Chapter 39
Rhys
I rolled over, expecting to find the comforting warmth of Sloane's body, but instead was greeted with cold sheets and Rookie’s tail. I sat up, blinking a few times as I surveyed the dark room.
She wasn’t here.
I threw the covers back and climbed out of bed, stopping when my phone vibrated from the nightstand. I flipped it over, the number of our apartment building flashing across the screen.
Why the hell was Marvin calling me in the middle of the night?
My brows furrowed as I swiped to answer the call, walking toward the bathroom and swinging the door open. "Marvin?”
She wasn’t in there either. I stepped inside and spotted her phone on the counter, an uneasy feeling settling in my bones. Something was wrong.
"Oh, Mr. Armstrong, thank you for answering. Can you come inside? Miss. Taylor went upstairs about fifteen minutes ago, and I haven't heard from her. Could you just run inside and make sure she's okay? She was very insistent that I stay put."
My stomach dropped, my knees buckling as I reached for the counter to steady myself.
She went back to the apartment. Why would she go back to the apartment?
"She's there now?" I rasped.
"Well– yes, sir. She– she said you were in the car."
I grabbed her phone, swiped up, and opened the text thread with the same unknown number she had twelve missed calls from.
"Mr. Armstrong?"
Marvin's voice was hardly a whisper against the pulse roaring in my ears. I felt dizzy and lightheaded, my stomach churning as I read through the texts.
She went back to the apartment.
"Marvin, I'm not there. Call the– Don't call the cops.
I'm calling someone I trust. Please let them in if they get there before us.
His name is Aaron Lucas. He'll be with Sloane's sister, Zoey.
I'm on my way now!" I hung up, pocketed both phones, then threw on a shirt and made a beeline for the stairs, taking them two at a time.
I banged on Dom and Cami's bedroom door, "DOM!"
A few seconds later, Dom threw the door open, his sleepy eyes widened at my panicked state.
"She's at the apartment."
"Fuck. Let me put on some clothes, I'll meet you at the car."
I dipped my chin in acknowledgment before hurling myself down the stairs. My fingers stabbed the numbers on the security panel to disarm the house, then I threw the door open after it beeped.
My breath was ragged as I teetered on the edge of a panic attack, and my ribs felt like they were shrinking around my lungs.
I couldn’t lose her. Not after I just got her.
I sprinted to Dom's car, looking up and down the street for the patrol car that was supposed to be out front. Taillights turned the corner down the block, and I knew I didn’t have enough time to chase them down. Dom came running out the front door with Cami in tow moments later. "Cam–"
She held up a hand, her silk bonnet still wrapped around her head. "Save it. Dom already tried. Get in the fucking car, she's my best friend, too."
I knew that tone well enough to know there was no convincing her to stay.
We all piled into Dom's car and sped out of the driveway.
I called both Zoey and Lucas and filled them in, both of them promising to be there as soon as possible. Although I had hoped we would beat them there. I've never imagined so many different ways to end someone's life before.
The entire drive, my heart thumped erratically in my chest, my brain tossing around every single horrible scenario that it could think up, and it was pure torture.
She'd been alone with this monster for almost twenty minutes now.
There was no telling what could have happened.
Stu was a crazed man with nothing to lose.
Literally. If I was remembering correctly, he didn't have any family or real friends.
After this afternoon, he was jobless, and everyone knew what kind of man he was.
Stu was going to be arrested. There was no chance to redeem himself. And if I knew Sloane, the second he provoked her, she would give it right back.
Dom raced through town while all of us sat completely silent, unsure of what to say at this moment. My leg bounced nervously, the city passing by in a blur of lights.
"She's gonna be fine," Cami whispered from the backseat, breaking up the silence, "She's– She's gonna be fine. It's Sloane. She'll be fine."
I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat, grinding my molars together to keep all of these different emotions in check.
Because she was right.
She would be fine.
There was no other option.
My eyes shut as I took a deep breath, my fingers tapping anxiously against my thighs. Cami was right.
Because I had no fucking clue what I would do if she were wrong.
It was a fourteen-minute drive to the apartment building from Dom and Cami's house, but he managed to cut it to nine.
