“I’m not going to let him go anywhere until he’s completely healed,” I told her.
Joe took the medication she gave him, and she promised to stop by the house to check on him the next day.
“I know we need to talk,” Joe said as I helped him back to the car, “but I’m so tired, and I can’t think.”
“There’s no reason for you to think. All you need to do right now is rest and get better.”
When we got to my house, I carried Joe to my room and helped him clean up as much as I could without putting him in the shower.
“I won’t leave the house,” I told him, “but I need to talk to my family as soon as they get here. I’m going to leave your phone on the nightstand.”
He frowned. “I don’t have it.”
“I found it on the floor at your house. I saved it for you.”
“Thank you,” his words were slurred, and I could tell he was mostly asleep.
“If you need anything—anything at all—you call or text me. I’ll be back to check on you in a little while, okay?”
He was sound asleep before I left the room.
32
Joe
When I woke, terror struck immediately. Then I realized I was lying on a soft mattress with blankets over me. I was no longer a prisoner. As the events of the night came back to me, I realized there was a warm presence at my back. I had to turn over very slowly. My wrist throbbed, and my head ached, but I was alive and here with Devil. He’d even told his family about us. I didn’t know exactly what that meant for our future, but at least we were together now.
When I turned to face him, he was watching me. “Are you okay? Do you need something?”
My mouth was dry. “Some water.”
He slipped from the bed, entered the adjacent bathroom, and came back with a glass of water for me. When I sat up, I had to close my eyes for a moment as the room spun. “What time is it?” I asked after taking a few sips of water.
“It’s close to seven,” Devil said.
“Shit. Does anyone at the precinct know what happened?”
“We’re taking care of it. Don’t worry. As far as they know, you were in a car accident and sustained a concussion and torn ligaments in your wrist. You’re on medical leave.”
“But how… without any documentation?”
“Do you remember the doctor who took care of you last night?”
Vaguely. “Yes, but—”
“She sent all the documentation. She’s a real doctor. You did know that, right?”
“I… I wasn’t thinking clearly last night.”
“It’s okay. How are you feeling now?”
Devil’s voice was soft and gentle, and I’d never seen him so tentative. “I will be fine. I really thought I was going to die.”
Devil pulled me to him and held me tight. “I wouldn’t let that happen.”
I knew realistically he couldn’t promise that, but I felt safe with him. Safer than I ever did on my own.
“Tell me what happened last night. How did you find me?”
“Drink more water first.” I took several sips from the glass, still taking it slow even though I wanted to down it all.
Devil helped me settle against him, then he started to talk. “I finally realized I was being an idiot. My family might not like that I’ve fallen for a cop, but they won’t push me away because they love me, like I love you.”
His words made my eyes sting. I’d cried last night when he’d rescued me. I remembered that clearly. I didn’t want to cry again, but my emotions were right at the surface after everything that happened.
“An associate of mine, the one who was in your house with me the first time I broke in—”
“I remember him.”
“He told me he’d heard a rumor Swain was after you.” Devil explained how he’d gone to my house, realized I’d been captured, and decided he needed help from his family and a man who owed him a favor.
“Was that man there last night?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not going to tell me about him, are you?”
“I’m trying not to compromise you anymore than I already have. If we’re going to make this work…”
“The man helped you save me. He can’t be all bad.”
Devil sighed. “He works for an organization that steps in when people need help and can’t go to the police. He’s a sniper and a damn fine one.”
I remembered hearing glass shatter the night before and seeing Swain’s body lying on the floor, blood pooling under his head. “Is he the one who killed Swain?”
“Yes.”
“Who else was there last night?”
“Lucien, Angelo, and several of our other allies.”
The mafia family I’d been investigating had risked themselves to rescue me. They could’ve left me there and never heard from me again. “Your family really is special, aren’t they?”