Chapter Thirty-One
Thirty-One
Olivia
Elizabeth was safe.
Justin had come, and my baby was safe.
I was shaking and we were both crying, but I’d never felt a sweeter relief in all my life.
“I love you so much,” I said, pressing kisses all over her head. “Are you okay?”
“He was bad man,” she cried into my neck as she clutched me tight.
“Yes, he was.” I held her close, shivering in the breeze as I glanced over her shoulder at Justin, who was keeping close to Alonzo as the police made their way to us.
I had no idea how he found me, but I was so grateful he’d made it in time. I would’ve jumped in the water to get to them, but I wasn’t sure I could make it before he stabbed her with that knife. And with the horrid things he was saying and the crazed look in his eyes, I was sure he would have.
“Huntsville Police Department!” the officers yelled as they made the clearing, fanning out around us.
It was a sudden burst of activity as two of them rushed over with guns drawn to where Justin towered over Alonzo.
Two others surrounded Sofia, who began to sob in earnest.
Another ran over to me and Elizabeth, calling for a medic.
“Are either of you injured, ma’am?” the young officer asked me.
“I’m not.” I studied Elizabeth’s still scared face. “He had her under the water... I don’t think she’s hurt but I’m not sure?”
He took off his jacket and draped it over her, gentling his voice. “The paramedics will look her over. It’ll be okay.”
I nodded, my eyes automatically seeking out Justin again, but he was preoccupied speaking with an officer.
I turned my gaze to Alonzo who was now sitting, slumped over with his head hung down. It had dawned on me at some point during Sofia’s pleading who he was and what was happening, but I was still having a difficult time understanding his hatred of me and all he’d done to get back at me for what he thought I’d done to his family. And, as Sofia turned wounded eyes my way, it became painfully obvious to me that all of us had suffered because of Christoph’s selfish actions. I couldn’t control Sofia or Alonzo’s feelings, but I was done letting the past control mine.
The medics made it a couple minutes later, and one team looked me and Elizabeth over, while another tended to Alonzo. He was stoic and angry while they checked him out, then an officer cuffed him and led him away down the trail, but not before he turned and shot me a hateful scowl over his shoulder.
“She looks good,” the medic said after checking over Elizabeth. “We can take her to the hospital so the doctors can check her out.”
I wavered, not really wanting to scare her any more today, but I knew it was for the best. I nodded. “Okay. Give me a second?”
“Sure.”
Since she wouldn’t let go of me, I carried her with me over to where Sofia still stood. Her eyes were wide and frightened when she looked up at me.
“Miss Olivia, I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen! You have to believe me!”
“I know.”
That stopped her cold. She’d obviously been expecting my vitriol. “You do?” Tears quivered on her lashes along with her voice. “You believe me?”
“Of course I do. I heard you pleading with him to save her. More importantly, I’ve seen how good you’ve been with her all these months.”
She bit her lip and nodded.
“Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?”
“I know. I should have. But I knew you and my dad weren’t speaking, and I...” She looked away, then back. “I was curious about you, I guess. I was in the U.S. with my grandmother, and I was choosing colleges. I figured, why not see you and meet my sister, right? I just didn’t count on loving you both.”
Tears filled my eyes. “Oh, honey.” I pulled her in for a hug. “We love you, too.” I drew away. “What did the police say?”
She swiped her eyes. “They want me to come to the station and answer some questions about my brother.”
“I have to give my statement too. If you need my help, just let me know.”
She nodded. I knew it had to hurt that the truth would exonerate her but convict her brother.
“Okay. I need to go and get Elizabeth checked out at the hospital. See you later?”
“See you later.” She ran a hand down Liz’s head. “Bye, Lizzie Bear.”
Elizabeth didn’t say anything, just kept her head on my shoulder, which was a bit alarming.
I turned and found Justin waiting for me by the ambulance.
“Are you coming with us?” I asked.
“I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”
I nodded and let the medic help me climb up into the back of the truck and settle onto the stretcher with Elizabeth. I focused on Justin’s haggard face as he stared back at me, his expression tortured with longing and love. “I need you,” I said. “We need you.”
His entire face relaxed and he let the medic direct him to the front seat since there wasn’t room for him in the back with us and the other paramedic. Still, it made me feel so much better knowing he was with us.
When we unloaded at the emergency room, he was by my side instantly, gripping my hand like a stoic avenging angel, and I’d never loved him more.
The nurses coaxed Elizabeth onto the bed where they checked her vitals and the doctor came in to look her over.
Justin put his arm around me and rubbed, not bothering to ask me how I was, which I appreciated.
“Has anyone called my family?” I asked.
“I texted Camden on the way over here,” he said. “He’s letting everyone else know. It’s taken care of.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, letting myself lean into him. “For everything.”
“Please don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t thank me for taking care of you and Elizabeth.”
“Because it’s your job?”