When Dom pulled up in front of the building, he threw the car into park, both of us swinging our doors open at the same time with a scary amount of force.
He turned to face the back seat, where Cami sat, and pulled off her seatbelt. "Not a fucking muscle, Camille. Listen to me for once in your life. Stay in the goddamn car, we'll bring her to you, understood?"
Cami stared up at Dom with tears in her eyes.
"I'm serious, Camille. In the car."
She nodded once, relaxing back into the seat, and we both turned, jogging towards the front door where Marvin waited, propping it open. "Is she okay?"
"I don't know, Marv. I'm gonna– I gotta go check."
I wasn’t waiting for Zoey or Lucas. I couldn’t. Not without knowing if she was okay.
Dom pressed the button to summon the elevator, and I turned to my best friend, "You don't have to go up there."
"I'm going up there. It's Sloane. I'm going up there."
I nodded, swallowing hard as my chest constricted tighter and tighter. I would rather spend the rest of my life in jail than spend another minute drowning in this kind of panic and helplessness.
Dom turned, looking up at the ceiling. "You'd do the same for Cami."
He was right. I absolutely would.
The ride up to our apartment was painfully slow, each floor passing in slow motion. I was so close, but it was taking forever to reach her.
God, I would never forgive myself if something happened to her.
The doors split open, and we ran out, turning to sprint to the apartment.
I stumbled over my own feet, my hand reaching out to grab the wall when a gunshot rang out through the quiet building. I tasted bile, my face blanching as I looked at Dom, who was sporting the same terrified look.
No. No. No. No. No.
I sprinted to the door, threw it open, and frantically searched the destroyed room through fresh tears, "Sloane!" I roared her name, my voice cracking and my legs unsteady.
I heard grunting as we rounded the corner, and the sound of what I assumed was the gun, clanking against the hardwood.
"Rhys!" she called out, her voice was weak and raspy.
She was struggling under Stu, blood pooling on the ground around her. I couldn't tell where or who it was coming from.
"He's– Get him off!" she grunted again as I rushed over, grabbing Stu by the shoulders and tossing him off her.
My breath hitched when I saw her, Sloane's neck red with fresh bruises forming, blood covering her face and torso, dripping onto the floor underneath her.
"Get me up! Get me up! Get me out of here!" she sobbed, reaching for me.
I reached down, taking her into my arms and yanking her body into mine. My arm secured around her waist, the other cupping the back of her head. "Oh god," I cried, tears that belonged to so many different emotions streaming down my cheeks. "Sloane, oh my god."
Her hands gripped my now blood-soaked t-shirt as she sobbed into my chest, "I had to! He was– He was gonna kill me!"
"Shhh, baby, it's okay. I know, I know. It's okay, you're okay. I've got you."
"No, Rhys!" she wailed, her whole body shaking. "It's not okay! I fucking killed him! I– Rhys– I killed someone!"
I didn't know how to navigate this. I didn't know what to tell her or how to comfort her. Obviously, she knew it was either her life or his, but just because it was justified didn’t mean she couldn’t feel conflicted about it.
Stu was a horrible man, I knew that. Sloane knew that. But my heart was breaking with each sob that tore through her body over what she had to do.
I pulled away, lifting my hands to frame her face. "Pip, listen to me, okay? You did what you needed to do. You survived." Tears streamed down her cheeks, mixing with the blood caked onto her skin. “You survived." My voice broke at the realization of just how real this was.
I could've lost her tonight.
I swallowed, taking a second to survey her face. "Are you hurt?"
She blinked a couple of times, her mouth parted slightly in surprise. "I– Most of it's not mine."
"What's not?"
"The blood," she choked out, "It's not mine. I'm– I might have a concussion, but I'm okay."
I nodded as a stampede of footsteps made their way to the apartment door, Zoey screaming out for Sloane as she ran through the threshold.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, ushering her away from where Stu lay lifeless in the hallway, his eyes wide and staring at the ceiling.
"Are you okay?" Zoey asked, rushing over to assess any injuries. Her hands swept over Sloane's body gently, her eyes frantic and filled with tears. "Are you hurt?"
