“I heard a gunshot,” she says. “And I thought this was it. I thought he was coming for me next and I was going to die and kept thinking about how much I love you and how this wasn’t enough time and how I do want to have your baby.”
I laugh and pull her back so I can see her face. “Faced with death, you think about a baby?”
“Well, yeah. I might not want one now, but someday, and I thought I was going to be robbed of that experience. What happened?”
I shake my head. “All I know is your mom shot your dad, but I don’t know the details.”
“Wow,” she whispers. “I didn’t know she had it in her.”
“Me either,” I agree, brushing my fingers through her hair. I don’t want to stop looking at her or touching her. It reminds me that she’s here and she’s safe.
“I love you,” I tell her.
“I love you too.” Her eyes fill with tears and she kisses me. Our tears mingle together, but neither of us mind. She’s okay—she’s safe, and that’s all that matters.
Downstairs, I hear Cade and I call to him that we’re up here.
His feet pound loudly on the steps and then he curses when he tries to open the door and can’t.
“Open the door,” he yells.
“Go through my room.”
I can hear him hurry to my door and I see him through the open bathroom doors.
“Is she okay?” he calls, looking us over for any signs of harm.
I nod. “She’s fine.”
Thea lifts her head from my shoulder and looks at her brother. “I’m okay, promise. Just shaken. It all happened so fast, but it felt like forever,” she mumbles.
“Where’s mom?” Cade asks. “Did you check downstairs? Is he still in here?” He suddenly crouches down like he thinks his dad is going to come flying out from somewhere at him.
“Your mom’s downstairs. She’s pretty frightened. She … she shot him. I don’t know anything other than that.”
Cade’s lips part with shock. “She shot him? My scared, meek little mother shot him?”
“Hey, just telling you what I saw.”
Cade shakes his head, baffled. “How’d she even get a gun?”
“Dude, I don’t know. And we need to call the cops.”
“Right.” He nods. “I’ll do that and I’ll check things out with Mom. Was … was he dead?”
I shake my head. “Not while I was there. There was a lot of blood, so that might’ve changed.”
Cade swallows thickly and nods. “I can’t believe this happened,” he whispers.
“Believe it,” I say. “Men like your dad are capable of anything. Breaking into a house and terrorizing people is nothing to someone like him.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He shakes his head again and unlocks her door. His boots pound against the stairs as he runs down.
Thea’s hands are ice cold where they touch my skin and she begins to shake uncontrollably. I’m pretty sure she’s going into shock.
“Thea?” I rub my hands up and down her arms, trying to create some friction. “Are you okay?” She nods woodenly. “You’re scaring me,” I tell her.
“My head,” she mumbles. “My head hurts.”
I pull her back and look into her eyes, finding them dilated more than they were a few moments ago.
Sirens sound in the distance.
“The police are coming and paramedics should be with them. They need to check you out and make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m just happy you’re here,” she whispers, trying to burrow into my arms again. I can see her eyes fighting to fall closed.
I take her and push her slightly. “Thea, I need you to stay alert. Okay?”
“I’m trying, but I’m so tired after everything.”
“I know you are,” I tell her. “But there will be time for sleep later.”
I stand up with her in my arms and carry her out of the room as the amount of voices in the house grows. The cops are definitely here and all I can hope is that Malcolm’s still alive because he deserves to go to jail and be punished in some way for everything he has done to his family. He shouldn’t get to take the easy way out.
A cop stops me when I reach the bottom step. “Is she injured?” he asks.
“She was fine a few minutes ago, but now she’s acting funny and says her head hurts.”
“There’s an ambulance out on the street with a medic. He’ll see her.”
“Thank you.”
I carry her outside and I’m met with several cop cars, two ambulances, a firetruck, and every neighbor on the street.
They all watch the house with looks of shock and horror, as they try to see what I’m doing so they can piece everything together.
Rae comes tumbling out of Cade’s Jeep and running over to me, where I stand in shock, unable to take a step.
“Is she okay?” she asks, panic written all over her face.
“I don’t know. I need to get her to the paramedics.” Suddenly, my feet seem to remember what I’m supposed to be doing and I carry Thea over to one of the ambulances. Rae walks beside me, trying to get a good look at Thea.
“She was fine a few minutes ago, but now she’s saying her head hurts and acting funny,” I tell the paramedic the same thing I told the cop.
He goes into action, quickly taking her from me and laying her on a stretcher. Her eyes are still open, but she only responds to his questions with one word answers.
Rae’s hand touches my arm and I look down at her. “Breathe,” she coaxes. “She’ll be fine.”
We hear the sound of wheels on another stretcher then and both turn to look.
Malcolm is being carted out, and not in a body bag, so I take that as a good sign. They put him in the other ambulance and drive away with a cop car following.
Lauren and two cops come out next, and they steer her over to the ambulance we stand by. Her arm is bleeding worse than it was before and when she sits down and pulls her sleeve up, it looks like she got hit by a bullet.
“We’re going to take these two to the hospital for further evaluation,” the paramedic tells me. “You all are welcome to follow us after you finish up with the cops.”
