Page 52 of Any Kind of Life

“But as we’ve seen recently, he has people who are willing to do whatever he wants them to do.” Paige wasn’t sure she would settle in the near future, regardless of whether Cara was inside or not. It didn’t feel as though this Big Ron guy would just let it go. Not when he had been so close to getting the end result he wanted. “How do we keep her safe, H?”

“You let me deal with that.” Something in Henry’s eyes changed for a split second. A determination seemed to flash in them. “Nobody is getting away with any of this.”

“Please be careful. If anything happens to you, neither of us will forgive ourselves.”

Paige was sure that Henry could handle himself, but she didn’t know the kind of people they were dealing with here. Yes, they were violent and had no issues trying to kill someone, but just how far would they go when it came to making sure everyone knew who they were? People like Ron thought they were the top dog, and most of the time, they liked to prove exactly that.

Just as Paige was about to try and relax for a little while, her phone started to ring in the pocket of her hoodie. She looked down at the screen. An unknown number was calling her.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Paige. This is Detective Bond calling from St Anne Street police station.”

Her shoulders tensed. Hopefully, they were calling to tell Paige that Cara had been arrested. “Hi. Do you have more news?”

“At the moment, no. We’re continuing enquiries. We do need to take a statement from you, though. Is now a good time to head over and do that?”

She eyed Henry. He would have to leave, that was for sure. “Sure. Could you give me about thirty minutes?”

“Absolutely. We’ll see you then.”

“Okay. Bye.” Paige lowered her phone to the couch and turned her attention back to Henry. “That was the police. They’re coming over to take my statement, so you should probably get out of here.”

Henry nodded and took his jacket from the arm of the couch. “No problem. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything. Just give me a call when you’re ready to head back to the hospital, and I’ll take you.”

Paige rose to her feet and pulled Henry into a hug. She couldn’t say she had ever done that before, Henry didn’t seem like the type to be affectionate, but he readily accepted it. “Thanks, H. I appreciate you being here.”

“I’ll always be around. If I hear anything else, I’ll let you know.”

Henry crossed the room and left, closing the door softly behind him. He was a burly guy, he must have stood at almost seven foot, but there was a kindness and a gentleness to him that Paige didn’t expect when she first heard about the visit he’d paid to James. Henry was the very definition of never judge a book by its cover.

Sitting alone, Paige decided she would use this time to clear her head. When she arrived back at the hospital later that evening, she wanted Juliet to only feel calm. She may be sedated, but Paige was sure she would feel it.

She feels everything between us.

Paige lifted Juliet’s hand and kissed it, placing it against her face where it felt right. Whenever Juliet touched her face, Paige always felt tremendous love pouring into her. Even now, unconscious, Juliet still offered that. She always would. No matter what the outcome of all of this, Paige would never not feel the love Juliet had for her.

She closed her eyes, leaning into Juliet’s touch. Just a few hours ago, Paige had been sitting on the floor of the bar, begging this very woman to live. She had rocked her and soothed her and prayed to anyone who could be listening. Somehow, Juliet had pulled through, though for the sheer amount of blood, Paige couldn’t fathom how. It hadn’t seemed possible as she asked Juliet to stay awake. As Juliet’s once shaking body had become limp in her lap, Paige hadn’t imagined sitting here, waiting for the love of her life to wake up.

It may take some time, but it would happen.

She would see Juliet’s beautiful smile again.

As Paige lowered Juliet’s hand and stroked her fingers gently against the back of it, there was a light knock on the door. The door opened, and a nurse popped her head inside. “You have some visitors. We only usually allow two at the bedside, but I can make an exception this evening.”

Paige smiled and nodded. It would be Hannah and Caz. “Thanks. Tell them to come in, please.”

The nurse stepped away, and in walked a shaking Hannah and a very pale looking Caz. Neither of them said anything, just a supportive hand from both of them placed to Paige’s shoulders.

“Thanks for coming in. The silence was beginning to drive me insane.”

Hannah squeezed Paige’s shoulder, and then she sniffled. “I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty rough. But she’s alive, and that’s all I care about.” Paige closed her eyes, only to open them suddenly when an image of a dying Juliet flashed in her mind again. God, she needed to block those memories out. She’d never sleep again otherwise. “Have a seat if you like.” Paige glanced back over her shoulder, her heart hurting at the sight of Caz standing in the corner, tears slipping down her face. “Hey, come on. She’s going to be okay.”

“I-I know.” Caz pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes. “It’s just a lot to see. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise. You’re our friends. It’s a shock.” Paige wished she could come clean about why this had happened, or at least why they believed it had happened, but she couldn’t do that without speaking to Juliet first. “Please don’t tell her I let you two see her like this.”

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