“I know.”
“I hate him more.”
“Me too.”
“All-all I wanted was for him to love me and see-see me.”
Penelope chokes out the last word before falling into a fit of tears.
Silent tears stream down my face in unison with hers, hurting for her and for me. Hurting for the relationship we could have had, if only our father had understood what love was. How different could our lives have been?
“I know…”
The sudden sound of tires screeching and car doors slamming has me gripping the gun tighter. Then comes the distinct sound of a familiar voice yelling “FBI!” before the front door crashes open and Ben’s around the corner, followed by Agent Smith and…
Noah.
At the sight of my husband, I fall to the floor in relief and like always, he’s there catching me before I hit the ground. The gun falls just between my knees. My shoulders hunch over and instantly the adrenaline melts away and I feeleverything.
She’s the first thing I see. The only thing.
I run to her as she starts to falter, and I catch her before she falls. I drop down to my knees with her in my arms, my chest tightening at the sight of her. Pain slashes through me, warring with the pride I have for this damn woman.
My girl.
My wife.
Ria put up a fight.
I gently tip her chin up, and those beautiful eyes brimming with tears meet mine. I grimace, my heart aching for what she must have gone through. Her clothes are tattered and torn from what must have been an intense battle to stay alive. There’s blood everywhere. I gently remove the gun from her lap, tossing it behind me. I’m aching to take her further into my arms but I’m so afraid to hurt her even more.
“Noah––”
She collapses, burying her face on my chest, her shoulders shaking with relief and pain. She repeats my name over and over in hoarse sobs, dragging in air in sharp gasps.
“Shhh…” I rest my cheek on the top of her head, my hand cupping the nape of her neck.
Beside me I can hear Sarah read Penelope her rights as medics check her. Garrett and the other agents are gathering evidence and taking pictures of the crime scene. Ben is standing in the middle of the room, his hand on his forehead as he glances around. He has his phone pressed to his ear and I know he’s calling Mina to update her.
My eyes wander around the room before I shut them, knowing whatever happened in this room will haunt my wife for a long time.
“We’re just goingto grab the equipment we left at the scene then we’ll head to the hospital. Hang in there, Mrs. Thomas.”
I wait for the medic to climb out of the ambulance, returning his smile as he passes me to go back into the crime scene to pack up before turning to my wife laying on the stretcher.
I watch as she discards the wipes she used to clean up her face in the trash. She insisted on cleaning herself up because she didn’t want to scare Adrian with all the blood. Mina is meeting us at the hospital with our son as neither Ria nor I want to miss another moment with him.
“Hi.” She whispers, extending her hand to me.
I take it, pressing a kiss on her knuckles and nuzzling it with my cheek.
“Hey.”
“We have to stop meeting like this.”
I reach over with my other hand, grazing my fingers on her cheek.
“This is the last time, I promise.”