Chapter Twenty-Eight
She couldn’t feel her toes.
Actually, she couldn’t feel much of anything with the steady drip in her arm. That was probably the least important thing about waking in the middle of a hospital bed again, but it seemed important.
“You’re looking better.” Movement slithered into her peripheral vision from beside the bed.
It took only a couple of seconds for Callen’s features to clear the haze clouding her sense of reality.
Those dark eyes settled on her, as though memorizing her all over again.
The ends of his hair clung to his nape and curled slightly.
He’d showered and changed. Fresh bruises darkened along one side of his face, not yet turning green and yellow.
He’d taken quite the beating out there on the trail, but he was still standing.
She couldn’t claim the same. “They really should market blood transfusions in the beauty industry. Does wonders for the skin.”
His laugh deepened as he ducked his head, but she caught the traces of concern before he could hide them.
Of stress and loss. Cieron had killed their sister to keep his secret, and that had to hurt.
She’d never had siblings, but there was a new space in her chest she wasn’t sure could ever be filled.
Cieron had taken on the role of a goofy big brother in her life for years, and now?
She didn’t know what to think, didn’t know how long it would take before the truth settled, but she would help any way she could. She’d do anything for the Russells.
“What’s the damage this time?” Maeve peeled the sheets away from her gown—a different one from her last visit—and made out a white layer of gauze stretched over her stomach secured with tape.
She was alive. That fact hadn’t hit until now.
She was alive, they’d recovered Lauren’s remains and her killer had been brought to justice.
It was everything she’d worked for and more.
“Well, your insurance threatened to stop coverage if you leave the hospital without being officially discharged again, but other than that, it’s looking good.
” He scanned her midsection like he was trying to assure himself she was really here.
“You tore through two sutures. One of them was responsible for all the bleeding, but overall, doctors are confident you’re going to make it. ”
“Good.” She could almost take a full breath without wanting to pass out. That was a good sign. “I paid extra for gunshot wounds. The least they could do is cover the claim.”
“You never told me where you’ve been all this time.
Since you moved out.” Callen leaned back in his seat, muscled arms crossing over his broad chest, and hell, she couldn’t stop the shooting warmth in her lower belly.
He’d always been handsome, but a new appreciation—maybe from almost dying—swept in.
“You obviously never made it to Vegas or transferred to the FBI office there. How have you been surviving?”
“Off my dad’s life insurance. Hotels here, Airbnbs there.
” She didn’t need to tell him about the nights she’d spent in her car, unless she wanted to hear a lecture about safety and putting herself at risk.
“I picked up a couple private investigations. Iliana Meyer was one of them. Her boyfriend… He hired me. I guess Iliana had told him about me from the one case we’d worked together, and he reached out.
” A wave of sorrow rushed in at the thought of having that conversation.
She’d liked Iliana. Might’ve even been friends with her if their lives had crossed a few more times, but now there was no chance for that.
“Has your brother told police where he has her?”
“As far as I know, Cieron isn’t cooperating.
” Callen cut his attention across the room.
“My parents have tried to convince him to take a deal to give Iliana’s family closure.
They hired him an attorney believing there’s still a piece of the kid they raised in there, but he’s not interested in saving himself. Never has been.”
The sensation of blood splattering all over her as Cieron lunged for her prickled across her face and neck.
It wasn’t there, but she could still feel it.
See him drop to his knees. Follow the roll of his eyes into the back of his head.
Law enforcement rangers had gotten to them in time, able to drive both her and Cieron down the trail.
Saving her life. And his. He’d see the inside of a cell as soon as he was recovered.
“And your mom? What does she think of all this?”
“I’m not sure yet. She’s not talking much.
It’s a lot to handle, waiting to find out if your daughter is alive all this time.
Even more unnerving to learn one of your other children was responsible for her death.
Dad is taking care of her.” That same weight resonated in his voice, though he wouldn’t admit it.
“But Simpson and his rangers found the ranger station he held you in. It’s not one we use often, and Cieron seemed to know that.
