Page 73 of Stolen Dreams

“Can I see her?”she asks, and I look at her.

“Not yet, sweetheart,” I say, wiping her tears away.“As soon as we can, we’ll make it happen.”I stand, looking at her parents, who smile at Lucy.

“You must be the famous Lucy,” Carole says.“She told me all about you and Rosy.”

“That’s my horse,” Lucy says, using the back of her hand to wipe the tears away.“I want to ride horses as good as Lilah.”

“She said you are way better than she was.”Her mother smiles through tears when Lucy gasps.“Let’s go sit and wait for news.”

She takes her hand, but Lucy grabs mine instead.“I’m going to stay with my dad.”

“That’s a good idea,” she agrees, and I look up when the door opens and another gurney comes in, this time followed by two police officers.Pops and Casey following them.

“Let’s wait over there.”I point at the waiting room in the corner.Patrick sees my face and then looks at the gurney.His hands ball into fists beside him as I walk into the waiting room, and Lucy goes to sit down next to Carole.

“You did that?”he asks when he walks into the room, pointing over his shoulder.

“Yeah,” I say, folding my arms over my chest.

“Welcome to the family,” he declares, slapping my shoulder and going to sit by his wife.

Charlie comes into the room with Brock and Pops.“All good?”I ask them, and Brock tries to hide his smirk.

“He’s alive, so I would say we are all good,” Charlie reports.

“From what they found,” Pops starts, “and what we found, he’ll be going away for a long, long time.”

I look over when the nurse who stopped me from going to her steps into the room.She looks at me.“She’s going to surgery now.”I nod.“She was stabbed in the right side next to her hip and in the back.”

“Lock it down,” Brock advises when I start to growl.

“I’ll come and get you when she’s out.”She nods at me and walks out, leaving me trying to lock it down and not go in there and kill the man who put his hands on her.The man who took her from me because I was too stupid to admit how much I loved her.Knowing that from this moment on, for the rest of my life, I’m going to show her every single day how much she is loved.I just hope it’s not too late.I hope she can forgive me.If she doesn’t, that will be my penance and I’ll live with it, without her, and it’ll be the greatest regret of my life.

ChapterForty-One

LILAH

Ihear the sounds of beeping coming louder and louder toward me.I take a deep inhale as I try to open my eyes, but nothing happens.I move my head from one side to the other to make sure I don’t get sucked back into the darkness.

I focus on the beeping beside me as I try to open my eyes.I moan when I feel a gentle hand take mine and then softly kiss it.“You’re safe.”I hear his voice, but I’m not sure if I’m dreaming it or if it’s real.“I’ve got you, baby.”I feel more kisses on my hand.“I’ve got you.”I feel pressure now on the hand he is holding.

My eyes flutter open, and I take in the dark room with soft light coming from the almost closed door.The sound of the beep is steady, the white walls look sterile, and when I turn my head and look at my hand, I see his head bent, and my hand pushes against his forehead.“Emmett,” I croak before I lick my lips.His head looks up, and I can see the worry all over his face.

“Baby.”His voice cracks, and he brings my hand to his mouth as the tears run down his face.“Baby.”I can barely hear his voice.

“Water,” I mumble as my eyes want to close as I try to keep them open.I lift my hand to touch my face, feeling if it’s still sore to the touch like it was for the last little bit.He lets go of my hand and walks out of the room.I look down at my arm, seeing I’m hooked up to an IV drip.The beeping is from the machine monitoring my heart.The burning in my side is a throbbing pain.Turning my head to the side, I rest my eyes when I hear boots coming closer to me.I open my eyes to see him walking back to me, holding a clear cup in his hand with a straw.I notice he’s changed his clothes since yesterday, even if I only saw him for a split second.

“It’s ice water.”His voice is soft and almost in a whisper.“You need to take small sips so you don’t make yourself sick.”

I nod as he holds the straw to my lips, and I take a sip.The coldness hits my tongue right away.I take two sips before I stop.“Thank you,” I say, and he puts the cup on the hospital table.

“How are you feeling?”he asks, his other hand coming out to sit on top of my head.

“Like I got hit by a train and left for dead,” I try to joke, but the minute I say the words, I see his face go white.“But I’m alive, so I guess I should be grateful.There is a throbbing pain?—”

I tell him the truth and slowly touch where the pain is coming from my side.“Feels like every single time my heart beats, it pulses there.”

“You were stabbed,” he says, shocking me.“Twice.”

---