I close my eyes and start telling her ideas for the wedding, really hoping that I’m not setting myself up for disaster here as I allow a flicker of hope to light inside my chest.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Alison
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The constant rhythmic beeping cuts through the fog, fading in and out as I try to fight through the feeling of something weighing down my body. Sucking in a breath, I try to open my eyes but nothing happens, and I want to cry. Why the hell can’t I open my eyes? What’s happening to me?
“How’s she doing today?” a voice asks, and it takes me a moment to realize that it’s Carly.
“Same,” Logan responds, his voice gravelly and tired. He runs his thumb across the back of my hand, and warmth washes over me. I’d know his touch anywhere.
“Have the doctors said anything?” another voice asks, and I smile. Izzy.
“They’ve said the same shit for three days. She’ll wake up when she’s ready.”
Three days?
Have I really been out for three days?
“She lost a lot of blood, Logan. She needs rest,” Carly says, and he growls.
“Well, I need her.”
“And she needs you so she will wake up. I know it.”
“We’ve got to get to work but we’ll stop by again tonight, okay?” Izzy adds in, and Logan makes a sound of approval. Someone squeezes my foot, and then the door to the room opens and closes.
“Kitten,” he whispers, and I try to reach for him but my arms don’t work. “You can’t leave me. I need you, Baby. Every day for the rest of forever, I need you by my side so you can’t go leaving me yet.”
I want to scream that I never want to leave him but nothing works. I can’t speak, I can’t move. All I can do is listen as he pleads for me not to give up.
Never.
I’ll never give up – not when I have Logan waiting for me.
“I bet we could get married in June if we hurry. It’s so gorgeous out there in the summer. We could put lights in the trees and get married under the stars. Would you like that, Kitten?”
YES!
This is torture. I’m entombed in my own body, my subconscious clawing at my skin, trying to break free so I can let him know that I love him and that I’m not going anywhere.
Come on, Ali.
Fight.
“Baby?” he asks, hope in his voice, and I try to reach for him again. “Can you hear me, Ali? I swear I saw your finger move.”
Yes!
Yes, I’m here.
I try to reach for him again but I can see the darkness creeping in from the edges of my vision, and I know I’m going to lose this battle.
* * * *
Someone is snoring.
That’s my first thought as I slowly drift back into consciousness, nerves hitting me as I remember the last time. Will I be able to open my eyes this time? Or will I be frozen in my own skin again? My eyelids flutter open, and I hiss as I slam them shut again, the bright morning sunlight spilling in the window too much for me.
“Kitten?” his sleepy voice asks, squeezing my hand, and I squeeze back. He shoots up next to me, yanking my arm in the process, and my entire body aches. I moan, and he kisses my hand before releasing it and leaning over me. “Let me see those gorgeous blue eyes, Baby.”
“It’s bright,” I whisper, my voice cracking, and my throat aching.
“Hold on.” He’s gone, and then a few moments later, he’s back. “Try now.”
I slowly open my eyes and look up at him. He beams before leaning down and kissing me with such tenderness that a tear slips down my cheek. “There’s my girl,” he whispers against my lips, and I place my hand on his cheek, my eyes closing again as I just breathe him in.
“I missed you.”
He nods. “You never get to leave me again. It’s a new rule. Like, I won’t even let you take a damn shower by yourself.”
“I like the sound of that.”
He smiles against my lips, and I can just picture that cocky little smirk he flashes me sometimes. “That’s real good, Kitten, ‘cause I wasn’t askin’.”
“Such a charmer,” I mutter, leaning back into my pillow to look up at him. He pulls back slightly but his lips are still hovering over mine. “I suppose I’ll let you get away with it if you marry me under the stars like you promised.”
“You heard me?” he asks, his grin replaced with a boyish smile that melts the stress off his face. I nod.
“I did and I’m so making you do it.”
“Alison James, you should know by now that I’ll give you absolutely anything you want. You only have to ask.”
“Am I interrupting?” someone asks from the doorway, and Logan says yes without even looking at them. I laugh and peek over his shoulder. Detective Rodriguez stands in the doorway, and I wave him in.
“Come on in.”
Rodriguez chuckles and walks into the room, sitting down in the chair on the far side of my bed. “I didn’t realize you had woken up. I was just coming to check in on you.”
“She’s only been awake for a couple of minutes,” Logan tells him, and he nods.
“Let me go grab the doctor, then.” He stands and leaves the room, coming back a few moments later with a gorgeous woman with bright red hair.
“Hi, Ali. I’m Doctor Brandt. How are you feeling?” she asks, shining a light in my eyes and looking me over. Rodriguez leans back against the wall and begins taking notes.
“Tired,” I answer, and she nods.
“The bullet nicked an artery, and you lost nearly your entire blood volume. If it hadn’t been for the towel your fiancé wrapped around your arm, you might not be here with us now.”
I glance up at Logan and smile. “You saved me.”
“Promised you I would,” he answers, pressing his lips to my hand.
“Other than that, you’ll probably be quite sore for a while. We also need to keep bandages on your hands since some of the nails were ripped out.”
“What?” Logan asks, his voice horrified as he looks down at me. “He ripped your nails out?”
I shake my head and bite my lip. “He dragged me down the hallway, and I was just trying to grab on to anything.”
“They look good, and I’m sure they’ll heal up just fine. We want to monitor you for a couple days but once you go home, you’ll still need to get lots of rest. Will you have someone there to take care of you?”
Logan clears his throat and nods. “Don’t worry about that, Doc.”
She nods and offers me a smile, telling me she’ll be back to check on me later before leaving. Logan sits in the chair next to the bed and holds my hand as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Rodriguez steps forward and sits in the chair on the other side of my bed.
“Are you feeling okay to go over a few things?”
I nod.
“Okay, so why don’t you tell me what happened?”
I sigh and begin reliving that night for him, feeling stronger than I expected as I retell it. Rodriguez takes notes, and Logan’s grip tightens on my hand periodically. I’m sure this is hard on him, too.