Love Renewed (Entwined Hearts #3)

by Maria Macdonald

  “Let her go,” I can hear his voice, but it sounds so far away. I want to lift my head, but it’s too heavy. It feels like I’m fighting gravity trying to pull it up. I rewind my brain over the last little while. I have no idea how long it’s been. I know the way my body feels, hurt and worn and like it’s been forever. Once we left Jenson on the floor, Ryan dragged me out and put me into a car and we travelled to this factory. He marched me into a room and locked the door leaving me in there for ages. Much like the other room, this one had no windows. Unlike the other room, this one also had no bed. Or any kind of seat for that matter…and no Jenson.

  Just the thought of what happened to him makes me bite my lip, needing to stop the emotion. When Ryan finally came back to the room, he wasn’t nice.

  “Unbutton your jeans,” he said standing in the doorway.

  “What no!” I cried.

  Stepping inside the door he turned and locked it from the inside.

  “Let’s try this again. Unbutton your jeans, or I’ll do it for you,” he ground out. His black eyes narrowed on me. I shook my head no and chewed the inside of my mouth. Fear pulsed through my nerves, but I couldn’t bow down to him. Not anymore.

  He strode over to me and caught my hips, so I pulled out of his hold. His eyes widened with surprise at my bold move. One I wouldn’t have made years ago. But he quickly regained his pace and reared back slapping me. I was surprised at this point that the left side of my face wasn’t hanging off, what with the amount of times over the last few days, I’d been punched and slapped.

  “You will not defy me,” he roared. Still I made no move to unbutton my jeans. He punched me in the stomach and once again I felt like I was going to be sick. Grabbing my jeans he unbuttoned them. I wanted to cry. I knew what choices came next. Holding the waistband of my jeans, he ripped my top open with his free hand. Then finding my bra he pulled the cup down allowing my breast to pop out. The sudden cold made me shiver, then shake with fear.

  I knew that was it. That was when I had to make my decision. When he started slipping his hand down the front of my jeans I decided. I raised my fist and punched him in the face, then I did it again, then a third time before he managed to punch me back. He hit harder, so I stumbled back and fell down. Once I was on the floor, he kicked me in the stomach and ribs repeatedly. I thought I was going to die. I heard someone shout through the door trying to get his attention, and it was at that point I figured it was easier to die so I just tried to block everything out. Then he suddenly stopped, and started shouting back at the man on the other side of the door. I almost whispered thank you when I realised he needed to go. Before leaving, though, he picked me up by my hair and gave me one last punch, that time he hit my ear and I’m pretty sure it was bleeding. Then he threw me away, discarding me. But he launched me hard slamming me against the wall and I fell back on the floor. I watched his feet leave and the door close before I slipped into the darkness.

  I don’t know what happened between then and now. I just know, I’m now hanging by my wrists. They feel bound. Whilst hanging here, I’m also looking into Dane’s eyes, but he’s only just starting to become un-blurry, to the point where I’m able to recognise him, had I not have already known it was him from his voice alone.

  He’s sitting on top of another man. He has a gun in his hand. The gun is covered in blood as is the man’s head. Dane looks horrible. Everything is black, blue or bloodied and I want to run to him. I want to hold him, make him better. His arm hangs limply by his side and he has blood seeping from both his legs and a cut at his waist. One of his eyes is practically shut and his face is almost unrecognisable. I feel the tears that have been threatening all day finally fall over the edge, gliding gracefully down my face. My heart yearns for him, I want to rescue him. I want to be his salvation.

  “Let her go, I’ll do whatever you want,” I hear him urge again. It’s only at that point that my mind catches up with the situation and I realise there’s a cold, hard, object at my temple. I take in the look in Dane’s eyes. It’s not easy with one eye nearly closed, but I see what can only be described as desperation. It’s so startling to see that in his eyes, I can only conclude the item at my temple is a gun.

  “It’s not that simple.” The man on my left side says then chuckles.

  “Whatever you want. I’ll do it. Just let her go.” He’s begging now and it breaks my heart.

