Chapter 30
30
JOSS
Watching my rear-view mirror was like watching the videos on my tablet. Only this time, instead of Rylan telling me to stop, it was Rylan driving my car, slamming into other motorists and sinking into the river.
I stomped on my brakes when he went airborne and was halfway out of the driver’s side door when he hit the surface of the water, and while something in me told me to stand back and stay out of the way of the careening car that had sent Rylan flying, my heart didn’t give a flying fuck. I grabbed my keys and ran, dodging crashed cars and debris as I went. I hoped over the guardrail, barely avoided someone weeping on the pedestrian walkway, and dove into the murky water after Rylan.
The cold hit me first, biting at my hands and face and almost making me drop my keys. But I held tight, channeling every ounce of my strength and every memory of swimming in the summer with Cheyenne when we were kids. I kicked harder, swam faster, desperation driving me down into the darkness. I could barely make out the shape of my car, but I grabbed hold the minute I got close, using my grip to pull me toward the front seat.
Rylan was there, blood trickling from a wound on his forehead and more from his nose. His chin nearly rested on his chest, and I couldn’t see his eyes. I prayed with everything in me that he was okay, then pounded my knuckles against the window as hard as I could. Rylan’s eyes snapped open, and I heard the muffled sound of his voice as he yelled my name. He plastered his hands to the window, then pressed his forehead to the glass and closed his eyes.
I knocked again, and when Rylan looked at me, I held up my tool. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open before he was reaching for his seatbelt.
But I was out of breath. Rylan wouldn’t be able to swim on his own, and I needed more air if I was going to help him out. I pointed to my mouth, then pointed up, and I wanted to cry when Rylan shook his head and pounded his hands on the window.
It pained me to swim away, but it would have killed me not to. I raced to the surface, gasping for breath when I reached the top. Then I sucked in a deep breath and dove back down.
It was harder to find him the second time, but I did. And the moment I saw the wild look in his eyes, I almost let out the air in my lungs. I motioned for him to get back and take a breath, then pressed the tip of the tool to the front edge of the window.
Water flooded into the car the second the glass shattered, and it sank lower into the dark depths of the river. Rylan hit the remaining glass out of his way with an old water bottle, then used his arms to pull him through.
I grabbed hold of him, then kicked off the top of the car, pulling him with me as I swam toward the surface. My lungs were burning, and all my muscles felt weak, and I wasn’t sure that we’d make it. Rylan got heavier and heavier with every kick, until it felt like he wasn’t with me at all. Felt like he was nothing more than a load of bricks.
When I finally broke the surface, I gasped for air, then pulled his head out of the water.
“Rylan!” He wasn’t moving. Wasn’t breathing. I screamed for help, then wrapped his arm around my shoulders and started to swim once again. I didn’t make it far, but I didn’t have to. A boat pulled up beside us, and two men tossed me a life preserver before they reached down and pulled Rylan over the edge. Once he was safe, one of them came back for me, dragging me up onto the deck.
There was a small crowd gathered around Rylan when I finally got aboard and looked around, two of them doing CPR. I rushed his way and made it to him just in time for him to cough up a lungful of water. They turned him onto his side, and I let out a cry and grabbed his hand.
“I called an ambulance,” an older woman said, holding up her phone. “They‘ll meet us at that dock.”
Rylan’s eyes fluttered open, the deep blue sparkling in the afternoon sun as his gaze found mine. His hand tightened around my own, and I leaned down, pressing my forehead to his.
“You saved me,” he murmured, voice weak as he pulled my hand to his chest.
I swept my free hand along the side of his face. “I couldn’t leave you, baby. I had no choice.”
“Love you, Joss.” His eyes closed, and I wrapped my arms around him, crying out my fear and my relief.
“Love you too, Rylan. I love you too.”
* * *
“I feel like we were just here.” Van’s voice startled me from a fitful sleep. Opening my eyes, I groaned as I realized my nightmare wasn’t just in my head. Rylan was sleeping in his hospital bed, and I was sleeping in an uncomfortable recliner at his side. I lifted my head and rolled my neck, trying to relieve the crick that pinched me near my shoulder, before turning my attention to my friend.
“Hey, Van.”
He leaned down and gave me a hug, then knelt beside my chair. “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
“What are you talking about?”
Van tossed a look toward Rylan. “Trying to show me up. Here I thought getting Lee and Rylan out of jail was some sort of special, then you have to go and pull him out of the river and save his life.”
A small smile tipped my lips as I looked over at my husband. “He’s worth it.”
Van squeezed my arm. “He doing okay?”
I nodded. “He’s got a mild concussion and sucked a lot of water into his lungs. They’re keeping him for observation, but the doctors say he’ll be okay.”
