Rory wakes up in her mother’s arms, and Keira coos to her. I’m so fucking glad she’s safe.
Then I begin the cycle of my prayers again.
God, please don’t take Magnolia away from me. She deserves to live. She’s a fighter. She deserves another chance. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.
As I make another bargain with God, one of the doctors finally comes into the room.
I’m on my feet in half a second. “Please. Tell me she’s okay.”
He removes the mask from his face. “We had a really tough decision, but—”
I rush forward. “Tell me she’s okay.”
The doctor takes a breath and nods. “She’s made it this far, and she’s by no means out of the woods yet, but we’re very hopeful. Especially, as I was going to say, because we decided not to remove the kidney.”
“What?” I blink and look at him. “But she got fucking stabbed.”
He scratches the side of his head and stretches his neck. “Yes, and research at the top hospitals has shown the incredible power of the kidney to heal, and that the patient is better off with it, even in its damaged state, rather than removing it. She’ll need lots of rest and care, because her injuries are extensive. But, as I said, we’re very hopeful she’ll pull through.”
Mount rises and comes to stand beside me. “You already know this, but spare no expense. Whatever it takes, do it.”
My jaw trembles with gratitude for the man I was willing to kill only hours before.
“Thank you,” I whisper as I turn to look at him. “Thank. You.”
Mount’s eyes are black as sin as they meet mine. “No one else is dying today. Not on my fucking watch.”
Forty-Nine
Magnolia
I’ve been swimming through a fog for what seems like forever when I finally manage to surface and open my eyes. Blinking a few times, I take in the dim light of the room as I try to make out anything familiar. It takes a few more seconds for my vision to clear, and I lock onto the only thing that matters.
Moses.
He’s asleep in a chair beside the bed, but in the most awkward position imaginable—leaning forward so he’s resting a hand on my leg and using his other elbow to prop himself up.
A rush of gratitude fills me as I stare at that hand. Thank God. He’s here.
I blink faster as emotion fills my tired eyes.
We’re both alive. Together.
I don’t know what shape I’m in, and frankly, as long as I’m not dead, it doesn’t really matter. Because we made it.
I shift under the soft white sheets, and Moses sits up immediately, like he’s attuned to my every move.
“Mama?” The word comes out sleep-roughened and husky as his eyes come into focus on my face.
“It’s all over,” I say, even though I’m stating the obvious.
The smile that stretches across Moses’s face brightens the room and overfills my heart with joy. “It sure as hell is. How’re you feeling?”
I lift my arm, but Moses’s hand on my leg lightly squeezes.
“Don’t move too much. You’re gonna be pretty sore, even with the meds they’ve got you on.”
Memories of the pain come flooding back with random scattered fragments of what happened. Reyes stabbing me. The van crashing. Being tossed around like a rag doll. Rory.
“Oh God. Rory. Did Keira get her? Is she—”
“She’s perfect. Totally and completely fine. Reyes didn’t hurt her. She’s laughing and smiling like nothing ever happened. Rory won’t remember a thing.”
Tension drains out of me as I drop my head back onto the pillow. “Thank you, God,” I whisper.
But Moses isn’t done. “But you . . . Jesus. You took years off my life when he grabbed you. I couldn’t stop him. I knew you were hurt, and I couldn’t get to you fast enough.” His smile is completely gone now as the haunting memories take him away from me.
I reach out, grab his strong hand, and give it a hard squeeze. “Hey, I’m still here, and I love you so much. I promise I’m not trading myself for anyone else’s kid. We made it, Moby. It’s okay.”
He chuckles at the bit about someone else’s kid, but his hand flips and he threads his fingers through mine. He meets my gaze with those green-gold eyes of his I love so much.
“God, I fucking love you too. More than you know. This all put things in perspective, that’s for damn sure. So I’m gonna tell you what I’ve been thinking about since the moment it all went down, especially while I’ve been sitting by your bed, waiting for you to wake up and give me hell.”
“Okay,” I reply, wondering what he’s working up to.
Moses leans down and presses a kiss to our joined hands before meeting my gaze once more. “I want my ring on your finger. Fast. As soon as we can. I want to belong to you for as many days as there are left in my life.”
“Moses . . .” I whisper his name, my heart bursting with joy.
He leans closer. “And I want you to belong to me. I need you to know, without a shadow of a doubt, you are loved beyond anything. I want you to look down at that ring every fucking day and be reminded of it.”
Tears gather in my eyes, and I don’t even care that I’ve cried more since he came back in my life than in the past two decades combined. I open my mouth to reply, but he keeps going.
“You were fucking noble about this whole kidnapping thing. I understand why. I would’ve done the same. But I also don’t like you thinking your life is somehow worth less because of who you are and what you’ve done. Because nothing could be further from the truth. You are worth everything, Magnolia. And I’m not gonna stop until you realize exactly how fucking much you’re worth. You’re fucking priceless. Don’t you ever take chances like that again with your life. Fucking never. I can’t take it, and I’m not having it.” His voice is rough and strained by the time he finishes.
“Yes, sir,” I say as the tears tip over and slide down my face.
Moses is out of his chair at the first drop, catching it with his thumbs. “God, I love when you call me that, but no more crying, mama. Not today. Today is a good fucking day because we’ve got the rest of our lives ahead of us. We’re free, and Reyes is fucking dead.”
The news about Reyes stops the tears faster than anything else could. “He is? He’s . . . gone?”
“Forever. Which means all those plans I’ve got for you are about to unfold. I hope you’re ready.”
“Do I get a say in those plans?”
Moses leans down to press a kiss to my forehead. “The cops want to question you, and so does the FBI. They think they’re gonna pin all three murders on you.”
My mouth drops open. “What? All three?”
“Hey, hush. It’s okay. They’re not getting to you. Mount’s lawyer has them so twisted up in paperwork right now, it’ll take some time for them to wade through it.”
“But all three?” I whisper.
“Yeah. Reyes’s brother, Desiree, and Brandon’s wife.”
“But I didn’t—”