Chapter 30
Zane’s fingers wrapped tightly around Bonnie’s hand. Hours had passed since her surgery. Hours. And she still wasn’t awake. It was killing him. Every minute that passed felt like ten. Every tick of the clock on the walls felt like a hammer in his damn head.
Come on, Bon. Open your eyes. Let me see those pretty hazel specks.
He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back, letting his lips linger as he memorized the feel of her skin.
She’d taken a bullet for him. A goddamn bullet. He was so fucking angry. And frustrated and scared and a million other things, none of them good. He couldn’t even feel relieved that Monty was gone. Not with Bonnie in a hospital bed.
Everything about the last twenty-four hours felt like a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from.
The only good thing was that Jesse had run the car that had tailed Zane. It was the only gray Charger in Amber Ridge, and it had been owned by the old man who’d lived in the house Monty had taken over.
A knock sounded at the door. Before he could respond, it opened and Noah stepped in.
He looked at Bonnie, brow creasing, before shifting his gaze to Zane. “How is she?”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t woken up yet.”
Noah crossed to the bed. “I hate that she was shot.”
“I’m so angry I can barely breathe.”
There was a short pause before Noah said, “You should go home and rest. I can stay with her.”
He could have laughed. “There’s no way I’m leaving her.” And even if he did, even if he drove home and tried to sleep, there was no way he would.
Noah crossed his arms. “You know it’s not your fault, right?”
Veins strained in his neck. “He took her because of her connection to me. Who else’s fault would it be?”
“His. Monty’s. And those idiots who helped him.”
“They were all there because of me.”
“No. They were there because Monty needed someone to blame for his prison sentence, and instead of blaming himself, he chose you. Because he was fucking weak and couldn’t take responsibility for his actions.”
And now he was dead. “She got shot because she jumped in front of a bullet for me.” The moment played over in his mind again and again.
“Yeah. I’m pissed at her for that too. It must be a sister thing. But I’m sure she’d tell you that she’d do it again.”
The muscles in Zane’s arms flexed. No. She was never going to do it again. He wouldn’t allow it.
“She’s gonna wake up, Zane. She’s going to come back to you.”
He looked up at Bonnie’s brother. “You want her to do that? Return to me when she wakes up?”
Noah lifted a shoulder. “Doesn’t matter what I want. She’s always been too stubborn to listen to me. But…yeah, I’m glad she has you. You love her. I can see it. And you got her out of that basement.”
Zane shook his head. “That was all her. She broke out of her own ropes. She fought the guy who attacked her. Then she released me…and stepped in front of a bullet for me. She’s the hero in this story.”
“I’m not surprised. She’s always been tough.” Noah squeezed his shoulder. “I’m getting us both coffees.”
Noah walked out and then it was just him and Bonnie again. He lifted her hand and pressed it to his forehead before closing his eyes.
“Wake up, Bon. Come back to me.”
Suddenly, there was a squeeze of his hand. It was faint. Barely there. Then her voice…
“Zane?”
His head shot up. “Bonnie?”
Her eyes were half open.
And fuck, he was almost scared to breathe in case this wasn’t real and she wasn’t truly awake.
She frowned. “Your face…it’s bruised.”
He could have laughed. She was worried about him? “I’m fine.”
“What…what happened?”
“What do you remember?”
“We were driving home from The Pit. There was someone following us and—” She gasped, her eyes widening. “The basement.”
“Yeah.” He slipped a lock of hair from her face, the gentleness in his touch in complete contrast to the anger that consumed him. “You found the pocketknife though. You got free, and then you freed me.”
“But the guy came down the stairs with a gun.”
Zane’s back teeth ground together, his gaze going to the bandaging on her shoulder. “Bullet got you. But you’re okay.”
“Is Monty—”
“Dead.”
Her sigh was loud in the otherwise quiet room. “Thank God. And thank you.”
“For what? I didn’t do anything.”
She turned her head and looked at him. “You got us out of there.”
“No, Bon. You did. You were unbelievable.”
“No. I was desperate.” One side of her mouth lifted. “It’s over now.”
Another knock sounded at the door, and this time Jesse stepped in. His eyes went to straight to Bonnie. “Hey, Bon. You’re awake.”
“Yeah. And I feel pleasantly numb.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re okay.”
The smile slipped from her lips. “You’ve got all of them now, right? This is over?”
“That’s all of them.”
“So life can go back to normal?” she asked, hope weaving into her words.
“Almost. We haven’t found the guy who decapitated the mouse and slammed you into the building yet,” Zane said quietly, fucking hating that, after everything, they still had to look over their shoulders.
“I’m still hoping they’ll stop now,” Bonnie said.
And damn, he wished he shared her optimism. But he’d been witness to too much dark shit in the world for that.
“I don’t want us to get complacent,” Jesse said before Zane could.
Bonnie deflated a bit.
He tightened his grip on her hand.
“Do you need my account of what happened or anything?” she asked quietly.
“That can wait until tomorrow. I just came to check on you.” Jesse squeezed her uninjured arm. “Rest up and call if you need anything.”
She nodded.
When it was just the two of them, Zane swiped his thumb over the back of her hand. “What can I do?”
“Get me home?”
“As soon as the doctor gives you the okay.”
She studied his face, the quiet stretching out as tears gathered in her eyes. “You’re okay.”
“I’m okay.”
“I was so scared we wouldn’t make it out of there.”
“We did.” Zane frowned, something hard settling in his gut. “You can’t ever do that again, Bon.”