  “Dane, don’t give yourself up,” I whisper and his eyes move from the gun to me. He says nothing just stares at me.

  “You better shut up bitch or you’ll get another beating,” gunman says and I watch Dane stiffen. “So D, anything?” he taunts Dane.

  “No!” I shout which gets me the butt of the gun to my head.

  “Stop!” Dane shouts and makes me jump. “I’ve said anything, now let her go.” The man next to me laughs this time.

  “Seems like I have the only thing you care about. Maybe I’ll just kill her for fun,” he says and my pulse picks up speed.

  “No. Please,” Dane chokes out, then whispers, “Please don’t. Just…kill me. Kill me, please. Not her. Just don’t hurt her.”

  “Dane,” I call, but he doesn’t look at me.

  I can’t look at her. I feel like I’m about to fall apart. Everything I was taught, all the training, gone, just like that. Because Dex holds my life in his hands. One move on his part, even a mistake and she’s dead. Then I might as well be. I feel like I can’t breathe. I can hear a whooshing sound in my ears. I’m scared. The fear has taken me over and I can’t think straight. It’s clinging to every part of my body and I can’t wipe myself clean.

  “Dex,” I mumble. “What do you want?” I plead.

  “Honestly? I wanted the disk, but you don’t know where that is, so you’re kind of redundant. I’m thinking about killing you, but I’m wondering if it might be much more fun to make you watch her demise instead?”

  “No, please. I don’t know what else I can say. She’s lightness, don’t you see that. We’re dark, damaged, dirty. She’s not like us. She deserves to live in the light. Please let her go.”

  “Ahh D, I didn’t realise you were a poet.” I close my eyes. I know this is going nowhere. He’s not listening. I have the gun in my hand, the gun which holds no bullets, and there’s just him and me. Facing off. Everyone else is dead and gone. Normally, I would take the chance. But my confidence is choked. I can’t seem to think straight, and all I know is that my world is her. She is a gift. One that I know I never deserved and this is my punishment. Only she’s being punished too. The whole fucking world is going to be punished if her light is extinguished.

  “Dane,” I hear her soft voice call me. It’s like a balm. The warmth that flows from it coating my pain. I raise my eyes to her, trying to ignore the gun still locked onto her head.

  “Nova,” I say back, deciding that this is it. I don’t know what’s going to happen. “Nova, listen to me. I want you to know whatever happens, you need to know, I love you. I always have. You’re it for me. You’re my forever. My peace.” I watch as tears rush down her face and she sobs her chest heaving. The sight causes a hot fire to run through me and for the first time since she was pulled out, hanging like a piece of fucking meat, I feel the killer in me slip back, taking over. I keep my eyes trained on Dex as Nova starts talking. I should be watching her, but I can’t. As much as I want to she’s distracting him and right now I need that.

  “Dane, I love you too. I remember—you…me…us. I know what we were and I know I was pulled away from you and you from me. I know it was a fictional tale spun by a twisted son of a bitch.” She stops and huffs. Dex looks at her and smirks. “Dane! I’m talking to y—” She doesn’t get the last word out as I throw myself forward and rush Dex. We both tumble to the ground, wrestling with the gun. Nova can’t move, her hands are still tied. The gun goes off just as I manage to wrench it out of Dex’s hands. Throwing it away, I smile as I pin him down. His eyes flit to where I threw the gun then back to me.

 
“Silly Dex, I don’t want to shoot you. That would be too easy. What did I tell you earlier?” His eyes widen and sweat beads appear along his hairline. Both things make me happy. Pulling him up by his shirt, I slam my head into his and the crack I hear from his nose breaking soothes an itch I had. Immediately, I push him back to the floor and punch him. Once for me, once for Jenson, and once for Nova before I pull him up. “You need to fight back, Dex. I’m literally doing this one-handed seeing as my right arm is dislocated. I have bullets in each leg and yet I’m here fighting. What do you have? A broken nose and some bruising?”

