Two ear splitting shots rang out behind me, momentarily stealing my ability to hear. Eden’s blood curdling scream shook me back into action. My arms curled under her body and I pulled her against my chest, sheltering her from the atrocity that was happening in the room. The smell of blood tainted the air and a painful groan and a gurgling sounded from the floor beside the bed where I was sitting with Eden.

“I said don’t fucking move,” Douglas roared behind us. I shifted my gaze. Jeremy lay in a pool of deep red colored blood seeping from his chest and Chris hunched over him with a wound to his head. Neither of them moving. A gun was in Jeremy’s hand and a knife in Chris’.

“Ky,” Eden’s said softly from her hiding place against my chest. Her voice sounded so distant, so foreign, so empty. “Ky, I…I can’t hang on any longer.”

••••

I hated hospitals.

I didn’t know whether it was the overwhelming smell, the promise of pain that hung in the air, or the uncertain balance between life and death.

But right now I wouldn’t be anywhere else.

The nurses had let me stay beside Eden without question. Even if they tried to force me out there was no way in hell I’d leave her.

It had now been twenty-four hours since I had seen the crystal clear blue of her eyes. I prayed every minute that she would open her eyes, squeeze my hand, do anything. But she remained still, looking like an angel against the crisp white sheets of the hospital bed as her hair fanned out beneath her.

Once we arrived at the hospital Eden had been rushed through to be examined by the doctor; that had been the only time I had been away from her. I had paced in front of the closed doors and waited. My parents, Eden’s parents, Ashlyn, and Josh had tried to get me to leave and shower, but I refused. I was not letting Eden out of my sight. Never fucking again.

Douglas had turned up at the hospital two hours after we first arrived. He entered wearing a dark tailored suit, with his gun holstered back on his belt and a deep scowl on his face. I had known him my whole life, and he still intimidated the fuck out of me. To be honest I felt sorry for the people he interrogated.

He sat at the edge of Eden’s bed as she lay sleeping and flicked through her medical information before he informed me of what actually had gone down at the hotel.  Douglas had made the call that Jeremy had the intent to harm his officers attending the scene as well as me and Eden with the knife he had pulled on me and a gun he had concealed in a suitcase hidden under the bed. The moment Jeremy had moved towards us with the gun, Douglas fired his weapon without question. In his words, ‘he saw a direct threat to our lives and he wasn’t taking any chances’.

His final words before he left the room were simple and clear and would be forever burned into my memories. “I did what needed to be done to give you two the life you deserve. A life without fear. It’s the least I could do. Don’t ask questions.”

I slowly attempted to open my eyes but the throbbing in my left eye caused me to groan in sheer agony.  My senses were overcome by the intrusive smell of disinfectant.  My eyes finally pried opened, and I struggled to gain focus. Everything around me was hazy. My brain switched on and went into overdrive. My eye hurt, a metallic taste still lingered on my tongue, and my body felt broken.

Panic reared to frightful life.

Jeremy! Where the fuck was Jeremy?

My body thrashed around in bed, my arms punching and legs kicking in grief stricken fear. I needed to run and get away from him. I couldn’t survive anything else. I had fought long enough, and I was too weak to continue. My husky throat rasped out a desperate scream which seemed to echo around the room. I just needed someone to hear me.

“Somebody get in here!” A familiar soothing voice laced with panic floated from beside me allowing a flash of safety to hit me. “Somebody get the fuck in here.”

Commotion sounded and a thump of footsteps came toward me. A familiar thickness lingered in the air indicating that there were numerous people around me. Fuck! He had a gang of people here. No! I clawed at the hand that grabbed my arm while fingers laced so delicately with mine, too delicate to be the monster. I was confused. What the hell was happening? The sheet lifted from my aching body and instantly I kicked my legs, wanting nothing more than to connect with whoever was taunting me.

I whimpered as a sharp jab hit my bare thigh and my body went into an aided bliss. A soothing calm spread through my veins, a calm like I’ve never felt before. I felt like I was being transported to a world of endless rainbows and beautiful cuddling clouds where everything was in a trippy haze. Oblivion at its best.

“It’s okay baby, I’ve got you.”

That soothing voice again, the last sound I heard before I slipped back into darkness.

••••

I woke to the same overpowering smell of disinfectant, but this time my head felt lighter and though my body still ached, it wasn’t excruciating like before. My eyes crept open, and I took in the room around me. A drip connected to my arm provided me with much needed pain relief that swam through my veins. My fingertips brushed against the gauze on my head and I realized I was in the safety of a hospital room.

My eyes landed to the mattress beside my hip and my heart beat frantically in my chest. Perfect chocolate covered hair greeted my sight and it was then that I realized an arm was lightly lying over my hips.

Ky.

I couldn’t resist touching him. I needed to touch him to make sure this was real. I ran my fingertips through the softness of his hair and sighed as familiarity hit me. Ky stirred, and I felt his head shoot up and my hand fall back on the bed.

I looked at him. A moment of silence passed between us and my stomach knotted. After he took in my injuries, his eyes glistened with tears.

“Hey,” I said hoarsely and offered the best smile I could muster.

“Baby,” he whispered, his voice laced with anxiety. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“You won’t get rid of me that easily.”

“I was so scared,” he choked out. My heart broke as a single tear ran over his cheek and dropped on the white linen sheet. His head dropped back to the mattress, and turned his face toward my body so I could still see his features. I lay there paralyzed with love and as his face fell, quiet sobs came from deep within his chest.

Love.

During the pits of my turmoil at the hands of Jeremy, everything hit me.

I was in love with Ky Crawford.

It was something I never wanted, something I never needed, but now it was the one thing I craved. Ky wanted to give me his complete love; the kind of love that had the ability to erase every painful memory and wrap itself so tightly around my heart that I would never be alone again.  His love was the light I would need in my darkest days. It would be the strength I craved when I was in turmoil. It would be the comfort that I required to overcome my new nightmares of Jeremy.

“Thank you for finding me,” I hushed in a whisper, my fingertip tracing his jaw tenderly.

“I would have searched every inch of the world for you.”

I closed my eyes briefly as the pain medication shot another blast of relief through my bruised body. I needed to know where Jeremy was. All I remember was passing out as craziness erupted around me in the hotel room. I remembered being in Ky’s arms and as soon as I felt safe it was almost like my body realized it could shut down.

“Where is…Jeremy?” I whispered, my stomach churning at the mere mention of their names.

“He's gone baby, he will never hurt you again.” Ky spoke so strongly with so much honestly.

“What?” I choked out breathlessly.