I could feel her trembling under my arm. "I'm f-fine. I hit my head a couple of times, but I'm okay." Her voice was basically nonexistent at this point; I could only imagine how much pain she was in. She kept wiping at her cheeks, but couldn't keep up with how fast the tears were falling.
It was breaking my heart that there was nothing I could do. I wanted to wrap her up in her favorite Sherpa blanket and hold her close, letting her slip away into whatever fantasy she needed to, so this all seemed like a distant memory.
Zoey nodded, turning away and grabbing the walkie from her waist, and lifting it to her mouth. Aaron disappeared around the corner, presumably to check that Stu was actually dead.
My shirt was still fisted in her shaking hands, my arms wrapping around her shoulders again. "I love you so much. So much."
She exhaled, her body relaxing a little, "I love you, too. Thank you for– thank you for coming after me."
I closed my eyes, my chin resting against the top of her head. "Always, Pip."
***
The rest of the night passed in a blur, and the four of us were finally able to relax just a little.
Stu and the threat that he carried were gone.
None of us felt like we needed to be looking over our shoulders or constantly on high alert, but the adrenaline from the night was still pumping by the time we made it back to Dom and Cami's house around six in the morning.
Zoey had insisted that Sloane go to the ER and get checked out by a doctor, and make follow-up appointments for her head and to see a therapist. I wholeheartedly agreed, knowing that just talking to her friends and family wouldn’t be enough to get her through this.
Her clothes and mine were confiscated as evidence, leaving the two of us in a pair of cheap scrubs and itching for a comfortable pair of sweats.
The sun had started to rise when we pulled into the driveway, all four of us dead on our feet. I stood on the pavement and watched my two friends enter their home, Dom's arm wrapped tightly around Cami's shoulder, pressing a kiss to her temple.
I felt Sloane stop beside me, her hand resting on my back. "You okay?"
I nodded, turning and pulling her against my body. "Are you okay?"
She shrugged. "I'm as okay as I can be, I think." Her voice was hoarse and weak. I needed to stop asking her questions; she was in so much pain.
My lips lowered to the top of her head, taking a moment to hold her before going inside.
She sighed, her body melting into me. "We have to move."
"I know," I responded, my eyes shifting back to the house.
This is what I wanted with her. The house, the marriage, the life, the love. Everything that I saw and felt when we were here at Cami and Dom's, or at my parents' house, or Sloane's, I wanted it with her.
We might've only been dating for a few months, but I have known for a lifetime that Sloane was the only person for me.
I pulled away, dipping my chin and meeting her eye line.
"I love you, more than anything, Sloane.
When I got that call from Marvin, I couldn't–" I paused, clearing my throat, "I have never felt so goddamn empty and hopeless in my entire life.
You are my everything. My everything. Even when you don't want me to, I will always come after you.
It took us far too long to realize what was right in front of us.
I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of wasting time. "
My heart pounded in my chest as I swallowed, "I’m going to `spend the rest of my life annoying the shit out of you and calling you Pipsqueak even when we're 92.
I don't have a ring, and I'm not on my knees, but I promise to spend the rest of my life being the man you deserve.
Someone who loves you and cherishes you, even when you forget to eat all day and take it out on everyone, including the dog. "
She chuckled, sniffling as her eyes filled with what I hoped were happy tears.
"I know–"
"Rhys," she cut me off, her arms snaking around my neck. “I love you. Your chainsaw snoring, the way you pretend you’re not crying when we watch sad movies. Even your damn dog.” She rolled her eyes, and my shoulders relaxed marginally. “I can't tell if we're crazy for this or not."
"Are you– Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"Yeah," she laughed, "I am. Yes, I want all of that with you. Of course, I do.” Her words spread through my body, warm and comforting, the tension melting off my shoulders.
I laughed, lowering my lips to hers. She smiled against my mouth, and despite the past forty-eight hours, I was on top of the world. She was safe and in my arms, promising me a lifetime.
I pulled away, leveling her with an intense stare, "Now that we're here and out of the hospital, and you're agreeing to be my wife, if you ever put yourself in harm's way like that again, I swear to god, Sloane, I will bend you over my fucking knee.”
She smiled sheepishly, her cheeks flushing my favorite shade of pink. "I’m looking forward to it."