Page 98 of Sebastian

Her wails bounced off the sterile walls of her hospital room as her heart felt like it was going to crack out of her chest. Sebastian looked like a lost little boy, and in that moment she could perfectly picture what he looked like at eighteen, going off to join the Navy.

“P-please, Seb. Have them s-sedate m-me again. Please,” she begged. The memories were just too much for her to handle. Her brain was starting to shut down on it’s own, but she didn’t want to wake up in a minute, or even in an hour. She wanted to sleep, to be in nothingness, until this nightmare was over.

Sebastian pushed the call button and yelled for a nurse. Before she could focus on his face, a blur of dark colored scrubs was in the room, pushing something into her IV. She felt the pull of darkness calling to her, and she didn’t fight it.

Thirty-One

“Whoa, take it easy, Em.” Sebastian rushed into her hospital room and gently held her waist, careful that his hand didn’t brush against her stab wound.

“I’m fine, Seb. I just need to get dressed so I can sign the discharge papers and get out of here.” It had been five days since the majority of Emma’s memories came back, and Sebastian still heard the tortured scream she’d let out that night every time he looked at her.

“Do you want me to go get Daisy?”

“No, I don’t know why anyone is even here. I’m fine to leave on my own.”

“Em, they’re here because they love you. This is a big step, getting to go home.”

“But I’m not going home, am I?”

He understood. His place didn’t feel like hers. When he’d spoken to Declan the day before, they were still a few days out from having everything done at the bakery, and that meant a few more days before her apartment would be ready. He was secretly grateful for that. The home nurse he’d hired would help ease some of his anxiety now that she was being released from the hospital, but having her in his apartment, in his bed, while Marco was still out there, gave him a little more peace.

“I have everything set up at the apartment.”

“Your apartment, Seb. My home burned down, remember?”

Maybe they could stop by on the way to his place? Would she feel better knowing that she could return to her home once Marco was caught?

She’d been lashing out since she woke up from her sedation after they all found out who Marco really was. It was horrible, knowing that Natalie was able to integrate so seamlessly into Emma’s life because of him. He couldn’t even begin to think about what Emma was feeling, knowing someone who had become a close friend had been a part of taking away the most precious thing in her life.

“It’s only temporary, Sprinkles. I mean, I know I’d love for you to move in and never leave, but just think of my apartment as the place where you can rest and recuperate before going home. You’ll be able to go back to your apartment in no time.”

“That reminds me that I need to call the insurance company and see how things are moving along with my claim. Could you hand me my—” she raised her arm and gasped, nearly falling over before Seb’s steady hands reached for her.

“Sit. Now.”

“I’m fine.” She groaned, hand pressed to the wound still healing on her belly.

“You’re not fine. You’re pushing yourself too much. Maybe we need to talk to the doctor again. Make sure that leaving is really the right choice.” The fire that burned in her eyes as she looked at him in disbelief could have taken out the entire hospital. He’d already delayed her leaving twice, the last time being the day before when the doctor insisted she was fine to recuperate at home. He didn’t care. She’d still looked pale, and he would pay whatever it cost to keep her there until he was certain she would be fine in his care. “Or, we can just keep getting ready for you to break out of here.”

“Right. Now hand me that shirt and help me out of this robe.”

Sebastian untied the robe, not shy about letting his gaze linger over her beautiful body.

“Don’t look at me like that, I know it’s grotesque,” she whispered, her head turned away from him. He placed his hand on her chin and tipped her face back so that he was looking directly in her eyes.

“You will never say that about yourself again. This body is amazing Emma, and I’m trying really hard to remember that you need to rest, not deal with certain body parts of mine that can’t seem to remember I’m not a horny sixteen year old. You’ve always driven me wild, from the first time I saw you in your floral apron with your hair all done up in a messy bun, to right now. You. Drive. Me. Wild.” He sealed his words with a kiss on her hand. Then he moved up her arm, kissing each of the marks that were healing better than anyone had expected. By the time he made it to her lips, they were salty with the tears she was crying.

“Don’t cry, Sprinkles. Everything is going to be just fine,” he smiled. “Now, let’s get you home.”

“I-I’m not wearing any pants.” She let out a soggy laugh.

“The good news just keeps rolling in,” he winked.

* * *

Sebastian was sitting in his office, begging the minutes to pass by as quickly as possible so he could get back upstairs to Emma. She’d banished him to work early that morning and been more than pissed on the three occasions he’d found his way back to the apartment. She made it clear that under no circumstance was he to go back to the apartment before dinner. It was killing him, but thankfully the nurse he’d hired to watch over her was sending him regular updates.

And then, an hour ago, Gage had come in with the most amazing news. They had found them. Natalie made the mistake of shopping at a store with up-to-date security cameras in their building. Thanks to Tracker’s not so legal hacking skills and a computer program he’d been working on, they’d traced their movements through a small suburb of Dallas and had the location of where they were staying in less than an hour. As much as Sebastian wanted to go, he couldn’t leave Emma. So instead, he’d notified Agent Wilson and sent the guys to intercept them.

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