  He sneers at me and I smile. As he lunges forward I step to the side, he manages to get a punch into my side, right next to my wound. Then rushes around the back of me coming toward me from behind. He screams when I lift my good arm and elbow him in his broken nose. My eyes make their way to Nova as Dex screams in pain, and it's then that I see the bullet hole. When the gun went off it must have hit her. She has blood running down her arm, her eyes are closed and she’s gone white.

  I need to end this.

  I stride forward grabbing the knife off the table. By a process of elimination, I have deduced that Dex stabbed me. This is going to be fun.

  “I wish I had more time to make this slower. But I don’t, so lucky for you, your death will be quick. Still painful, just quick.” He’s heard those words from me before, although last time they were aimed at someone else. He remembers as I watch his hands tremble.

  “Always the big man, huh D?” he jeers. But it’s all an act. The real fear is in his eyes, there for anyone to see. I step toward him and he turns to grab a gun. That’s the perfect position for me and in half a second I have him in a headlock.

  “Goodnight Dex,” I tell him pulling my arm from around his neck, as I do I allow the knife in my hand to slice his throat. Letting him drop his eyes find me as the life seeps out of him. I smile until his eyes hold nothing, then I turn and try to get Nova down. I look for a phone to call someone. Anyone. At this point, I’d call the police just to get Nova to the hospital, even though it mean’s I’d probably go to prison. I’m not sure that even Archer has enough stretch to keep me out of a cell when the evidence is such a bloodbath. I hear a noise and grab the knife sliding it into my jeans then grab the gun aiming it. My arm drops when Lewis comes around the corner.

  “Fuck dude,” he says then flips his phone open. As he mumbles into the mouthpiece I step up on the trolley Nova is still attached to and release her. She drops into my good arm. I lower us both down to the floor and lean against the wall, knowing Lewis has help coming. I cradle her in my arm, softly kissing her forehead. I look over her beautiful face. Now broken and tarnished.

  “Nova, I know you can hear me. Help is coming, baby. Please don’t give up. If you give up, I give up. It’s that simple. You’re my air. My life. You need to fight. For you, for me, for us baby. For us. You’re like the rays of light that break through me. My survival depends on you. I love you, Nova. My supernova. I want to marry you, baby. Please don’t give up…Please.”

  The air is saturated with fear, so much so that I can hardly breathe. I gasp and fight for every breath I swallow. I see Dane looking at me, but I can’t reach him. “You’re my air. I need you to exist,” he whispers. I can’t understand how I’m able to hear him when he’s over the other side of the room. I watch as a dark figure approaches him from behind. Opening my mouth, the scream I need to warn him is stuck in my throat. I can hardly breathe, so speaking isn’t even a possibility. All I can do is look on as the figure steps behind him and slits his throat. Dane drops lifeless to the floor and Ryan’s face appears. The trademark smirk locked in place. “Now he’s gone, there’s nobody in our way, Nova.” His laugh bounces off the walls.

  I gasp and choke opening my eyes. My heart pounds against my ribcage and I blink rapidly as I look around, trying to calm myself down. The walls are grey and there’s a beeping next to me. I’m in the hospital. My body relaxes knowing I’m here, but then picks up again when I think about Dane.

  Is he alive?

  Like my plea is answered his voice surrounds me, I try to move my head, but it’s so painful I stop after the third time. I’m scared that his voice is a remnant of my nightmare. Then I hear another voice.

  I must be dreaming.

  Lewis. He wouldn’t be here, but why would he be in my dream?

  “Dane, there’s a reason you’re sitting in a wheelchair.”

  “Yeah, because the doctors are fucking idiots. I told them I can walk.”

  “True. But they don’t play our game, they don’t understand the rules. Don’t realise that when we’re brought low, we get right back up. That the pain teaches us more than any training ever could.”

  “I know they’re doing their job, Lewis. I just want to be able to walk to the bathroom to take a piss without being shouted at. I don’t even know why Archer brought us to a hospital rather than one of the private medical centres we usually attend.”

  “I think it was just time. He didn’t know how bad either of you were. He just wanted you fixed. Don’t worry he’s dealt with the cops.”

  “Police.”

  “What?”

  “You’re in London now, it’s police.”

  “Is there a difference?”