They also found another set of remains. They were soaking in bleach, like Lauren’s, presumably to get rid of any DNA, but Dr. Yarrow is confident he’ll be able to get an identity in the next couple of days. ”
Good. That was good. Maeve set her head back against the pillows. And if those remains didn’t belong to Iliana Meyer, she would keep searching. She’d hike every mile of Zion if she had to. Because Iliana’s boyfriend deserved answers. Closure.
“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you and your parents.
” Her hand brushed against her stomach, and she nearly curled in on herself as colors lit up behind her eyes.
When she could finally breathe through it, Callen looked as though he was ready to bring down the building to make it stop. “I’m okay.”
His gaze snapped to her, the tendons along his neck and across his shoulder bulging with pent-up tension.
“You’re not okay. Cieron—a man you’ve cared for and trusted for years—put a bullet in you.
He was going to kill you if you hadn’t stabbed him first. Don’t tell me you’re okay, and don’t lie to me thinking you need to soften the blow.
I know what he’s done, and I know who he is.
Part of me doesn’t want to believe it, but my brother hurt you, Maeve.
You don’t have a damn thing to be sorry about. ”
As much as she wanted to believe she wasn’t at fault for any of this, she knew the truth. “None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t lost track of that notebook.”
“You didn’t.” Bending down, Callen collected something from his belongings on the floor and tossed a bright yellow notebook onto the bed.
Not just any yellow notebook. Her entire body shook as she skimmed her fingers over the pages. “I don’t… I don’t understand. How do you have that?”
“I found it in Cieron’s overnight bag. I don’t know why he’s held on to it all this time, but it’s Lauren’s.
“She made notes in it in that stupid language you two made up when you were younger and didn’t think anyone else would figure out you borrowed words from every other language out there.”
“Some serial offenders like to keep trophies. It reminds them of the high they felt when they killed that victim.” Tears burned in her eyes.
Stupid pain medications. At what point would she learn not to have these kinds of conversations after almost winding up dead?
Maeve let her fingers still on the soft cover. “I never lost the evidence.”
Those five words soothed the guilt and the shame that’d been clawing through her for months. Cieron had told her he’d taken the notebook from her hotel room that night, but she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it due to blood loss or if he’d been lying. Though she couldn’t imagine why he would.
“Cieron admitted to killing Lauren because she was going to warn you about his intentions.” He’d taken on that stillness again, his anger practically vibrating through the whole room.
Not for her, but for what she’d been through, she realized.
How close she’d come to never walking out of that park alive.
“He must’ve stayed in Springdale to watch the search for her unfold.
I’m guessing he didn’t expect you to show up to work the case, and he took advantage when he saw the opportunity to compromise the investigation. ”
“He didn’t know about the notebook until I pulled it from Lauren’s car.
I guess I made it easy for him by not submitting it to the evidence locker that night, but I just wanted…
I wanted to have something of hers. Just for a little while, and she carried that damn thing everywhere.
It was practically an extension of her.” A tremor passed through her hand as she traced a sunflower her best friend had drawn onto the cover.
“He told me Lauren had taken notes on things he’d said about me, about you.
What he intended to do. I can’t imagine he was sober when he admitted to them. ”
“I’ve had an old contact of mine go through every back door in the code for my unit’s security system.
It was never hacked.” He tossed his phone onto the end of the bed, face up.
“Looks like Cieron was able to guess my app’s password, knowing which ones I preferred.
It’s the same code for my gun safe. From what I can put together, he was able to access my storage unit multiple times by logging into my account, changing the phone number in the settings and moving in and out as he pleased, making sure I never saw the notifications. ”
“He left that Taser at the riverbank to frame you for Iliana Meyer’s disappearance and, in connection, Lauren’s.” How long had Cieron’s game been in play? How many years had she been blind to his obsession and pain? “I’m assuming he was also responsible for locking me in the storage unit?”
“I think he meant to keep you out of the way while he worked another strategy to get me out of the way.” Callen cleared his throat.