“I can’t leave her,” I plead, trying to get around the guy and into the ambulance with Thea.
“I’m sorry, sir,” he says. “But you can’t go. You need to stay here, but you can come later.”
“She’s my wife,” I say like that will make some sort of difference. I’m beginning to panic now, that something is seriously wrong with her and they’re not telling me. “Please, you have to let me go. Please.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Come on, Xander.” Rae tugs on my arm. “Let’s finish this up as fast as we can so we can go to the hospital.”
I run my fingers through my hair and tug while he closes the doors to the ambulance and I can no longer see Thea.
I watch it pull away, sirens blaring, and I feel sick to my stomach.
The cops ask us to speak to them in the house, away from the prying eyes of the neighbors, and Cade, Rae, and I each give our statements. We explain the whole situation with Malcolm and how he’s been lurking around the house in recent weeks.
The cops don’t say anything, but based on the looks they exchange, I assume we have a good case against Malcolm. It’s about time the man was punished.
We finally finish up with them an hour later and can finally head to the hospital.
Cade insists on driving, since apparently he doesn’t trust me to get there and not crash on the way.
Only a month ago we were here when Malcolm hit Thea, and now we’re here again because of him. This better be the last fucking time.
Before Cade can park his Jeep, I hop out and run inside. I can’t get to Thea fast enough.
I stop in front of the information desk. “Thea Kincaid’s room, please,” I say, tapping my fingers impatiently on the counter.
“Sorry, there’s no one here by that name
.”
I growl. “Try Thea Montgomery.”
She gives me an irritated scowl and types something into the computer. “Room four-twelve.” She hands me a badge. “Go through those doors there and take the elevator up to level four.”
“Thanks,” I mumble, taking off down the hall as Cade and Rae finally make it into the building.
I don’t stop to wait for them to get their own badges.
I’m so preoccupied by my thoughts that I run right past the elevators and have to go back. I press the button impatiently, willing the elevators to go faster.
Finally, the doors slide open and I step inside. I press the 4 button and the doors slide closed.
When the elevator stops on the second floor to get people, I nearly lose my mind. I’m wasting precious seconds getting to Thea, and that’s not okay with me. I have no idea what’s going on and it’s coming up on two hours since I’ve seen her. Anything could’ve happened.
Thankfully, we don’t stop again until we reach the fourth floor and we all get out. I turn to my right, scanning the room number directions that hang from the ceiling. I follow them until I find the right room and then I burst inside.
Thea lies in the hospital bed, hooked up to several monitors, and from her eyes I can tell she’s been crying. I rush to her side and take her hand, bending to kiss her forehead, each of her cheeks, and finally her lips.
“Are you okay?” I ask, brushing her hair off her forehead so I can see her better.
“They made me wear the stupid gown.” She pouts.
Despite my worry, I laugh. “That’s the first thing you have to say?”
“It’s really ugly,” she reasons. “And itchy.”
I chuckle. “I don’t care about the gown, I care about you, what did the doctor say? Have you seen one yet? Do I need to get one?” I ramble.
She presses her hand over my mouth, shutting me up.
“They’ve looked me over thoroughly, I promise.” She forces a smile. “I have a minor concussion from the fall, and they said he fractured a bone in my cheek when he slapped me. Didn’t even know that was possible,” she mutters the last part.
Anger simmers beneath my skin. “How do they fix a bone in your face?”
“They don’t,” she sighs. “It has to heal on its own. They said they’d give me pain medicine and something for the swelling.” She shrugs and her hand flexes around mine.
“I should’ve been there,” I whisper.
“You were there,” she counters.
I shake my head. “Too late to protect you, though.”
“You’re not Superman, despite what you seem to think, and from where I’m sitting, I’m okay. Beaten and bruised, sure, but I’m alive and that’s what matters. You risked your life by coming into the house. You didn’t know what was happening and you could’ve been hurt too.” She moves her hand up my chest, brushing her fingers over my cheek. “You’re still my hero, though. You always have been, and you always will be.”
I close my eyes and grab her fingers that linger by my cheek and bring them to my lips, kissing each of her fingers.
“All of this is so crazy,” I tell her. “I feel like none of it would have happened if we hadn’t gotten married. You wouldn’t be lying right here, right now, hurt.”
She shakes her head. “That might be true, but I don’t regret it.”
“You don’t?”
“No.” She smiles. “Sure, things didn’t go perfectly, but life never is perfect. Don’t get me wrong, I was completely against this whole marriage thing, but not anymore. Having you as my husband isn’t so bad. In fact, it’s pretty great. You bring me McFlurrys. What’s not to love?”
I laugh heartily. “McFlurrys, huh? That’s all you love me for?”
“I love you for a million reasons, that’s just one.”
I grin. “Does this mean you’ll marry me for real? In front of all our friends and family?”
She smiles back, her eyes shining with happiness and not tears this time. “Yeah, I’m game for that.”
I don’t know what the future holds for us, and knowing us, the road is bound to be rocky, but with my partner in crime by my side, something tells me it’s going to be the best time of my life.
