I nod against his chest, feeling my first bit of relief. “Thank you.”
“You know I love you, right? No matter what ridiculous things are running through your head. Had you not come here, I never would have met you and that’s the fucking best thing to ever happen to me.”
I pull back just a bit and raise my chin. “You mean that?”
“So fucking much.”
I push up to my tippy-toes, allowing my lips to brush over his. I revel in the feel of his kiss and the way it makes my soul ease, momentarily helping me forget the horrors of the past three years.
When I tuck my head back into his chest, he holds me tighter and we stand there in each other’s arms until I hear feet on the pavement rushing toward us.
Looking around Slade’s arm, I find a familiar shadow and have only the slightest warning before Shay crashes into us. She grabs me and pulls me in hard. “Oh, honey,” she cries. “How’s he doing? Have you heard any updates from the doctor? How bad is it? Which leg?”
I shake my head. “No updates yet.”
The heaviness of the situation has her eyes dropping to the ground and I take her hands, giving them a squeeze. “Come on, we’ll wait inside and I can tell you everything I know.”
Shay nods and allows me to lead her in while Slade trails behind. We take our seats and over the space of the next ten minutes, I go over every tiny detail I’ve been able to work out. I point out every bruise that was on his face, every drop of blood, every time he would cringe in pain.
She asks questions and I do my best to answer them but truth be told, there’s still too much I don’t know. Slade does what he can, filling in the details of the things I was too overwhelmed to even notice and by the time two cops walk through the door, Shay is more than fired up.
The cops walk to the registration desk and the second Shay hears the name ‘Blake Daniels’ muttered by the nurse, she’s up on her feet. “Hey,” she demands, gaining their attention.
Their hands fly to their hips as she storms toward them, trying to evaluate if this is a concerned parent or a crazy woman with bad intentions who needs a good tasing.
“Ma’am,” the bigger of the two cautions. “You need to stop there.”
“Are you here about my nephew?”
“Nephew?”
“Blake,” she says. “The kid who got hurt because you guys couldn’t do your job.”
Oh, shit.
Slade and I fly to our feet and rush to Shay’s side, ready to pull her back if need be, but it seems she’s more than ready to have her say. Nothing and nobody is going to hold her back from this.
“Excuse me?” the other cop questions, not too pleased to be accused of not doing his job properly. “We only just heard about this situation. We’re here to take statements and gain an understanding of what happened tonight.”
“Oh, I’ll give you an understanding,” she seethes, stepping closer and making them both flinch. “Ever heard of the name Lucien Valentine?”
Both their brows shoot up.
“I know you have,” she continues. “You learned about it when my niece and nephew first came here and told you that they had been kidnapped by the man for thirteen years. You all sat on your asses and did nothing. You then heard the name again when my niece walked into your precinct with Daniella Cruz and made statements about how that man raped and abused them. We demanded results but guess what? It’s been nearly two months and still not even an arrest, not even a hint of action.”
“Ma’am, we are doing our best…the case is-”
“YOUR BEST?” she shrieks, cutting the cop off. “Your best means nothing if my kids aren’t safe. Three weeks ago Lucien rammed these two off a fucking bridge and shot my niece. She drowned that night. She was in hospital for a week. She’s still recovering and screaming every night when she closes her eyes. Where’s an arrest for that? Where’s the jail time for attempted murder? You’re letting this man get away with his crimes and now my nephew is back there with who knows what kind of injuries after being left in a ditch to die.”
“Ma’am.”
“Call me ma’am one more fucking time and see what happens.”
“This case is complicated,” the larger one explains, desperately trying to calm the situation as the onlookers seem to lean in, too curious to mind their own damn business. “Believe me, we are doing everything we can to finish this.”
“It’s not enough,” Shay demands. “What’s it going to take? Do I need to have two dead bodies sitting on my doorstep before you find the balls to make it happen? Because that’s where this is heading. Skylah did die that night and it was by sheer luck that the EMT was able to revive her, and now this? If Blake didn’t have his phone on him, he’d still be down there. My children are not safe here. You’re failing them. I’m failing them.”