Page 61 of In the Cover of Darkness

“Thank you. I’ll get in touch with any updates. Oh, and Seth, we left Ragnar out there. He’s still with Attila. I didn't want to … I just didn't think he would want to leave Attila out there alone. If he gives you any trouble let me know and I'll come and get him.”

???

This feeling, I know it well. It's Groundhog Day for me, only this time I know it's the love of my life in my arms as I run into the medical centre, the familiar face of Dr Johnson waiting for us.

“Put her down here,” he says motioning to the bed next to him, as I place her down gently.

He's giving orders to the small crew around him and one of the nurses starts to cut away her dress.

“What are you doing? Stop that, you're going to hurt her,” my voice breaking, as I yell at the nurse. Strong arms come around me, stopping me from lashing out further. I know it's Ace who's dragging me away, but this feeling of helplessness is overwhelming, all consuming. How am I just supposed to wait?

“I will update you when I can,” Dr Johnson calls out to me, not bothering to look up as he continues to tend to Mila’s injuries.

Someone pulls the curtain surrounding her closed, and I can no longer see her. Ace pulls me further away into a small waiting room, and I can no longer hear them. Struggling free from his grip I scream into nothing, the small room exploding with the roar I make as I try to release some of this feeling. Falling to the ground, my head in my hands, I try to process what's happening.While my best friend kneels beside me, trying to hold all of the broken pieces I've become, together.

???

We wait and wait, and wait. Over and over I repeat in my head,she was breathing, her eyes opened, as I tried to dampen any negative feelings down. For someone who has basically spent their life controlling their emotions and reactions, everything has gone out the fucking window the moment I find someone to love.

“Here you both are,” Nova's voice snaps, as she walks into the room. “I have coffee, food and a change of clothes if you need it. Dante, I went through your drawers and I also have Mila’s things for when she wakes up,” her voice wobbling slightly on those final few words. “Sheisgoing to wake up damn it so don’t look at me like that Ace. Stop fucking looking at me like that,” the tears falling down her face as she tries to blink through them.

“Come here, love.” A little slip of Ace's true emotions for Nova slipping out as she goes to him, seeking comfort in his arms. I make a point to pack that away for later, Mila will want to know all the gossip when she wakes up. I can't help but grin at how excited I know she’ll be. Even if it took her almost dying for Ace to finally show his feelings.

Every time we hear footsteps in the corridor we all look up to the door, waiting to see if this is the person to bring us any information. Nova is asleep on Ace's lap, the exhaustion of the night winning in her battle to stay awake.

Footsteps echo out, getting louder as they approach and finally, Dr Johnson's figure is standing before us. I can't move as he comes to sit beside me, a weary look spread across his face. Looking to the ceiling, rubbing his hand across the back of hishead, he quietly says, "She's okay. She's very much alive, Dante. Her body has been through a lot and she's sleeping."

“Can I—can I see her?” my voice breaking on almost every word, ignoring the tears building in my eyes.

“Of course. I'll take you to her. But only one of you for now, okay? She needs to rest.”

Looking at Ace, he gestures for me to go, “We will be here. I'm not moving from this spot,” he whispers, looking down at Nova's sleeping face pressed against his chest. If I wasn't so desperate to get to my girl I'd be tempted to give him shit about this, but tonight I'll leave him in peace.

“She is fine Dante. She had a lot of superficial wounds over her body but most of them were to her arms. A few deep stab wounds to her torso, but everything has been double checked and nothing vital was hit. She just needs rest now is all. She will wake up when she's ready to.”

“Thanks, Doc. Do you think, I mean, would it be okay if I …” not being able to finish my sentence as I look down at her. The blood is mostly cleaned away as she lays in bed, wrapped in bandages and a gown.

“I think she would benefit from someone who could keep her warm,” he says, a small grin forming on his face. He remembers the night we came in here, all those months ago. A whole lifetime feels like it has been lived since that fateful night.

Dr Johnson leaves the room, closing the door softly, and like history repeating itself I strip down to my underwear and slide into the bed next to the love of my life, making sure not to hurt her as I move us into the same position we lay in all those months ago. The all familiar words come out easily, only this time they are a little different.

“You're safe, baby. He can't hurt you anymore. I love you.”

Epilogue - Mila

1 year later

In your Love - Tyler Childers ?

Standing in our ensuite looking over the flowering meadow outside, I can't believe it's been just over a year since I was locked in this same bathroom. A year since everything happened. The cuts Trevor made down my arm and across my body slowly healed, leaving me with only a few small scars that catch in the light, showing the slight shine of damaged skin. Dante barely left my side for that first month while I healed, and while I was used to my constant shadow by that point, I was relieved when he was comfortable enough to leave me alone for small periods of time. It was different though. It wasn't the fear of someone hurting me that kept him close this time, but the fear that I wasn't here to begin with. I let him do whatever he needed to recover. That night affected us all differently, and while I had my own traumas I was working through, I also acknowledged he was working through his.

Sheriff Miller never told us what he did with Trevor's body, but the official report states he is still missing, presumed dead. He won't be technically declared dead for several years though.We buried Attila's body under the large tree he saved me under. I make a point to walk over and sit with him once a week with Ragnar. I update him on how things are with the house we are building, how Acestillhasn't made a move on Nova, and let him know we all miss him. Most importantly I thank him for saving me, so I can have the future I promised Dante that night at the lookout.

A gentle knock at the door and I know it's Charlie ready to help me put my wedding dress on. Almost six months to the day I promised I'd marry him, Dante took me back out to the lookout and asked me to marry him again. He explained that he wanted to make sure I was healing and that he hadn't forgotten about our agreement, but thought I'd like a bit more time to plan a wedding. So we agreed on a date and here we are. In a couple of hours, I'm going to be Mrs Carter and nothing has ever felt more right.

Opening the ensuite door, expecting to see Charlie's face, I am instead greeted by a giant bearded man wearing a crisp black suit. His tattoos peeking out over his collar and below his cuffs.

“You're not Charlie?” I question, knowing full well what has rendered him speechless. I never wanted a big wedding so we decided to get married in the meadow outside Ace's house. You'd be forgiven for thinking it's the bride who gets far too invested in wedding planning, but Ace and Dante really took it to another level. They researched and planned over the last few months and now I have a beautiful meadow of wildflowers to get married in. The warm spring sun letting them bloom at the perfect time, and all of our close family and friends are here to celebrate.

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