He turns to face me, startled when I notice his unshaven state. He looks exhausted but still somehow manages to be as sexy as hell. It makes me want to reach out and touch his perfection.
“Thank fuck you’re awake. I started to think you never would.” He then scrambles up and runs to the door. Opening it, he frantically screams and gestures at someone to come in. A lovely nurse with shiny brown hair steps in and starts to take my vitals.
“I’m Betty. How are you feeling this morning?”
I try to shake my head, and I point to my throat. “It feels sore,” I manage to whisper.
“It will for a while. That’s normal. You had a lot of people scared, but you pulled through. You’re a fighter, Miss Sinclair. We’ll have you up and running around the ward in no time.”
I try to smile, but that also hurts like hell. “Water,” I whisper.
Betty pats my shoulder. “Try not to talk too much. You need your rest.”
She pours me a glass and brings the cup to my mouth. I attempt to sip. The pain is evident in my face once I swallow. I motion to the nurse that I want a pen and paper. She nods and walks out the door.
Jake sinks down onto the chair next to me and grabs my hand. “I was so scared when I realized you were gone. I don’t know what I would have done if we hadn’t found you when we did.”
The nurse comes back in, and I free my hand to grab the pen, eager to write down the words I have been longing to tell him.
I Love you, Jake ‘Caveman’ Bennett.
I turn the paper over so Jake can see. He smiles and starts stroking my cheek. “I love you too, Ana ‘Insubordinate’ Sinclair.”
A tear falls down my cheek, and the nurse looks at us with glassy-eyed endearment. “I’m going to leave you two alone for a few minutes. I will let the doctor know that you’re awake, but I think I can safely say that you’re well on the road to recovery.”
Jake thanks her and she leaves. I grab my pen and start writing.
What happened? How did you find me?
Jake lets out a deep breath and looks at my watch. Picking my hand up, he starts playing with it. “This watch is what saved your life. I know you’re going to be angry with me. The watch does mean more. I swear. I just didn’t want you to know something about it.”
He closes his eyes briefly like he’s trying hard to think about what he should say next. “I bought the watch for you that Sunday when I saw that poor woman and what that bastard Tony had done to her.”
Tony! I suddenly wonder where he is and what’s happened to him.
“I took the watch into work, and I had a tracking device installed. I’m sorry I did that because it was dishonest, and I don’t want you to think I care any less about you. But to be honest, I’m also not sorry at all. That tracking device is what enabled us to find you when we did. Otherwise, I don’t dare to think about how long it would have taken us. Anyway, when I realized that the call to the FBI was a false alarm, I went fucking crazy. I tried to call you a bunch of times, but, of course, you didn’t answer, and then I called the house, but Matthew told me he saw you leave with Tony. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right. I gathered a team together, and we tracked you to Chesterfield. We got to the house, and we knew you were very close. We had a quick sweep and then made our way into the forest. We saw the little house up ahead and decided to check in there. When we got to that bedroom, and I saw him and what he was doing—” He suddenly stops himself as anger obviously starts to consume him. I see his body become rigid, and I stroke his hair, trying to soothe him. He smiles and relaxes a little.
“We shouted at him to move, but he was fixated on you. He was like a wild animal. I’ve never seen that side of Tony before. I was so frightened I was going to lose you. I took a shot at him, and it got him in the neck. He ran towards me—ready to attack—but I managed to get another shot off, and that one landed in his chest. He’s gone now, Ana. You will never have to worry about him again. It’s all over now. You’re safe.”
You’re safe.
Those two little words mean so much.
I lift my hand to stroke his cheek, and he presses his face into it. I feel like I should be angry about the watch, but how can I be when it saved my life? I could read too much into it and believe he didn’t buy it for me out of love. I could assume he only bought it to keep tabs on me. But he has declared his love through his actions, and that is all I really need from him. I don’t need a watch to know he loves me. I just need him.
My Jake.
My everything.
I grab the pen again, remembering poor Joe.
What happened to Joe?
He smiles at the paper. “He’s fine. When Tony arrived at the house, he told him there had been an intruder and that he wanted to look around outside. Joe said he thought that was strange since he hadn’t heard anything on the radio. Tony told him that you’d managed to phone him to let him know. Joe believed him and followed the asshole to the side of the house. Once there, Tony distracted him and then hit him on the back of his head. Joe was found by the side of the house. He was still unconscious, but fine.
It’s funny really. Tony murdered all those women, but he couldn’t bring himself to kill one of his own. I wonder if he drew a line there, or if he just did it that way to get to you more quickly. No one will ever know now. He’s gone for good, and I’m glad. I killed him, and I’d do it again if it meant keeping you safe.”
I smile weakly, feeling uncharacteristically tired already, but a more urgent need starts to take over. I take the pen and begin writing on the paper.
I want to use the bathroom.
Jake smiles with a nod and gets up. “Let me get the nurse because I think you have a catheter fitted. You’ve been here for three days.”
Three fucking days? Jeez! What have I missed since then?
The doctor soon walks through the door with Betty. The doctor—who is in his sixties, is very tall, and has glasses hanging down towards his nose—spies me trying to get up. He seems to have guessed my intentions as he stops me from moving by saying, “You can’t do that on your own just yet. We need to take the catheter out first, okay?” I nod and relax back down on the bed. “My name is Dr. Robinson. You’ve been through a lot during the last few days, but your vital signs are getting stronger by the minute. You’re one hell of a fighter.” He offers a soft smile before turning to Jake. “Now Mr. Bennett, if you wouldn’t mind waiting outside a minute, so we can give Ana a quick once-over.” Jake looks reluctant, but he does as he’s told.
The doctor checks my chest and my eyes. They’d noticed my ankle was a bit swollen when I came in, so they x-rayed it and tell me that it’s fine; I’ve just had a very bad sprain. He checks my bruises and asks me about the cuts, which I explain. He then has me wriggle my toes, while he checks to see if they are reacting the way that they should. Luckily, everything’s okay. At that point, he’s finally satisfied that the catheter can be taken out. I will finally be able to get up to use the restroom whenever I wish without any assistance. I am certainly not about to allow a tube to act for me while I’m conscious enough to do these kinds of things the way nature intended. Intellectually, I know this feeling is only in my head and is not an actual need. With that in mind, I try to be patient as Dr. Robinson removes the catheter, which is a little uncomfortable but a tremendous relief in the end. The nurse then helps me up and moves me to the edge of the bed.