“Boxer was losing his shit over what happened to you. I nagged him into confiding in me. Colt doesn’t even know that I know.”
I paused, digesting her words. “So you wanted revenge,” I repeated. “Did you get it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it didn’t happen that way for me.”
“Do you regret the outcome?”
“Every damn day,” she admitted quietly. “But I’ve learned to live with it.”
“How?”
“I didn’t have a choice.” She bit her lip, her brow furrowed in thought. “Boxer told me what you asked the club.”
“Are you going to try and talk me out of it?”
She shook her head. “No. I was going to tell you to look that fucker in the eye when you end him.”
My gaze widened.
“Boxer loves you, but you already know that. You wanting to carry this out…well, it proves to him you’re Old Lady material, through and through.”
“Should I feel guilty? About wanting to kill a man? Being what I am—a doctor who’s supposed to save lives?”
“Eye for an eye or turn the other cheek,” she said. “But if you ride with the Blue Angels, you know which one to choose. So no, Linden. Don’t feel guilty. Don’t feel guilty at all. And when you kill Dante, it won’t just be your revenge, but revenge for all his victims.”
A weight lifted off my heart. “Thanks, Mia.”
She smiled softly. “Grab yourself a cup of coffee. You’re dragging.”
I did as she suggested and then went to check in on South Paw who hadn’t left the hospital. He wouldn’t until he was driving us back to the cabins to wait for the Blue Angels to wrap up their business in Mexico.
My heart ached to hold Boxer, to touch him, to ensure he was alive. I missed his teasing presence, his masculine assurance that he would give me the moon if I asked for it. And then my mind began to turn over so many things.
Could a man be both a storm and a lighthouse? A danger and a safe haven?
Seeing Mia cradling her newborn daughter had changed me. It was the first birth I’d witnessed that was personal. Mia hadn’t been a patient. She was a friend, and she’d brought new life into this world.
I wanted that, I realized. I wanted a family. I wanted it all. The happiness, the devastation, the milestones, the ups and downs, and everything in between.
Something inside of me settled, a clarity that I’d been sorely lacking.
If I could never practice medicine again, a piece of me would die. But I’d find a way to be reborn. I’d find a way to give back, to contribute, to love something enough that would light up my soul and make life worth living again.
For the first time since being kidnapped, I felt hope.
Two days later, Mia and the baby were discharged from the hospital. Mia sat in the back seat next to Scarlett, who’d been strapped into a carrier that South Paw had run out to buy. And when we returned to the cabins, it was to tears and cheers. The kids clambered around Mia, wanting to get a peek at the new baby.
Darcy unscrewed a bottle of water and handed it to Mia. “Linden? Do you want a beer?”
“I’m good. I just want a shower.” I wrinkled my nose.
“I’ll wrap your hand,” Rachel offered.
After I showered, I towel dried my hair, marveling at how little I had to do with it. Though I liked what Darcy had done, I couldn’t wait to grow it out again. For me, long hair symbolized luxury. Decadence. Feminine beauty.