“He’s too stubborn not to.”
“I think you’re right. They’re worried he might have reinjured his leg, too. Getting tackled by the FBI, then all the crashes and the plunge into the lake certainly didn’t help, so they’re going to do an X-ray in the morning.”
Van shifted his weight. His silence made me drag my attention back to him. “What about you?” he asked. “You doing alright?”
“I think so?” Tears welled in my eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay.” He pulled me into another embrace.
“I don’t know what happened.”
“Shh, it’s okay.” Van edged back. “Haven’t the police come to see you yet?”
Shaking my head, I looked back at Rylan. “They tried, but the doctors wouldn’t let them in, and I won’t leave his side.”
“Do you want to know?”
“Know what?”
Van rubbed at his chin. “You want to know what happened?”
My bottom lip trembled, but I nodded. Van stood and pulled a chair over to my side. He took my hand again when he was seated and looked me over with his dark eyes.
“It was Peter Wright, Joss.”
“What?” My hand shot to my mouth, and I glanced at Rylan, hoping my loud voice didn’t wake him up. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure how, but he found you. They think he followed you to the police station this morning. He must not have realized you were driving Rylan’s truck, because he came after your car. He was trying to kill you.”
“Oh, God. What am I going to do?”
“Nothing,” Van said, his voice harsh. “They got him, Joss. He’s not escaping jail this time.”
“That’s what we thought last time!”
The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Daddy can’t save him now. The Chicago PD isn’t in his old man’s pocket like the cops back home. And it’s not just attempted murder this time. He had three illegal firearms and he admitted he was going to use them to shoot you. He also killed a woman. Five people other than Rylan were sent to the hospital, and one of the pedestrians he hit died at the scene. There’s another in critical condition, and they don’t think he’ll pull through.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, then tightened my grip on Van’s hand. “They really got him?”
“With all the destruction he caused? They’re going to lock him up and throw away the key. Lee thinks you should testify against him. Show a history of abuse and what he did to you and your friends when you tried to leave him years ago.”
“What about Cheyenne and Dakota?”
“Oh, absolutely. Their testimony would help, too.”
“No, I mean…” I swept my hair off my neck. “They’ve been hiding, too. That’s why I barely speak to Cheyenne anymore. We’ve tried so hard to stay safe and not draw attention to ourselves, but if Peter’s really going away?—”
“Then they’ll be safe too.”
Tears leaked from my eyes, and I didn’t object when Van pulled me into a hug.
“Everything will be okay,” he promised. “Once Rylan’s out of here, you can call Cheyenne and let her know. We’ll make sure these charges stick.”
I was sure they would. Lee was tenacious. He helped find a missing teen that no one cared to look for. He took down the remnants of a sex ring and what could have been the worst financial scheme in the history of our country. He kept on Donald Baker until they found proof that he wasn’t who he said he was. And he found Kelly. He saved her time and time again.
“Thank you,” I whispered, wiping my eyes when he pulled away. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’d probably be bored out of your mind.”
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t keep a smile from curling my lips. “You and Rylan sure know how to keep a girl on her toes.”
“Damn right!” Van said before his head whipped toward Rylan. Because the exact same words had come out of his mouth too.
“Hey!” Van jumped from his chair and rounded the foot of the bed, smiling as he approached Rylan. “Man, you scared the shit out of us.”
“That’s my job, isn’t it?” Even though his voice was weak, his grin was wide.
A deep voice interrupted from near the door. “Thought your job was to protect people.”
“Lee.” Rylan gave a crooked smile as our boss came into the room, edging Van out of the way. “Feels like we’ve been here before.”
“Same thing, different city. Just checking in on my injured employee.”
Rylan could barely raise his hand to shake Lee’s. “How’s Kelly?”
Lee’s face pinched and my throat grew tight. “Good. She’s good.” He shook his head. “Fuckin’ hell, Dennis. You never fail to surprise me.”
“What?” he croaked.
“Came here for you because you fuckin’ stopped breathing today and the first thing you do is ask about my girl?”
“Your girl.” Rylan grinned. “Sounds good when you put it that way.”
Lee raised a brow and turned to look at me.
Which was exactly what Rylan was doing.
“Speaking of. How you holding up, Joss?”
“I’m doing okay, all things considered.”
A smile curled Lee’s lips and he shook his head. “You never fail to surprise me either. Hired you to help out around the office and you’ve whipped us all into shape, handled more than I ever expected, and then you go saving my employee’s life.” He scrubbed a hand across his chin. “You’re a hero.”
Heat rose to my cheeks, and I leaned forward and took Rylan’s outstretched hand. “Well, I didn’t exactly do it for you.”