One Month Later
Something I’ve learned in the last four months is how quickly things can change. At the start of the summer, I believed it would be like any other summer. Boring and over all too soon.
Well, it certainly did end too soon, but it was anything but boring.
I thought my accidental Vegas marriage would be the craziest thing to happen. Little did I know that it would be the catalyst for much bigger things, like the implosion of my parent’s marriage, and finally bringing justice to our family.
The break-in and attempted murder—since it turns out my dad was the one with the gun and my mom managed to wrestle it away from him after he grazed her with a bullet—ended up on almost every news station. It was weird seeing us on TV for something like that and the attention has been too much to bear at times, but it’s finally dying down, at least for most of us. Not Cade, though. After the news that broke earlier in the summer, coupled with this, he’s been roped into interview after interview to speak about the abuse. He doesn’t like it, and he could say no, but he knows that his voice could help someone else out there and so he’s finally willing to talk about it. He won’t admit it, but I think it’s helping him heal to put it out there.
Now that all the darkness is behind us, I can finally focus on the good in my life.
Like, for starters, I finally figured out what I want to do with my life.
I want to help kids like Cade and me and women like my mom. I want to help someone in a way we didn’t have. I want to make a difference.
When I told Xander he grinned from ear to ear, kissed me, and told me he couldn’t have thought of anything more perfect for me to do.
I feel good now, finally having a purpose.
We talked some more about moving out, especially with some of the unpleasant memories that house now holds, but in the end we decided to stay for the time being while I finish school and since Xander will be gone a lot. It’ll be nice to not be alone and have my brother, mom, and Rae around. There’s already been a lot of change lately, and for now, letting this stay the same, sounds pretty good to the both of us.
Xander’s first NFL game is at the end of the month, and it’s out of town, but we’re all going to surprise him and fly out there. I know he’s going to do amazing. He’s been working hard, giving it his all, and all the while being there for me while I dealt with everything.
Now, it’s time for me to make good on my promise and marry the boy for real.
No seedy wedding chapel.
No half-drunken slurred vows.
No wedding night I can’t remember.
We’re doing this right this time, with our friends and family, a dress, and the whole shebang.
I stare at my reflection in the mirror. My hair curls halfway down my back in soft waves and my makeup is light, and simple. But my dress?
That’s anything but simple.
I wanted something unique and different. Something daring and me.
I was lucky to find something off the rack on short notice and it was like it was made especially for me.
The color is a creamy off-white with a floral lace design. It has spaghetti straps and the bodice is fitted before flaring out at the hips. The back of the dress boasts scallop detailing as does the front where the dress cups my breasts. My mom and Xander’s mom tried to talk me into something more traditional—you know, white—but it isn’t me, and this is, so I ignored their pleas for me to change my mind.
“Ready?” Rae asks.
I turn away from the mirror and smile at her. She looks gorgeous in her turquoise bridesmaid dress with her dark brown hair braided to the side.
I nod. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
Never thought I’d be saying those words in regard to marriage.
But technically, I’m already married, and it’s actually pretty great.
Rae hands me my bouquet of pink peonies and loops her arm through mine.
Out in the hall we meet Cade. His lips part when he sees me and he clears his throat, clearly overcome with emotion.
“You look beautiful,” he tells me.
“Thanks.” I smile up at my big brother. He offers me his elbow and I grab onto it.
Since my dad obviously won’t be walking me down the aisle—you know, since he’s rotting away in prison and attempted to kill us—I asked Cade.
“All right, that’s my cue.” Rae smiles and kisses my cheek and then Cade’s before running off to where she’ll exit into the Kincaid’s backyard.
We could’ve gotten re-married at any number of places, but it only made sense to do it here. The Kincaid’s might live in a different house now, but so many of our adventures took place in their backyard growing up, so it only made sense to start this adventure here.
“I’m proud of you,” Cade says, as we start walking toward the open French doors.
“For what?” I look up at him.
He shrugs. “For never giving up on what you believe in and always fighting.”
I laugh. “Funny, you used to tell me I was too stubborn for my own good.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, well, we all grow up and see things differently.”
“That we do,” I agree.
The music changes and I hear the shuffling of everyone standing and my heart skips a beat.
This is happening.
This is really happening.
Cade leads me out the door and my breath catches. It’s the first time I’m seeing the backyard. I handed over the reins on decorating to our moms—all I cared about was my dress—and they did a beautiful job.
The aisle is covered in white petals and above us is a canopy with more flowers hanging down and little lights twinkling. It looks like a magical fairy wonderland.
At the end of the aisle is a whole wall of flowers in all shades of pale pink and white and in front of them stands Xander with Prue by his side.
He stands with his hands clasped in front of him and he looks like a model in his fitted navy suit and tie. His eyes rake over my body and then stop when they meet mine. I see tears shimmer in his eyes, and he smiles widely as we stop in front of him. Xander takes my hand. Cade kisses my cheek, claps Xander on the shoulder, and then stands to the side of him. Rae is to the side of me and I hand her my bouquet so I can give Xander both my hands.
When Stars Collide (Light in the Dark #2) Page 23
