Chapter 30 Milton
Milton
Isaw the police lights up ahead on the road, headed in the direction of my house.
Gaining on them quickly, I urged them to step on it, Hazel’s name muffled in my helmet as I screamed.
“Drive faster!” I shouted, voice breaking. “Drive fucking faster!”
Tears ran down my cheeks. I cried out in fear, gripping my handlebars as tight as I could. Turning down Oak Street, five blocks away, I weaved between the two police cars, revving my engine as I passed them. Their sirens faded behind me as I closed the distance between Hazel and me.
I called out for her, tipping my bike on its side in the lawn and sprinting through the front door.
“Hazel!” I choked out, hoping to catch the sound of her footsteps somewhere.
I looked up the empty stairway, then ahead into the kitchen and living room, but there was no sign of her to tell me which way to run.
“Hazel!” I shouted for her regardless, knowing she wouldn’t answer me.
Sweets whined from the kitchen, so I ran there first. He didn’t run to greet me, which was odd. He was sitting at the sliding door, staring outside.
Pushing the curtain aside, I followed where he was looking, and I caught the outline of Hazel in the darkness by the pool, hunched over.
I yanked the door open, hearing the sirens closing in, and ran to her. I barely noticed she was sopping wet or that Devan’s lifeless body was lying in front of her until I wrapped her into my arms and she shoved me away.
The warmth and shine I usually saw in her eyes was cold and dull. She looked at me, scared and pleading as she pushed on Devan’s chest in a steady, weak rhythm.
I couldn’t help but gaze at her efforts in confusion.
She was helping him.
She was helping him.
He’d broken in and attacked her, and now she was trying to save his life.
A hiccup broke loose from her throat, and her lip trembled in a desperate plea.
I sprang forward to replace her hands with mine so she could rest. She didn’t move at first, even fought me a little, until she realized I was trying to help.
I wasn’t sure how long she had been doing chest compressions, but she looked exhausted. I also knew that was from everything that had come before this moment. The fight she must have put up. And that made another wave of fear and anger rise up my throat.
I’d seen the motion detection alert on my phone, but I didn’t check it right away, thinking it was Hazel or Sweets going about their day.
Those five minutes before I finally replayed the video would haunt me for the rest of my life.
I watched Devan walk through the back of the house, calmly, as he searched for her, but then I lost sight of him when he climbed the stairs. There was a brief numbness that came with not knowing what happened next. The video stopped without any other motion to record.
Adrenaline surged through my veins, and I called the police while tearing out of the studio parking lot after her. I tried texting her, telling her to get out of the house. To hide. I’d told her I was coming and that the police were on their way. But she never opened them. Not one.
I kept my eyes on Hazel as she slumped to the side, shaking.
It was unfair to be helping the man who had endlessly hurt her and might have even tried to kill her tonight.
She was alive and awake, but I didn’t know the extent of her injuries.
I needed to make sure she was okay. I needed to hold her in my arms. She was terrified, trembling, and wide-eyed, and I felt helpless, sitting just out of reach of her.
I pushed on Devan’s chest harder, growling in anger that he still wasn’t breathing. I felt the hollow snap of his ribs beneath my hands as I continued my pace, and I screamed, “Come on! Come on, Devan! Wake up! I need you to wake the fuck up!”
As pathetic as it sounded to speak those words into existence, Hazel and I had different reasoning. She needed him to live so she wouldn’t hate herself. I needed him to live so I could go to her.
Goddammit! Where the hell are the police? The paramedics?
Those thoughts echoed in my head right as Hazel’s tearful gaze landed behind me, and I swiveled my head to follow.
Flashlights flickered through the back door as the officers filtered out, shouting questions and warnings with weapons drawn.
I assured them that the only threat was lying in front of me, and they circled the scene, hurrying to Hazel’s side.
Devan suddenly convulsed, choking for breath, right as paramedics knelt beside me to take over.
Hazel watched Devan shift in discomfort, like she was ready to shield herself if she needed to. The man had been unconscious for God knew how long, and she was still scared of what he might do to her.
