by Nicole Fox
“You’re free to go,” the officer said. “We’ll ask you to stay in the area the next few days. There’ll be a massive investigation, and we may need to get more details from you.”
Hunter nodded. He wasn’t about to leave with Vanessa in the hospital. He needed to take care of Opal now. He would step up and do whatever he had to.
“I won’t be going anywhere. I’m going to make sure Opal is okay and take her to see her mother before we get home and try to get some rest.”
“Umm, hang on a minute, there.” The officer flipped through some papers. “You’re not the parent or guardian of Opal. I can’t let you take her off the property.”
“What do you mean? I’m her mother’s boyfriend. I’ve been staying with them for days. I’m going to take her to her mother.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t allow that to happen.”
“Her father is dead and her mother is in the hospital. I’m the closest thing she has to a guardian or parent right now.”
“I’m sorry. I know it’s difficult, but especially with an ongoing CPS investigation, I can’t let her go with someone who has no legal right. She’ll have to spend the night in CPS custody.”
“No, no, she’s been through too much for that to happen. Hang on.” Hunter pulled out his phone. There was one person he could think of that might be able to help him.
She answered and the relief flooded over him. “Mari. I need your help. They won’t let me take Opal, because I’m not a guardian. Do you still have that paperwork that Vanessa gave you?”
“Yes.” Her voice sounded weak.
Then it hit him that she probably just found out that her parents were killed. “I know this is a hard time, but they want to put Opal into CPS custody for the night. After all she’s witnessed, I can’t let that happen.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Hunter gave her the address, then hung up and explained to the officer that Mari had been the safe house for Opal and that Vanessa had set it up legally to be covered if something like this happened.
Hunter waited with Opal. Nicholas was there, probably because CPS had been called, but Hunter didn’t feel like talking to him. He was still pissed at the fact that he’d been there when Vanessa was taken and had done nothing to help her. No way was Hunter going to let him be the one to protect Opal. No. Fucking. Way.
Mari arrived within a half hour. Her cheeks were red and her eyes puffy, but she ran to them and hugged Opal tight. She took several minutes to talk to her, to make sure she was okay. Then, she showed the officer the paperwork from Vanessa.
They finally let them all leave together. Hunter drove them to the hospital.
“I think we should have her looked at,” Hunter said, glancing in the mirror at Opal, who was staring out the window like she was in a trance.
“Didn’t the EMTs check her?” Mari asked. She turned in her seat to look at Opal, then turned back around.
“I mean a psych eval to make sure she’s okay.” He tapped his temple. He didn’t want to say out loud that he was worried it might make her go crazy or fall into some sort of mental instability because of all this. Shock was a powerful thing and it affected children deeply.
Mari nodded. “Good idea.”
When they got there, Hunter explained what they had just been through. The nurse already knew of the situation and they already had Vanessa. They ordered someone from psych to come to the ER. Then they sat to wait.
Hunter had been told when they first arrived that Vanessa was in critical condition and they wouldn’t be able to see her for a while. He sat in a chair beside Mari while Opal was in the other room with the doctor. At least this evaluation wasn’t keeping them from time with Vanessa, but that didn’t make his heart ache any less. He needed to see her and know she was okay.
They had survived it. For now, they were all alive and doing okay. Vanessa should pull through this, they’d told her. Once overdoses start to respond, they almost always recover. And she didn’t have a history of drug use with chronic conditions to contend with. She was young and healthy, and this should be easy for her to bounce back from.
He believed in his heart that she would survive. The joy and comfort was outweighed by what they’d been through. So much blood and so many deaths. He might kill for a living, but that didn’t mean it didn’t affect him at all. It did. And knowing how Opal had been affected, and having to look at Mari as she sat crying quietly, it was all too much. He wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up with Vanessa and sleep for hours. But he wouldn’t be able to do that anytime soon.
For now, he tried to focus on the fact that she was alive, Opal was alive, and he was alive. And that was the most important thing.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Vanessa
Vanessa hadn’t been awake for very long before the hassles started. She woke up in a hospital room, wires attached to her body, machines around her, nurses and doctors swarming.
“What’s going on?” she asked. “What happened? Where’s my daughter?”
No one seemed to want to give her answers.
Finally, a male nurse came to her and hung a bag of liquid on an IV pole beside her bed.
She looked up at him, pleading. “What’s wrong with me? Please. No one will tell me.”
He looked around and turned back to her with a sad smile. “You’ve had an overdose, but we got to you in time. You’re going to be okay.”
She pulled her eyebrows together. Then she remembered Jeremy injecting her with something and the hazy daydreams that followed. “My ex-husband. He injected me with something.”
