“God, baby girl,” he rasped, “I fucking missed you, too. You have no goddamn idea how badly I wanted you home again. I’mneverletting you do any stupid shit like that again. Fuckingnever.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m sorry I even talked you into that.”
He just shook his head and tightened his arms around me.
“I’m sorry I let you,” he rasped.
* * *
Miles
I lookedup when the hospital room door opened. Quinn stepped in, pushing Isabelle in her stroller, William on his hip. I quickly stood up and took our little boy from him, leaning down to smell his hair. God, I’d fucking missed him.
“How is she?” Quinn softly asked, looking over at Hayley. She was in a hospital gown, an IV drip in her arm to get her rehydrated. They wanted to keep her for a few nights and make sure she got some food in her system. When they’d tried to feed her something earlier, she had just thrown up.
She was down twenty fucking pounds from the last time she’d seen her doctor almost a month ago. It was fucking alarming. And being starved while she’d been gone hadn’t helped a single fucking bit.
“It’s bad,” I whispered. “Dehydrated. Starved. Down twenty fucking pounds. But she’ll make it. God knows she’s a damn fighter.”
Quinn nodded and leaned over the bed to press a kiss to her forehead. He looked at me. “I’m taking Isabelle home and crashing for a couple of days. Let me know when she’s back home, yeah?”
I nodded. Oh, he’d hear from me alright. Because as soon as Hayley was out of the hospital, I was slaughtering every fucking person who had a hand in her disappearance. The FBI had told me to play by the rules so we could get her back.
Well, now she was back. She was home.
And I was about to become every fucker’s worst goddamn nightmare.
10
Miles
After three days in the hospital, Hayley was finally released with orders to rest, eat, and see her regular doctor in a week. She was to be closely monitored until she was back at the weight she was supposed to be. They’d put her on a medication her doctor hadn’t tried yet, and so far, it seemed to be working. But if she got back to the point she was throwing up all the time again, she had to go right back to the hospital.
Quinn arched a brow at me from the other couch when Hayley disappeared into our room to go to the bathroom. “You look like you’re up to something,” he finally said. “And I’m not sure if I like it.”
I just shrugged at him. He frowned at me. “Miles—”
Hayley came back out into the living room before he could finish what he was saying. I smiled at her and gently tugged her onto my lap, unable to keep my hands off her. I knew what I was planning on doing might get me arrested or even killed, and I wanted to spend as much time as I could with her.
Because I was defying orders, and even worse, I was doing this with no back up.
“You still feeling okay?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Yes, Miles, I’m fine.” She pressed a light kiss to my lips just as William began to make noise from his room. She quickly stood from my lap and walked down the hall to his room. Quinn studied me but didn’t say anything because it was too easy for Hayley to overhear him.
Sighing, he shook his head. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he muttered.
I pretended I didn’t hear him.
* * *
I presseda soft kiss to Hayley’s lips before I stood back up to my full height. I had men guarding the house. I knew she’d call Quinn in the morning when she noticed I was gone. But Ihadto do this.
I’d failed her once. And I was making sure that those same fuckers couldn’t come finish what had been started.
They’d never get their fucking hands on her again.
I dipped into William’s room, running my eyes over his sweet face. Fuck, looking at him was like looking at Damien. It made my heart ache.