Page 135 of Fracture

I stare at her for a beat, before blinking and shaking my head. “He’d… I’m sorry,what?”

“I know it’s a shock,” Hawkins says, giving me a sad smile. “Your grandfather trusted him, I know he went in to vouch for Gray when he was court-martialed. I’m very sorry for your loss, Mr Fenton.”

“I don’t.. I mean, I’m sorry-” I break off, putting a hand to my head that’s started to throb.

“My client is still recovering,” Stella says, her tone tight and professional. “I’d appreciate you not overloading him right now.”

“I’m very sorry, Miss Langford, I don’t mean to cause any distress.”

“What do you mean he was planning it?” My brain is jumping through hoops trying to figure out what the detective is tellingme. The shock at not being cuffed to the bed and being read my rights has thrown me so violently, all I can do is sputter and stare at the detective who’s regarding me with sympathy and understanding.

“We found some very complex documents on Gray’s computer, detailing the blueprints of the house, location pins, extensive files on you and your family.” Hawkins sighs, and raises her hands. “It had been planned for a long time. I can’t give you too many details right now, but I did want you to know that we’ll do everything we can to investigate, and to give you closure over the deaths of your mother and your grandfather.” She leans forward, putting a hand on the bed and smiling at Stella and I in turn. “Anything you need, you let us know. You have my number.”

My face no doubt betrays a suitable amount of shock, because the detectives leave the room without another word. I stare at the door, several beats passing before I turn back to look at Stella.

“They think it was him,” I breathe, and she nods, her own eyes wide with shock.

“It was.” She says it quickly, gripping my hand. “It was him. He did it all. He planned it. Right? That’s what the detective said. It was Michael Gray.”

I nod slowly. “Yeah. It was him.”

“You were there having dinner, and you tried to save everyone. But he got you.” Stella nods slowly. “But you don’t have to say anything more. That’s all. Because you don’t remember it all. He shot you, and your memory is foggy. You don’t remember. That’s all you need to say.”

My devious, pretty girl has it all planned out, while my stupid ass is still trying to piece together how this happened. But maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe this is a miracle. Maybe this one time, God was listening.

“Hey, pretty boy.”

Dylan smiles weakly at me, curling his fingers around mine. “Hey,guapo.What took you so long?”

I laugh softly, shaking my head. “You were the one who was down here sleeping the whole time, lazy ass.”

“Pierdol sie,” he murmurs with a laugh.Fuck you.

“I understood that.” I lean over and brush a kiss against his cheek, still terrified any touch will hurt him. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He turns his head slightly, gazing up at me with his big dark eyes, and winces a little as he looks at the patch over my right eye. “Is it bad?”

I shake my head. “No, they just want to keep it covered for now, hoping I get some vision back.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Hey now, absolutely not.” I lean my forehead against his, and bite back tears that threaten to spill over at any second. “I was so fucking scared you weren’t going to make it. I’m just… I’m so happy you’re alive.”

“I’m here,guapo. I’m here. God doesn’t fucking want me, lucky you do, huh?” He nudges my cheek with his nose, the plastic tubing hissing as it funnels air into his body. “I’m not going anywhere.” He sighs heavily. “Except maybe prison.”

“They know about Michael Gray,” I say quickly, pulling back and clutching on to his hand, praying he can read my meaning. “They said they found the plans on his computer. He’d been planning it the whole time, killing the family. We just got in the way.”

Dylan blinks slowly, absorbing one word at a time, the monitor beside him beating rhythmically in time with his heart rate.

“He did, huh?”

I nod. “He did.”

“Dirty son of a bitch,” Dylan says, scoffing lightly. “Good thing the cops found all that on his computer.”

“Absolutely.” The way he says it makes me think he knows something I don’t, but now is not the time.

“Hey,papi.” The sweet voice sounds behind me, and Dylan’s eyes light up.

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