The nurse raised an eyebrow and leaned closer. “You’ll have to convince them.” He jerked his thumb behind him, at two women in navy blue skirt suits. “They’re with social services.”
“Where’s my daughter? Are they going to take her?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know. But you came in listed as an overdose and they showed up. Usually that happens when a parent ODs and there’s a child involved. I have seen them take action.”
“They’re going to take my daughter?” she hissed back.
He gave her another sad smile. “They’re not your only problem. Officers are sitting outside, and they may try to detain you for drug use.”
She shook her head. After all she’d been through, it still wasn’t over. This nightmare just kept continuing on and on.
“Thank you,” she said.
He patted her arm and left the room. When he’d gone, the women approached and two officers joined them.
“Vanessa Powers, we have some questions for you,” the officer said. “Are you in sound enough mind to speak with us?”
“You have to listen to me,” she said. “I was forcibly drugged by my ex-husband. I don’t do drugs. Can’t you see that in my blood or something that I’ve never done anything like that?”
“Whoa, whoa,” the other officer said, holding up a hand. “Let’s start at the beginning. How was it you came to be drugged?”
Vanessa went through the whole thing, even including her marriage to Jeremy and how horrible it’d been, right up to what she remembered in the hotel room. Though it was foggy and hard to remember everything, since she’d been drugged so many times.
It seemed to take hours of her explaining and answering questions. The male nurse who’d given her information earlier came back to check on her.
“She should be resting now,” he told the officers and social workers.
She was so grateful, she could hug him. But just as the nurse was finishing up, Nicholas came in the room. He introduced himself and shook hands with the group questioning her.
“I believe I can lend some insight to this complicated situation.”
Everything Nicholas said backed up what she’d told them. And they knew she hadn’t had time alone to talk to him. They had to believe her now, right? She listened to Nicholas recount things from his end, starting with the phone call that sent him to Vanessa’s apartment. Then the
set up with Hunter and the break in. She noticed he didn’t go into too much detail about how he was hiding in the corner while she was trying to shoot her attackers and fight for her life.
The questions and explanations seemed to be winding down and she was feeling tired. But she was also aching to see Opal and Hunter, especially after having to recall and relive everything they’d been through. Where were they? Were they both okay?
The social worker turned to her. “Your daughter is with her emergency guardian, Mari Snyder. We’ve cleared you to be allowed to see her, and we’ll be in contact with CPS to provide information for the case.”
Nicholas nodded at this, giving Vanessa a reassuring smile. So was that a good thing, then?
The officer closer to her was next. “We’re not going to detain you or arrest you. Once your vitals are stable and they say you can go, you’re free to do so.”
“Thank you,” she said as the group left the room. She turned to Nicholas. “You came at the right time.”
He pulled a chair closer and sat. “Well, it’s the least I could do. I’m so sorry about my behavior during the break in. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, and I didn’t know what to do.”
“We can’t all be heroes like Hunter, I guess.”
“He certainly is.”
She saw that the nurse who’d helped her was still there. She caught his eye. “Hey.”
He came over and checked her IV.
“When can I go?” she asked.
“We’re going to keep you at least overnight for observation.”
“Observation? So, I’m fine?”
“You’re stable right now, but the only way to make sure is to see what happens over the next 24 hours.”
“Are my vitals stable or whatever?” she asked.
He crossed his arms. “They are. Are you planning an escape?”
She shrugged with one shoulder.
“Well, I can’t say that’s a good idea. Your body has been through a lot.”
“I know, but my daughter.”
“I get it, believe me. I have a six-year-old myself. I’d do anything for that little girl. But I still can’t recommend you leave just yet.”
“But you won’t tell on me if I do?”
He pulled his mouth into a half smile and pointedly turned away from her. “I can’t report what I don’t see.”
He left the room and Nicholas stood.
“You’re not going to try to leave, are you?” Nicholas asked.
She sat up and assessed the IV in her arm. It was the only thing left tying her to the hospital. Aside from her missing clothing. “Can you see if my things are in the closet?”
Nicholas went to the closet and opened the door. He pulled out a bag of her clothes. She dressed the best she could with her IV still in. Then, she peeled off the tape and carefully slid the needle out. It hurt worse than it would have if a nurse had done it, but she got it out.
She pressed the tape back down to cover the hole that was now bleeding, and pulled her shirt over her head.
“Vanessa, you can’t leave yet,” Nicholas said. “You might not be okay.”
“He said I’m fine. Just observation. I have to see Hunter and Opal. I have to. Thanks, Nicholas. I’ll see you soon, I’m sure.” She dashed from the room hurrying, but trying not to look too suspicious.