  “Yeah, ours don’t carry guns.” I can almost hear the smirk in Dane’s response, but still can’t work out whether this is real or not. It feels too unbelievable to be real.

  “Well, Ryan’s still out there.” At that moment my body locks up, Lewis’s words start ricocheting around my empty head. I heard what was said, but I can’t quite work out what that means. It’s like everything was voiced in Swahili and now my brain can’t process it.

  “I’m going to kill that fucker,” Dane slams his words out.

  “Easy, down boy. Unless you want the whole of this floor to hear you.” Lewis chuckles.

  “Not funny Lewis,” Dane snaps.

  Lewis’s tone changes. “No, it fucking isn’t. I’m glad she’s got you, because if she didn’t I’d be hunting him down right now. That offer still stands. You nod, I’m gone. In the wind, and I’ll find him. It’s what I do.”

  “No. He’s mine. Anyway, it’s not what you do anymore.”

  “True. But I will if I need to. And you never forget how,” Lewis replies.

  “I know. Appreciate it. But no. I need to end this.”

  “I understand. Now, are you going into her room? You want me to help you with your chair old man?” Lewis’s tone is back to normal.

  “Fuck you, shithead,” Dane replies but I can also hear the humour implied.

  My door rattles and he appears through it, like a vision in a hospital gown. Even in the attire and my fragile state he makes my mouth water.

  “You’re awake?” he stammers and I realise this isn’t a dream. Everything I just heard was real. Everything I saw when I was at the factory was true. I watched him beat a man to death. Yet, I’m not afraid of him. The only thing I’m scared of is him leaving me. That’s hurt that I wouldn’t be able to absorb. Not again.

  I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. My throat feels scratchy and my head throbs.

  “Don’t try to speak baby.” You’ve been out for a couple of days now. You probably need some water, you were pretty hurt Nova.” I watch as his teeth grind and the muscle in his cheek jumps.

  My brave man.

  My protector.

  My life.

  Wheeling himself backward he pulls the door and whistles through his teeth. It’s ear-splittingly loud. “Can someone get my woman a glass of water? She’s awake in here, so we need a doctor too,” he shouts and I cringe, hoping that the hospital staff aren’t annoyed and that the other patients haven’t been disturbed. He wheels back over to me and smiles. “Don’t give me that look, I’m not going out of this room and you need water and a Doctor. They can fucking deal with me shouting. And stop rolling your eyes,” he tells me off, but I can hear the softness in his voice, the love.
The love that’s all for me.

  The doctor comes in bringing a pretty nurse with him. She fusses around giving me a glass of cool water while he checks me over. I drink about half the glass before the doctor interrupts me by gently pulling it away.

  “Sips Miss Burchall. Please, it’s better for you.”

  I nod and test my voice. “Th…Thank you, doctor,” I reply and Dane’s smile lights up the room.

  “Okay Miss Burchall, you’re doing really well. You have no injuries to the brain. We have given you a CT scan and there’s no swelling or bleeding. You’ve actually woken up a couple of times since you came in.”

  “She has?” Dane snaps. “Nobody told me,” he complains and I smile.

  “Sorry, Mr. Matthews but you shouldn’t even be in here now. We had this discussion only this morning. You should be in bed recovering,” he tells Dane, sympathy in his voice.

  “Yeah, well, you got me to keep the sling on, stay in this wheelchair and wear this shitty gown, you should be holding a fucking parade,” Dane moans and I laugh, I can’t help it, but it hurts though. A lot.

  “Oh sugar,” I say holding my stomach.

  “Really Miss Burchall, you need your rest.” He tuts and looks back to Dane, who’s frowning at me, the little v in between his eyebrows is so cute that I can’t stop smiling even as he gives me an irritated look.

  “No, really, I’m okay, thank you, doctor.” I look up at him. “Please don’t take Dane away,” I whisper and his face softens as he smiles, patting my hand, then nodding as he walks out.

  Dane wheels back next to me. “You’re a pain in my arse, Nova.” That statement warms me from my head to my toes. He used to say that to me all the time when we were kids.