“Didn’t work, thanks to you. The fingerprints you ran weren’t officially connected to any case, but Springdale PD is in possession of the Taser now.
As Dr. Yarrow promised. But since Cieron has been arrested, I’m in the clear. ”
Silence reigned for a beat. Then two.
“She wrote you a letter.” Callen nodded to the notebook.
“It’s… Now might not be the time to read it, but I couldn’t keep it from you.
You deserve to know she didn’t think the man arrested for your dad’s murder was guilty.
She believes Cieron may have been involved.
” The weight of his gaze pressed against her chest. Not suffocating, but grounding.
Comfortable and reliable. Just like him.
She didn’t want to imagine what might’ve happened if Callen hadn’t come for her.
If she would end up in that cold basement next to Lauren.
And she didn’t want to think about Lauren’s accusation just yet.
“You can take all the time you need or not read it at all, Maeve. I can look into her theory by myself and keep you updated, or we can work together to find the truth. I’ll support you in whatever way you decide, but it’s your choice. ”
He was right. She wasn’t ready to read Lauren’s notebook or consider the man Callen had hunted down and turned over to the police may have been innocent. Not yet. But she would get there. “Does this mean you can take Lauren home?”
“Dr. Yarrow released her remains this morning. My parents wanted to stay until you woke up, but I told them they should go home and make arrangements.” He set his elbows on his knees, the picture of ease, but she knew every muscle in his body was honed to confront the next threat at a moment’s notice.
“They’ll have a funeral in a few weeks, when you’re strong enough to attend. ”
“They don’t have to do that.” She tried to push herself upright. “They’ve been waiting—”
“And they’ll continue to wait until you’re well enough to be there.
We weren’t the only ones to lose Lauren, Maeve, and I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel like you didn’t deserve to be grieving with us or that you didn’t belong with us.
I was wrong.” Callen grabbed her hand, skimming his thumb across the bruises and scabs already forming across her knuckles.
“From the very beginning, I needed someone to blame, and I took my anger out on you because I think I convinced myself if I could survive losing you, I could survive losing Lauren a little easier.”
He stared at their intertwined hands. “It was stupid, but I made it happen. I made myself suffer in hopes of callusing some part of me, but you just wouldn’t let me go, and you’ll never know how grateful I am that you didn’t stop fighting for my family.
” Raising her hand to his mouth, he planted a kiss in the center of her palm.
“None of this was your fault, and I will spend the rest of my life reminding you of that if that’s what you need. ”
“I might not need daily reminders, but it’s nice to know you’re committed to your cause.
” She was getting tired again, the pressure and weight of the past year draining her in increments.
It would take longer than a few days to come to terms with what had happened—who had paid with their lives—but for the first time in a long time, she had hope for the future.
A smile tugged at only half his mouth as he brought his free hand up, pressing it into her palm. Something warm pressed into her skin. “Rangers recovered one of my tactical blades from that ranger station, covered in Cieron’s blood. Looked like someone stabbed him.”
“He tried to stab me first.” Okay. She hadn’t meant to get so defensive, but it was the truth.
“You’re amazing. You know that, don’t you?
And I am utterly and completely unworthy of you in every way.
” Callen slid one hand from hers, revealing the engagement ring that used to sit on her ring finger in the palm of her hand.
“I love you, Maeve. I’ve been in love with you since our first date.
I don’t know what our future holds right now in terms of careers and where to live and everything else, but this past year of my life has been empty and cold and hollow because you haven’t been in it, and I never want to go through that again. I want you. If you’ll have me.”
“I love you, too. And I’ll make it easy for you.
I’m jobless and homeless, so I’ll pretty much follow you anywhere.
” Maeve couldn’t hold her smile as she closed her hand over the ring and leaned forward, pressing on the new sutures to reach him, but Callen closed the distance between them first. His mouth was on hers in an instant, her ring sheltered between them.
“So long as you remember you were always worthy, Ranger Russell.”
“Deal, Agent Perry.” He smiled against her mouth as he set the ring onto her finger. “Forever.”