His gaze dipped to my mouth, then back up, so full of everything I couldn’t name, it struck me breathless. “Because it’s what I was born to do.”
The moment was broken when the tall gray-haired doctor burst into the room. “Mrs. Creed?”
I blinked, stumbling over my thoughts. “Miss Creed,” I corrected him automatically.
“Right, yes.” He smiled benignly at Justin, then Elizabeth, before turning his attention back to me. “Your daughter’s labs and X-rays have all come back normal. Her temperature is up. She’s looking great. We can admit her for observation for another few hours, or if you’re comfortable keeping a close eye on her at home, I can discharge her. You’ll want to watch her for any signs of dry drowning. Have you heard of that before?”
“I think so?”
“What should we look for?” Justin asked.
Again, the doctor shot him a look as if to question who he was if I was not a Mrs. “Basically, a delayed reaction of the water affecting her lungs. So, coughing, trouble breathing, change in her skin color because of low oxygenation, or even changes in behavior or her mental state. Things like that. If you see any of those signs, you get her right back here.”
“Okay. We can do that.” Justin seemed so assured, but I was suddenly petrified. He glanced at me. “She needs to be at home. In her own bed. I’ve got this.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “We’ll go home.”
“Go home?” Elizabeth piped up from the bed. “With Man Jusin?”
He smiled down at her. “Yes, sweetheart. We’re going home.”
“’Kay.” Then she grinned back up at him... her first smile since this whole ordeal began, and it literally melted my heart.
I signed the discharge paperwork and Camden came and picked us up to drive us home, earning the second Lizzie smile of the evening.
I was exhausted and apprehensive, but so grateful he’d cleared everyone out of my house, so it was quiet when we got there.
“Thank you,” I said as he kissed my cheek at the front door.
“I’m just glad you’re both safe and this is finally over.”
“Me, too.”
“Now get some rest.” He was grinning as he walked backward toward his SUV. “And take a shower. You smell like you’ve been rolling in a mud puddle.”
I glanced down at myself. My clothes were stiff with the muddy water of the pond and I’m sure I looked a fright, but I hadn’t given any of that a thought at the hospital.
I gave Elizabeth a quick bath and got a yogurt cup down her before I rocked her to sleep. I tucked her in with her favorite doll and left her night-light glowing and the door cracked as I slipped out into the hall and right into Justin’s waiting arms.
I should’ve known he’d be there waiting. I wilted into him as he rocked me back and forth in the silence of the hall. Eventually, the tears came, so hot and furious, they were silent as I soaked his shirt to the skin.
He slowly walked us down the hall toward my room and closed us inside, still holding me as my cries became sobs and I railed against the unfairness of it all. He let me pound out my frustration against his chest, standing there, taking it like my own personal punching bag.
Eventually, the worst of the storm left me, and I was left exhausted but with the shimmering relief that she was alive and well just down the hall. Thanks to him.
I lifted my gaze to his, sucker punched yet again by the electric blue of his magnetic eyes. “I would’ve died if she did.”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
“Yes. I’m not as strong as you.”
“You’re stronger.”
I shook my head, denying it. I was nothing without the people I loved in my life. Elizabeth. My family. Him.
I now realized that some of those tears I’d just soaked his skin with were because I was desperate not to lose him. He’d saved us—in more ways than one. His job here was done. He was free to move on if he chose.
And I wanted him to choose me.
I was just too weak to ask.
“Come on,” he whispered. “Let’s get you cleaned up before you collapse.”
He took my hand and led me to the bathroom, where he stripped both our clothes off and started the shower, letting it get steaming hot, before getting in with me. Under the spray, he kissed me gently before soaping up my loofah and washing me down, then shampooing my hair. He rinsed me off, then cleaned himself.
What could’ve been sensual felt . . . sweetly intimate.
I let the water take my fresh tears as I wrapped myself around him and kissed his chest, right next to his dove tattoo.
Trust him . . . Trust his love . . . it’s the only way to live again.
I squeezed my eyes closed as the rest of my dream of Claire came back to me. The first part, I was convinced, had helped me save my daughter. Was this part about Justin? Was she telling me to trust his love and live again?
The water pounded against my back and filled my ears, his scent swirling around me with the steam, enveloping me like a cocoon.
I was finally safe.
I could trust that, and him.
I’d made great strides in my own life and healing, but he had shown me my true strength. We were stronger together. I just had to believe it.
“I need to ask a favor.”
“Anything.”
I lifted my face and locked eyes with him. “I need you to stay.”
His fingers tightened on my hips and his jaw flexed as if he was holding his reaction in check... waiting for the catch. “For how long? Until—”
“For forever.”
It took him a second, but eventually, a slow, satisfied smirk spread across his face, making those adorable dimples pop that I loved so much. Heck, who was I kidding? I loved everything about the man.
“Forever, huh?”
I smiled back, and it felt good after all the crying I’d done. “At least.”
He dropped his forehead to mine, breathing me in. “Done.”