She punched the button for the elevator and slid in as soon as the doors opened. When she stepped out on the lower floor, she wasn’t sure where to go. She didn’t have a car here or any way to get home. She needed to call someone. Were there phones?
She wandered down a hall full of doors that held no answers. She turned down another hall, and what she saw made her stop dead in her tracks. At the end of the hall, walking out of a room, was Opal, Hunter, and Mari.
They saw her a moment after she saw them, and Opal took off running. Vanessa ran to meet her, and they crashed in a tight hug, Vanessa lifting and swinging her daughter around.
It made her slightly dizzy and she had to set her down, but Vanessa didn’t care. She’d found them, and they were all together.
“Mommy! You’re okay!” Opal had tears in her eyes when she looked up at Vanessa.
Vanessa’s eyes filled as well. She squeezed Opal one more time before standing to fall into Hunter’s arms. They shared a kiss that didn’t last nearly long enough, but held all the passion and desire they were both feeling. When they were alone, they’d resume what they started.
She gave Mari a long hug, then turned back to Opal. She knelt down to talk to her and hug her again.
“We’ll be a family now. You, me, and Hunter. All together and all safe. Daddy can’t hurt us anymore.”
# # #
They walked out to the parking lot, Vanessa holding Opal’s hand, and wrapping her other arm around Hunter’s waist as he held her. When they reached Mari’s car, they stopped to say goodbye. Mari began crying.
“It’s okay. We’re all okay now,” Vanessa said.
Mari shook her head. “I don’t think anyone told you…”
Vanessa looked to Hunter, whose expression was sad. “Tell me what?”
“My—my—” Mari couldn’t continue.
“Jeremy’s thugs killed her parents,” Hunter said.
Vanessa gasped and put her hand to her mouth. “No, no, no. Oh Mari. Oh, oh…”
The tears filled her eyes again and the shock of it washed through her. How could he do such a thing? They were innocent. Not part of this in any way. And he’d had them killed in cold blood. It was her fault. She’d taken Opal there, and that was why they were now dead.
“I’m so sorry, Mari. This is all my fault,” she cried as she hugged her friend.
“No, no.” Mari squeezed back, trying to speak through her tears. “We knew it was dangerous. They knew the risk. It was Jeremy’s fault.”
After they stood crying together for a long while, Hunter put his arm around Vanessa. “Why don’t we all get home so we can rest? Maybe Mari can stay with us for a while so she’s not alone.”
“Yes, please,” Vanessa said, wiping her eyes.
Mari nodded and they climbed into Hunter’s car. Once they reached Vanessa’s, she made tea, and they sat in the living room while Opal played quietly. No one spoke much. They sat and sipped, trying to let the misery of the experience form into something more concrete in their minds. To find a way to heal and move on now that it was over.
That night, Mari slept in Opal’s bed. It was the best arrangement, because it made Vanessa feel like Opal was safer that way and had someone to comfort her, and Mari would be comforted by her presence as well. And that meant she and Hunter could finally be alone. She desperately needed him.
Once they said good night to Opal and Mari, Hunter took her into the bedroom. He held her for a long time.
“I love you,” he said. “I’m glad we made it through this alive.”
“I love you.” She put her face into his shoulder to let a few more tears loose. She was happy they were alive, sure, but she was heartbroken over Mari’s parents and worn out from all they’d been through.
Hunter scooped her into his arms and lay her gently on the bed. Then, he slowly undressed her, taking care not to pull too hard or yank. When she was naked on the bed, he covered her with the blanket and took off his own clothing to slip in beside her.
“Are you hurt at all?” she asked. “Bruised or anything?”
He shook his head. “Nothing a little Tylenol can’t handle. You?”
“I’m not sure. I feel achey and strange.”
“Probably all the drugs and fighting back. Adrenaline does weird things to a body.”
He ran his fingers down her cheeks, smoothing away the tear tracks. Every touch was gentle and soothing. He caressed her breasts and kissed slowly down her body. He flicked his tongue across her clit, but didn’t push his finger inside her.
They kissed for a long while, him over her like a protective covering. When she was hot and ready for
him, she reached down and took hold of his erection. He moaned in response, and Vanessa guided him inside her.
He gently pushed in until he filled her completely. He moved slowly, sending waves of pleasure over her in a steady, soothing rhythm. When she came close to orgasm, she pushed her hips up and into him, sending him in deeper. Their thrusts sped up slightly, and they both moaned as they came together.
Afterward they lay wrapped together and drifted off to sleep.
