Chapter 35
Legend
I’m a fan of law enforcement. I always have been, but today I want to strangle the man leading the raid on the dilapidated barn that is giving off two heat signatures.
The problem with helicopters is that you can’t really land quietly, and since Cerberus didn’t want to alert the person in the building, the information had to be called in, the teams on the ground directed to the location.
Colton is here, but he isn’t running the show. This location is out of his jurisdiction.
The sheriff’s department is running the show right now.
Several pairs of arms hold me back when gunfire follows after the police enter the building, and it isn’t until Susan Felding is led out in handcuffs that I’m released.
I know things would’ve gone much differently had I been one of the first ones through the door. The dirty woman being placed in the back of the sheriff’s car would have been carried out in a body bag, that’s for sure.
I ignore the burn in my lungs as I run across the field and into the dilapidated building, finding Colton trying to lift Faith off the floor. The legs on the chair prevent him from doing it quickly, and I’m at his side to help a second later.
“Baby,” I hiss as I pull the jacket away that’s wrapped around her head.
Her eyes are squeezed tight, tearstains marking her cheeks.
“Someone turn off the fucking light!” I roar as I try to work off the gag tied around her mouth.
Colton hands me a knife, and I cut it away quickly, wincing when she does the same. The knife I used clatters to the floor. She still hasn’t opened her eyes even though the blinding light has been turned in a different direction. The hum of the generator powering the thing echoes around us, making my skin tingle with unspent energy.
“Her hands,” Colton says, but I can’t pull my own hands from her face as I check her over for injuries.
Colton picks up the knife, realizing it’s impossible for me to pull away from her long enough to do it myself.
When she’s cut free, she doesn’t reach for me, her arms falling to her sides as if they weigh a million pounds.
“Faith,” I whisper. “You’re safe. Baby. Talk to me.”
A gut-wrenching sob escapes her lips, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
I feel completely alive for the first time in the nine hours since we discovered her car in that parking lot when her eyes open.
“Fuck. There you are, beautiful. Tell me what hurts.”
“E-everything,” she whispers.
I pull her to my chest when she attempts to raise her arms, and although she can’t manage to wrap them around me, I don’t miss how her fingers tangle in my shirt.
I whisper things I don’t understand as I hold her. I tell her that she’s mine and remind her that I’m here to protect her. I let her know that everyone was worried about her. I promise that everything is going to be fine.
“We need to get her to the hospital,” Colton says, his hand on my back to get my attention.
She doesn’t argue this time like she did that night at the bar, and that makes me even more concerned for her health. I hate the whimper that escapes her throat when I lift her and carry her out of the barn, but she doesn’t let go of me. The ride to the hospital is spent in the back of the ambulance with her in my lap, the medic working around our embrace to get her vitals and start an IV.
I don’t even look at the gurney when someone rolls it up once we arrive at the hospital. No one questions me. No one steps up and demands that I put her down. Later, I’ll have to thank them for not forcing my hand, but right now as we wait in one of the trauma bays, I can’t worry about how my behavior was received.
She’s the only thing that matters. She’s the only person I can concentrate on, and it’ll stay that way until she’s a hundred percent again.
“Ms. Robbins,” the doctor says as he steps inside the closed curtain. “I’m Doctor Weinstein. I’m here for your evaluation.”
“A doctor? N-not a nurse?”
The doctor looks from Faith to me. “It was suggested that contact with multiple members of the staff be kept to a minimum.”
I nod, grateful that Kincaid or some other member of Cerberus is thinking about things that will concern her later. Having her name brought up on the Farmington Whistleblower page recently has been causing her concern.
“Can your friend step out for me?”
The doctor knows my answer. This is why he’s asking her.
I look to Faith and her head shakes, giving the man the answer I needed.
“You’re sure?”
“I want him here,” she says, her voice soft and weak.