“So I heard.” He shifted backward until his wide shoulders pressed against the wall as Van took a seat in the chair by my side. “When were you planning on telling me?”
I ducked my head, but Rylan spoke up. “Two days ago.”
Lee pressed his lips into a thin line. As if he could see the disbelief shining in Lee’s eyes, Van offered, “It’s true. They were with me the night before. We went out to dinner, and they told me. Joss and I were Rylan’s alibi. They were planning on telling you the next day, but?—”
“But it got busy,” Lee finished with a nod. He dipped his chin, staring at the floor for a moment before he pulled his gaze back to me. “So. What were you planning on saying?”
With Rylan’s hand gripped in mine, I told our boss our story, leaving out certain details because, well… There were some things he just didn’t need to know.
Rylan dozed off and on while Van and I brought Lee up to speed on the truth about my past, and before he left to get back home to Kelly, Jen and Vinny were at our door.
The two new parents shuffled into the room, bags and baby in tow. They greeted Van and Lee before the men stepped out to leave, then turned to me and Rylan. Their gazes alit on our clasped hands before they both turned their wide eyes to me.
“I take it the news is out?” Vinny asked, placing the car seat at the foot of Rylan’s bed as Jen chewed on her bottom lip.
“It is.” I glanced at my husband and found his brows furrowed at me. “We were going to tell everyone a couple days ago but…”
“Wait.” Rylan shifted in his bed—the first movement he’d tried making beyond shaking hands. “They knew?”
I rose from my seat, trying to help adjust him so he could sit up. I couldn’t look at him when I murmured, “They knew.”
“Joss, gorgeous.” He hooked his finger under my chin and forced my attention on him. “For how long?”
“They came to tell me you’d been shot.”
“It’s my fault,” Vinny offered as he motioned for Jen to take a seat. “Zo? and I were running background checks on the employees for fun and we happened upon your marriage certificate. We followed the trail until we realized…” He gestured to me.
“Fuck.” Rylan dropped his head against his pillow. “You’re telling me I could have just come to you, and I would have found her years ago?”
He shrugged, then dipped his head. “It’s possible.” He tugged at his shirt sleeves, then looked back up at Rylan. “I kept it to myself. Zo? didn’t care either way, as long as it didn’t affect the mission. But when it went sideways and you got hurt, I had to tell Jen.”
“That’s why Joss was able to help you so much the past few weeks,” Jen told him. “I knew you’d need help and, well… You guys aren’t very good at accepting help. So, I offered to step in and support Joss at work so she could be by your side.”
“Joss.” Rylan’s voice broke and when I looked at him, his eyes glimmered with tears. I reached for him, wiping them away. “You didn’t tell me.”
“I was worried,” I whispered, unable to look away. “I didn’t know if you’d be okay with anyone knowing, but I needed to be there with you. They covered for me with Lee and at work, and?—”
Rylan tugged my hand to his lips and placed a kiss against my skin. “I’m the luckiest asshole in the world.”
Both Jen and Vinny laughed, but Rylan turned his gaze on them.
“It’s true. She’s my lucky charm. I wouldn’t have my fortune or my life if it weren’t for her.”
“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you, either.” I squeezed his hand when his brow furrowed once more. “That money you forced me to take?” I offered him a smile. “It’s what helped me escape, Rylan. I used it to move to Chicago and start a new life. And because of that, I found you.”
“I feel like there’s a story here,” Jen said quietly.
“Oh, there is.” Rylan beamed and tugged at my hand. “It’s full of adventure. And pain. And love.”
“Especially love.” I bent to kiss his lips, and the baby at the foot of the bed let out a tiny squeak.
Jen pulled little Rosie from her car seat, and she let me hold her while Rylan and I told them our story. I couldn’t help but notice the way my husband looked at me while I held her. There was a softness on his face I couldn’t ignore, and it made me ache to be closer to him. To hold him and love him, and to let the world know he was mine.
It felt good to finally get the weight off my chest, to finally be open about my and Rylan’s relationship. And it was even better when we were met with the love and support of our friends. I hadn’t had that before. Peter had taken everything away from me, until I had no support system. I was all alone, with no one but him to rely on, and he was nothing but a monster who sucked the life out of me.
But here in Chicago, I’d found a family I hadn’t expected when I fled from my past and hoped for a better future. Jen and the men at Bridgewater Security were exactly what I needed, and I had no doubt they’d have my back and watch over me.
When the little family had left and it was finally quiet, Rylan turned his blue gaze my way. With what little energy he had left, he patted the bed beside him, then lifted the blanket, inviting me in. Exhaustion weighed on me like a heavy blanket, and I curled myself around him, holding him close as we fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.