah. You’re a real charmer when you want to be.” I placed the palm of my hand on his jaw as I looked up at him and said, “And I love you for it.”
“And I love you too. Honestly didn’t know it was possible for me to love someone so much.” His eyes locked on mine as he said, “So, I’m really going to need you to stay out of trouble. At least for a little while.”
“Only if you promise to do the same.”
“You got yourself a deal.”