4. DANIELLE
Instant panic set in when Alex said, “We need to talk.” Saying that with the tone of a disappointed parent, one I had heard from him plenty of times before, I knew he was aware of everything.
I looked down at my legs, each trapped in a cast, heavy and useless.
So much for running.
The bitter realization that I was helpless was taking hold. There was no escape from this conversation.
I had to tell Alex the truth. He needed to hear it to know that he hadn’t failed me; I failed him, and the failure was mine alone. But before I could summon the words, Alex spoke first. His voice was trembling, almost in disbelief.
“Danielle, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how else to ask this, so I’ll just come out with it. Did you know Landon was part of the Juarez Cartel?”
Tears welled up and spilled fast and hot, stinging as they ran down my battered cheeks. He deserved the truth, and I couldn’t hold it back any longer.
“Yes,” I whispered, “I’ve known for most of the time I was with him.”
Alex’s eyes widened. I saw the hurt and anger written on his face, saw him wrestle with it, but then saw him refuse to let it win. His brow unfurled, releasing the pent-up creases in his forehead, and he pressed his face into his hands, trying to think of what to say next.
“Jesus, Danielle. You could have told me. I could have helped!” The volume of his voice rose with his frustration.
“Alex, you couldn’t have, okay?” I replied, exhausted and heartbroken.
I didn’t want to have this conversation right now.
Not ever, really. Something in me gave way.
After all this time, I knew he deserved the whole truth.
“It’s time you knew everything. This isn’t the first time he has laid a hand on me.
I genuinely thought I could fix him; that this wasn’t the real him.
It wasn’t at first. I believed he loved me enough to leave all that behind, but every time I tried—” My thought was choked off by the pain.
The look on Alex’s face was unbearable; I could see the hurt in his eyes, glaring at me with silent accusation. I no longer cared about being blamed as fear and a strange sense of relief tangled together. Finally, someone else knew my secret. I wasn’t alone anymore.
“He would hit you,” Alex’s voice dropped to a whisper as he finished the sentence that I couldn’t. He looked down in shame, as if my pain was his own failure.
“I’m so sorry, Alex,” I whispered.
“No, Danielle. Don’t ever apologize for trying to see the good in someone. I’m the one who should be sorry. I should’ve seen the signs, the withdrawal, the way you changed. It was right in front of me, and I just didn’t see it.”
I searched his eyes, desperate for reassurance. “It’s over now, though, right? They got him?”
The answer was right there in Alex’s eyes before he said a word. He hesitated, looking up to the ceiling as if searching for the answer in the blank space above him.
“I see,” I murmured, trying to keep my composure. I looked down at my legs, avoiding looking at him, willing myself not to cry. I didn’t want Alex thinking any of this was his fault.
“Danielle, we’re going to find him. I swear to God.
If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll make sure Landon pays for what he’s done.
He took off in Liam’s car with a lot of cash, so it may take some time, but you’re safe here, for now.
The chief made it clear to the hospital staff: you’re to stay here through your whole rehab, on the department’s dime.
It’s the best way to keep you protected right now. ”
I had no words. The thought of Landon out there, free, unpunished, made me sick, but I understood. For now, this hospital would have to be my home, and the least I could do was cooperate for Alex’s sake.
“Danielle,” Alex spoke with a quiet warmth, sitting in the chair next to my bedside and drawing my eyes back to him, “if you remember anything, anything at all, no matter how small, I need you to tell me now.”
“He won’t come after me, Alex,” I murmured. “By now, Landon has to know you’re onto him. He never liked how much you were always around. He won’t risk coming here.”
I recognized the hesitation in Alex’s lingering expression. There was something he wasn’t saying.
“Danielle, listen,” Alex opened his mouth, then paused, choosing his words with care.
“We talked to Liam. Landon didn’t say where he was going, but he did tell his brother he’d find a way to get you back.
We don’t know exactly what he means by that or how he thinks he’ll do it, but it does mean you’re not safe until he’s behind bars.
If you can remember anywhere he might go or anyone he might reach out to, you have to tell me. ”
“What happens if you don’t catch him before I’m discharged?”
Alex searched the room, clearly weighing how much to reveal. I knew him well enough to realize he’d already come up with a contingency plan. If he hadn’t told me yet, it was probably because he expected me to protest.