I stumbled back out of their way as they tended to him. I hadn’t even noticed the gash on his head until they applied pressure to it, the gauze coating in blood.
That’s my brave girl.
Hazel’s eyes, though empty and distant, lifted and found me, tears pooling over onto her cheeks. She reached for me, and I had her cradled in my arms before I took my next breath.
Sobbing uncontrollably, she buried her head in my chest and fisted my shirt like she never wanted to let go.
My throat constricted, and as much as I tried to hold it back, to stay strong for her, I cried too.
“I’m so sorry, Hazel. I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner. I should’ve protected you. I should’ve been here, baby,” I whimpered into her hair. It was more for me right now. I needed to say it before it shattered me in two. Because, fuck, I’d never felt more helpless in my life.
Her eyes were closed; otherwise, I’d tell her how sorry I was as many times over as it took, but I refused to remove her from my arms for anything right now. Not until she asked me.
My back was to where Devan was, blocking Hazel’s view of him as they carted him off on the stretcher, but I still felt her body go slack in my hold as soon as he was gone.
We sat beside the pool for a little while longer. I held an ice pack that the paramedics had given her to her neck and rocked her slowly, until she was ready to give her statement to the police officers waiting inside with Sweets.
I cried all over again, listening to her tell them what had happened while I translated.
How Devan had gotten in.
What he’d said.
When he’d first attacked her.
How she had been able to get away.
I’d never known pain like this—to have someone you loved so deeply being hurt and fearing for their life while being just out of reach.
But Hazel remained calm as she went through every detail of the night. I could tell she was dissociating, but I knew she just needed to get through it. She would feel it later, and I would be there. Always.
Once everyone was gone, I helped her shower and get into some comfortable pajamas. I combed through her hair and tended to her bruised neck, though it fucking killed me.
“I’m so fucking sor—”
She put a hand over my mouth to stop my repetitive plea.
She shifted closer to me on the couch. “You did everything right, baby. There’s nothing more you could’ve done to save me.”
I worked my jaw, dozens of precautions and scenarios running through my thoughts. “More cameras. I’m installing more cameras first thing in the morning,” I promised. “The windows and doors need added security too. How do you feel about a panic room?”
“Absolutely not. That’s too much, Milton.” She shook her head and kissed me on the cheek. “I don’t want to live in a fortress. The only thing I want to be locked in is in your arms.”
Her playful comment pulled me out of my spiral for a moment.
I twisted my lips and smirked. “That was kind of corny.”
She shrugged and scrunched her nose. “What do you mean? There’s no place safer.”
“That’s untrue. Flattering, but untrue.” I chuckled, pulling her in tighter, careful not to cause her any discomfort. “I’d like to be a little more cautious. It’d help ease my mind when I can’t be here with you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. One thing. You get one thing.”
“Perfect. I’m thinking you wear full-body tactical gear at all times.” I shrugged. “Something simple.”
She poked my sides, and I flinched.
“Okay, deal. Only if you stop riding motorcycles.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”
She lifted her mouth up into a pleased grin. “Look, I don’t have any other crazy exes we need to worry about breaking in. Unless you do.” She tilted her head in a teasing way.
I scoffed and smiled. “No, but I have some passionate fans. You never know.”
“Okay, enough of this for tonight. I’m safe. We’re safe. That’s what matters, right?”
I glanced down at her neck and back up, repressing my discomfort and fears because the light in her green eyes was back again. I had been so scared she’d lost it when I found her earlier.
“Right,” I finally agreed, pressing my lips to hers and then one to her forehead. “You know, you have a knack for seeing the good in something really painful. That’s not easy to do, my love.” Emotion got stuck in my throat as I looked at her. “You really are a ray of sunshine.”
Her smile was weak but warm. “I lived a long time in darkness. It’s nice to finally be able to climb out of it and look up. I wouldn’t be able to do that if it wasn’t for you loving me back to life.”