“Do what?”
“Step in front of a bullet for me.”
“I saved you.”
“You were shot. You could have died.” Fuck, even saying that out loud tasted like acid on his tongue. “Promise me.”
She cupped his cheek. “You would have done the same for me.”
“Bonnie—”
“Would you promise that you wouldn’t step in front of a bullet for me?”
His jaw clenched.
“Exactly.” She swiped her thumb over his cheek. “I’ll promise you something else. That I’ll love you forever.”
It wasn’t the promise he’d been looking for. But fuck, it felt good anyway. “Forever’s a hell of a long time.”
“Thank God.”
He lowered his head and kissed her. A gentle kiss. Only stopping when the door opened and Indie, Colt, Noah, and Addie stepped in.
Bonnie stroked the back of Zane’s head.
Finally, he was sleeping. Although, she wasn’t sure how long he’d been out. She’d just woken to find his head on the bed beside her.
No matter how much she pushed, no matter how much anyone pushed, he refused to leave her side. A part of her loved that. She wanted him in arm’s reach at all times. But she also knew he needed rest.
God, she loved him. Seeing that gun aimed at him…
Her heart stuttered, the fear still alive inside her, as if she were back in that basement. It would take a long time to recover. Or maybe she never would. Maybe the memory would live inside her forever, coming back to her in quiet moments, reminding her that Zane wasn’t bulletproof.
She turned her head toward the window. Even though the curtains were closed, sun slipped through the gaps. It was morning. Good. The day from hell was over. It was in the past and she’d never need to live through it again.
Right now, her biggest problem was that she needed to pee.
Slowly, she slipped out from beneath the sheets, testing one foot then the other. Steady enough. And her IV pole could double as her walking stick. Win-win.
Zane didn’t move as she stepped away from the bed. That was how tired he was.
He should have at least gone home for a bit of sleep.
Noah would have stayed with her. But he’d refused.
And she knew why. He blamed himself. But that was stupid.
Everything that had happened was Monty’s fault.
And those other prison-escapee jerks. They were the ones who’d kidnapped them.
They were the ones who’d tied them up and shot the bullet from the gun that had hit her. All the blame was squarely on them.
In the bathroom, she peed and washed her hands before noticing her reflection in the mirror.
Argh. She was a mess. Her unbrushed hair stuck up in every possible direction, she was as pale as a piece of paper, and there were scrapes and bruises everywhere.
She tugged down the shoulder of her hospital gown to look at the bandage. She couldn’t even remember the pain of the bullet hitting her. Maybe her body had gone into shock. It hadn’t hurt then, and it didn’t hurt now—thank you, medication.
With a sigh, she turned and stepped back into the hospital room…only to stop at the sight of the woman in the doorway. “Maisie.”
The other woman spun toward Bonnie. She stood just inside the room, her hand still on the doorknob. “Bonnie. Hi.”
Slowly—well, as fast as she could—she crossed over to her former best friend. “What are you doing here?”
“I, um, heard around town what happened. Word travels fast in Amber Ridge. I just wanted to check that you were okay and…” She lifted a bouquet of flowers. “I know this isn’t much, but I couldn’t come empty-handed.”
“You brought me flowers?”
Maisie shuffled from foot to foot. “I was worried. We used to be friends. Good friends. And having you back here has reminded me of that. I know coming home hasn’t been easy for you—”
“No. It hasn’t. And you’ve done nothing to help that.”
Maisie’s eyes widened with what looked like authentic confusion. “What did you expect me to do?”
Was that a serious question? “The Whites hate me because they think I left Dean at that party while he was drunk, for no reason. You could tell them there was a reason.”
She stepped back, face paling. “You know I can’t do that.”
“Why? It doesn’t mean his death is your fault. It’s neither of our faults. But it tells his parents that I wasn’t selfish that night, stranding him there just because I’m heartless.”
“They’d blame me!”
She was never going to do it. Unless Bonnie said something herself, she’d have to live with the White family’s hate forever. “Does Damien know?”
Maisie swallowed, and for a moment, Bonnie wasn’t sure she was going to answer. “He—”
“Bonnie.”
They both looked at Zane, who was now on his feet and moving toward them.
“Hey,” she said, “you’re awake.”
“You shouldn’t be on your feet.” He slipped an arm around her waist, and she leaned into him, letting him take most of her weight. He looked at Maisie. “What are you doing here?”
“I was just giving Bonnie these.” She held out the flowers.
A part of Bonnie didn’t want to take them, because she didn’t want anything from this woman. And maybe Maisie saw that, because she set them on the counter behind her.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said quietly. Then she slipped out of the room.
Zane glanced down at Bonnie. “What was that?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t understand why she came.” She studied the pink roses. “It’s like she wants things to be okay between us, but after what she did, that’s not possible. I don’t know why she can’t see that.”
“You’re right. Things can’t be okay between you two, because she doesn’t get to hurt you and still be your friend.”
“Yeah. And even if she hadn’t done what she did with Dean all those years ago, she’s now just standing back and letting her in-laws hurt me.”
Slowly, he led her back to the bed. “Come on. Next time, wake me.”
“You needed the sleep. You still do.”
“No. I need to stay by your side.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can go to the bathroom by myself.”
He helped her into bed, but even when she slipped beneath the covers, her gaze returned to the door.
What exactly had Maisie been hoping to achieve by coming here? Had she really just been worried and wanting to check that Bonnie was okay? Was she trying to reconnect?
Or was something else going on?