Chapter 49
Forty-Nine
The next several hours passed in a blur for Roxy.
Travis waited with her for a second ambulance, continuing to hold her in his arms, refusing to let her go.
Free had stepped up close enough to catch her gaze, and then he was gone again, as if he simply needed to ascertain for himself that she was alright. In Travis’s arms, she was.
Travis relinquished her to the EMT’s once they arrived, climbing into the back of the ambulance and setting her down on the gurney.
They wrapped her up in a silver blanket, her muscles locked from the trembling, the cool rain, and the shock.
Travis refused to stay behind, insisting on riding with them to the hospital, but once there, the hospital staff wouldn’t let him back with her until they’d completed their exam.
She didn’t remember most of what happened, the shock dulling everything.
They numbed her arm and closed the bullet wound with eleven stitches.
When the police arrived later to document her portion of the incident, Travis had been forced to remain in the waiting room.
She recounted the events of the night, skimming over the past incidents and the outstanding Protective Order she’d had filed against Neal in Texas.
It would be a long road, but the conclusion was undoubtably that she’d acted in self-defense.
It was hours later that Travis was finally allowed back into the room with her, after they’d come in to tell her she was being discharged.
Gathering her things into the plastic bag they’d given her, along with an overnight supply of pain meds and an ice pack for her newly battered cheek, she turned when the door opened.
Travis strode in, his long hair a mess around his shoulders, as if he’d been shoving his fingers through it for hours.
His honey gold eyes were wild as they lit on her, up and out of bed, dressed.
He looked like he wanted to say something, his mouth opening and closing several times.
His shoulders were bunched tight, his chest rising and falling with deep, uneven breaths.
Then he let out a long, slow breath, squeezing his eyes shut.
Opening them, he held out his hand toward her.
“Come on, baby girl, let’s get you home.”
She placed her hand in his, those big, strong fingers closing around hers, and then they were out the door. He jangled a set of keys in his hand as they exited the Emergency Department doors. “Free and Levi brought your car down so we would have a way back when you were discharged.”
She nodded, allowing him to help her up into the seat.
He leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers for a long time before leaning away to buckle her in.
Every time he touched her, it sent electric jolts through her.
He remained quiet on the way back to Blue Haven, but his right hand never left hers.
The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon when they pulled in.
Gold and orange and pink tingeing the skyline in a stunning watercolor.
He helped her out of the car, but she stopped, staring at the dazzling sky as the world began to wake.
Last night, she’d fought for every heartbeat, terrified she’d never get another single minute away from Neal, let alone another day with Travis.
He made it several steps away before he stopped, too, his back still to her. His shoulders slumped, his head falling forward until his chin nearly touched his chest. And then he was spinning toward her. Her eyes met his, that wild, fierce light in them back.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded roughly, his voice breaking. “You put yourself in danger instead of telling me what was going on. Why?”
She shook her head, tears stinging her nose. “This wasn’t your fight—”
“Try again, Red,” he growled.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of you getting hurt because of me,” Roxy whispered through clenched teeth, her lower lip trembling. “He threatened to hurt you. I couldn’t let him hurt you.”
“Did you really have such little faith in me that I couldn’t protect you, baby girl?
That I couldn’t take care of myself?” he asked, stepping forward until he towered over her.
His long hair fell over his brow and down his shoulders as he stared down at her.
His voice was rough, but his eyes were gentle.
“I didn’t know what lengths he would go to, and—”
“Don’t ever doubt my ability to protect myself, or you, Roxy. I have been a fighter my whole life, you know better than anyone that I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Try again.”
“You already know why,” she whispered through clenched teeth, tears tracking down her cheeks.
“I’m going to need you to spell it out for me,” he murmured, raising his hands to cradle her face in them. “I want to hear the words.”
A sob caught in her throat, and she squeezed her eyes shut, then she gasped when she felt his lips brush across her cheeks, her lips.
“Because I fell in love with you, you big bully,” she whispered miserably. “And I figured you would think I wasn’t worth the trouble.”
She felt his lips lift into a smile against hers, before he pulled away and she opened her eyes to find his.
“I never thought love was worth the fight. But when I found you, baby girl, I was ready for war.” Those large hands, capable of inflicting so much damage when he wanted them to, were infinitely gentle as they cupped her cheeks.
His thumb rubbed along her cheekbone, and his gold flecked eyes searched hers.
“Do you understand what I’m telling you, Red? ”
“I might need you to spell it out for me,” she whispered, her voice cracking around the words as more tears stung her nose.
One corner of his mouth quirked up and she could see the indent of the dimple in his cheek as a chuckle rumbled out of him. She cupped the side of his jaw in her hand, running her finger over his bottom lip.
“You are worth everything, Roxy. I don’t ever want you to think you have to fight alone,” he murmured, leaning down to press his forehead against hers.
“Where you go, I go. Your fight is mine.” Trapping one of her hands in his, he pressed it to the left side of his chest, and she could feel his heart beating beneath her palm.
“And this heart is more yours than mine. Because no matter how hard I fucking tried to fight it… losing my heart to you was one fight I was powerless against. I love you, Red.”
“I love you,” she breathed against his lips, tears steadily tracking down her cheeks.
“I didn’t want to. I tried not to…” Pressing soft, sipping kisses to his lips, she took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.
“We were set on a collision course from the start. There was no stopping the free fall I was in, Travis. I love you so much.”
Her hand still trapped beneath his, palm pressed to his chest, he stroked the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb. “Does this mean I can stay?”
“I never wanted you to go,” she whispered, flexing her fingers against his chest. She reveled in the steady thrum of his heart beneath her palm. “I want to be wherever you are, Travis.”
Curling his arms around her, she sighed when their bodies aligned, and she pressed her cheek to his chest. “Good. Because you’re stuck with me now, Red.”
Lifting her chin, she smiled up at him, and he kissed her forehead gently. “I can live with that.”