52
Time feels abstract now, like fog on glass I can’t clear.
Everything is gentle and far away, as if I’m watching through water.
There’s the soft scrape of a chair, a nurse’s kind eyes, warm hands changing my dressings, a blanket lifted higher, the pad of footsteps.
Words like shock and fluids and pain control float around me like dust motes.
The rest comes in fragments, and that’s how I remember it. Between one blink and the next, my hospital room empties and fills again. Brief visits from people I love, fussing and trying not to look like they’re fussing.
Mom strokes my hair back from my forehead. “We have Turbo at our place, so don’t you worry about him,” she tells me in a soft voice. “He’s already ruling over the other dogs, but they don’t seem to mind. Everyone adores him.”
Dad gives me a shaky smile. “Don’t worry about your place, either. I’m looking after the garden and double-checking all your locks.”
“The whole town is here for you and Joel,” Mom adds.
They drift to the door, Joel walking with them.
“You rescued our Kenzie,” Mom says. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“No need to thank me,” Joel murmurs, and I hear the discomfort in his voice.
“You were there for her when she needed you,” Dad says. “In our books, that makes you family.”
They both hug him. Mom starts to cry quietly, and Dad slips an arm around her shoulders, guiding her out of the room, his voice low and soothing as he comforts her.
“Stop beating yourself up,” Aaron says evenly. “We got to her in time.”
“No, we didn’t,” Joel fires back, his tone seething with anger. “If we’d gotten there in time, he wouldn’t have laid a hand on her. He wouldn’t have cut her. Look at her arms,” he whispers, the fight dropping into anguish.
“Go home,” Aaron tells him firmly. “Shower. Eat. Sleep. Take care of yourself so you can take care of her.” He squeezes Joel’s shoulder. “I’ll stay with Kenzie.”
“You won’t leave her?”
“I won’t leave her,” Aaron promises.
Sofia bursts into my hospital room, her hair a beautiful halo around her face, her eyes wild with worry. She’s brought a change of clothes, a hairbrush, my favorite throw, and my cozy socks.
A lump rises in my throat. She knows exactly what I need. When I catch her eyeing the walls, I say weakly, “They won’t let you paint them.”
“They can try to stop me,” she retorts. And then, with a dismissive glance at the white walls, she sits on the edge of my bed, concern stamped across her features. “You’re rocking the whole pale Anna Karenina look.”
“And here I was going for Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music ,” I joke.
Sofia gets up to plump up my pillows and top up my water. She can never sit still for long.
Tess walks in. “I brought flowers.”
I eye the giant bouquet of tulips. “My favorite.”
“I know.” She stops at the foot of the bed and tries for a smile, but it doesn’t take and her face crumples. Tears track their way down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I gave myself such a lecture not to cry, but it seems I don’t listen to anyone, not even me.”
“It’s okay,” I tell her softly.
She sniffs and swipes at her tears with the back of her hand. “You shouldn’t be comforting me. That’s not how this works.”
“It’s okay,” I repeat.
Tess’s lips wobble. “I should’ve gone with you to take the delivery. Instead, I stayed to finish my stupid card. I’m so sorry.”
Sofia shakes her head. “Then he would have taken you too. Or worse.”
“Sofia’s right,” I say.
The doctor steps in. Sofia straightens. “Please give us an update, Doctor. When can she go home?”
“The blade was dirty,” the doctor explains, brisk but kind.
“We flushed the wounds thoroughly, but we’re keeping her on IV antibiotics to prevent infection.
We also want our hand surgeon to examine her in the morning to make sure there’s no tendon or nerve damage.
If everything looks good, we’ll talk about sending her home after that. ”
After a while, exhaustion rolls over me. I love them both, but the chatter, the closeness, it’s all too much. I need a moment to breathe.
In the next instant, Joel’s voice cuts in, firm but gentle. “Okay, everyone out. Let’s give Kenzie some space.”
They murmur their understanding, kiss my cheek, and slowly file out of the room, promising to return soon.
“I’ve got two security guards outside her room,” Gideon says. “And one of us will be in here with her at all times.”
“Thank you,” Joel says.
“We’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe,” Aaron murmurs. “We didn’t do enough last time. We’re not making that same mistake again.”
“What about Owen?” Joel asks. “He wasn’t happy we took this into our own hands.”
“We turned over everything,” Aaron says. “Gideon’s hunting rifle had a scope-mounted GoPro, and it shows Eddie with a knife at Kenzie’s throat. Owen knows Gideon had no choice but to shoot.”
“What about Roy Bellings?” Gideon asks after a moment. “Will this stop him?”
“No,” Joel says. “He’ll need time to regroup, because this didn’t go the way he wanted, but he’ll send someone else.” I can hear the tightness at the edges of his voice. “He’ll keep coming after Kenzie because he knows hurting her will hurt me.”
“She’ll have security twenty-four-seven,” Aaron says. “Although she’ll hate living like that.”
“She has no choice,” Joel says bleakly. “We have no choice.”
There’s a long pause, then someone...Gideon? I can’t be sure...says, “What if I gave you a choice?”
“What do you mean?” Joel asks.
“It’s time to end this, Joel,” Gideon says quietly. “No more playing defense. We saw where that got us. Give me the go-ahead, and I’ll solve your problem.”
A long silence. “How?”
“Don’t ask how,” Aaron says in a low voice. “It’s better if you don’t know.”
“Do it,” Joel says at last. “Do whatever it takes to make sure that man never hurts anyone I love ever again.”
A whimper escapes.
Joel is instantly at my side. “What’s wrong?”
“I keep seeing his face every time I close my eyes,” I whisper, my breathing coming too fast and shallow.
“Hey.” He sits on the edge of the bed and gathers me carefully into his arms. “It’s over. You’re okay.”
It isn’t okay. I don’t know if it will ever be okay again. It feels like Eddie didn’t just cut my body; it feels like he carved out pieces of my soul. I can’t tell where I end and the fear begins.
Joel eases back just enough to study my face. “Look at me,” he says steadily. “You’re safe. You’re with me.”
I ask the question that’s been bothering me. “How did you find me?”
“I put a tracker in your pendant,” he says. “I did it when we became serious.”
That’s why Eddie was so furious when he opened the pendant. He must have recognized the tracker.
“When you were taken, he shoved you into something metal for the drive,” Joel goes on.
“There were vents, so you could breathe, but it blocked the signal.” He swallows, giving himself a moment.
“The tracker’s tiny, so it only transmits in short bursts to save battery.
Ten minutes between pings can feel like a year when you’re waiting. ”
I keep silent, letting him finish.
“I hate that it took hours to get to you,” he says, his jaw tight. “I hate that you were there for even one minute of it.”
“But you got to me,” I say softly.
“We did.”
I draw a shaky breath, tears stinging my eyes. “Joel, I feel so lost.”
His eyes soften. “Then I’ll help you find your way back.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out my pendant. “We had the chain fixed.” He places it in my palm and folds my fingers around it, his larger hand wrapping mine like a shield.
“ So you always remember who you are ,” he whispers. “Your grandmother’s words are stronger than anything he said. Let her voice drown out his.”
He presses a soft kiss to my forehead. “Go to sleep, love. I’ll be here when you wake.”
“You won’t leave?”
“I won’t leave.” His eyes hold mine. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be except at your side.”