“We’ll cross that bridge if we get there, all right?” Alex replied.
He is absolutely hiding something from me.
“For now, just focus on resting and healing. Honestly, you weren’t supposed to wake up this soon.”
He turned to leave, but I stopped him. “Hey, Alex.” He paused at my bedside, glancing back at me. I mustered a tired smile. “You still owe me dinner.”
He laughed, one of those genuine laughs—the first I’d heard since I woke up. “Fair enough. I’ll be back.” Before exiting, he leaned over and kissed my forehead.
As the door closed behind him, I settled back and let my eyes drift shut. Sleep came fast, but something felt off. It was rest that wouldn’t come easily as I slipped into unnerving nightmares.
The memories came in pieces like sharp, forceful images that wouldn’t let go.
They started as flashes, then grew clearer, more intense.
I could feel everything: the shock of the bat slamming into the back of my head, the brittle snap of my leg, the blinding pain as the bat came down again.
I looked up and saw Landon standing over me, his face set in anger.
I remembered screaming for him to stop until my throat went raw.
“DANIELLE!”
I jolted awake to the sound of someone yelling my name. My eyes opened just in time to see Alex rush into the room, dropping bags of food on the floor in his hurry to reach me. I was drenched in sweat as panic clawed at my heart. It took a few frantic seconds to remember where I was.
The hospital.
Safe.
The worst behind me.
“You were screaming. I could hear you down the hallway. What happened? Are you okay?” Alex was scanning me head-to-toe as if something new had happened to me while he was gone.
“I remember, Alex. I remember,” I gasped, struggling to catch my breath. I fought against the urge to sit up, but I couldn’t sit still either. My body was still betraying me, and every move hurt, but I couldn’t stop.
Without hesitation, Alex knelt beside the bed and wrapped his arms around me. He ran his hand over my hair in slow, careful motions, like he was afraid to break me. “It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m right here. Just breathe, Danielle.”
He didn’t press for more, just held me until the trembling began to subside.
When he finally spoke again, his voice was soft and calming.
“We can talk about it later. For now, I brought your favorite.” He grabbed a bag, waving it in front of me with a wide, hopeful grin, like he was the greatest person on earth. He was.
“Cheeseburger sub?!” My eyes widened with excitement.
Alex grinned and shook his head. “No, are you crazy?” He pointed to the whiteboard near the bed: No solid food.
“Right,” I groaned. “So what is it?”
He hoisted the container in the air, grinning with victory. “The next best thing. Broccoli cheddar soup.”
Alex pulled up a chair and settled beside me, spoon-feeding me the soup with quiet patience. It felt childish to be fed, but I didn’t mind. I felt closer to Alex now than I had in the past two years, and I didn’t want to let go of this feeling anytime soon.
“Thank you, Alex.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied with a warm tone in his voice. He was absentmindedly stirring the soup, and I could see that something was still bothering him. “You don’t have to, but… do you want to talk about what just happened?”
No part of me wanted to relive it, but I knew I needed to. Even the smallest detail might help them catch Landon.
I took a shaky breath and nodded. “Yeah. I think I should.”
“The doctor was right. He used a baseball bat. First, he hit me in the head. Then I remember falling. Landon was standing over me. He swung at my legs next. I remember… hearing the bone in my leg snap.” I paused, glancing at Alex.
He looked away, but there was no mistaking the disgust. He was clenching the spoon in his fist like it had personally wronged him, fighting to hold himself together.
I didn’t want to keep going, but I forced myself.
“And then…” My breath hitched. “Then he hit me in the face. That’s all I remember.”
Alex didn’t say anything at first. He just stared at the wall, his jaw clenched and his eyes fixated on the whiteboard with my care instructions. It was clear he was at a loss for words. I tried to pull his attention back to reality before he got too in his head.
“Alex, I know you’ve already decided on a plan if Landon isn’t caught before I’m discharged. Don’t treat me like a child. I want to know what the plan is.”
He finally looked at me with reluctance.
“You’re right. You deserve to know. You’re not going to like it, and honestly, I don’t either, but the only other option was witness protection, and there’s no way I’m losing you like that because of some lowlife piece of shit like Landon.
The plan is for Cody to take you somewhere safe until we find him. ”