Page 13 of Final Vendetta

A wave of emotion washed over me, rendering me speechless.

Despite my conversation with Melanie, his promise to leave all of this messy business in the past was certainly a relief. But to learn he blamed himself for the accident?

He didn’t force James behind the wheel of his car. Didn’t make him run from the police. James made that decision for himself.

“I’m not going to do that,” I told him.

He blew out a breath, hanging his head in defeat. “I understand.”

“Because there’s nothing to forgive.”

He darted his gaze up to mine. “What do you mean? I?—”

“I don’t blame you for any of this.”

“But it’s my fault you’re here. My fault you almost…”

“You can’t bear the burden of this. I won’tletyou bear the burden of this. Not when James made the decision to run from the police.”

“Which he never would have done if I hadn’t confronted him at the fundraiser.”

“I’m glad you did. You deserve closure after all the shit…” I took a moment to collect myself at the reminder of everything he’d been through.

I’d known the truth about who he was and what he endured for weeks now. Regardless, it was still difficult to think of him locked in a cage somewhere, forced to fight for his life. It was a miracle he was still alive. I wasn’t going to take that for granted anymore.

“Please don’t blame yourself,” I finally finished once I got my emotions under control. “But if you need my forgiveness in order to move on, you have it. Just know you don’t need it. There’s nothing to forgive.Nothing.”

His shoulders fell in relief and he pressed a kiss to my hand, his lips warm and soft, despite the scruff dotting his jaw. But I liked it. Liked the roughness to it. A reminder of his duplicitous nature. Rough and hard on the outside, but soft on the inside.

“Thank you, Imogene. I don’t deserve it. Don’t deserve you. But I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to prove to you that I do.”

“I like the sound of that.”

A wide smile tugged on his mouth, reminding me of the way Samuel once smiled. It was at complete odds with the way Gideon would smile. He didn’t do it often, but when he did, it was guarded, the burden of his past preventing him from being happy. Now, it was as if that weight had lifted.

As if he was finally ready to be Samuel again.

The door to my room opened and a brunette in scrubs walked in, pulling my attention away from Gideon. “Oh, good. You’re awake.”

“I am.”

“How are you feeling?” she asked as she checked the various monitors attached to me.

“Pretty sore.”

“You’ve been through a lot. I want you to see the doctor and for you to try to eat something. After that, I can give you something for the pain, but it’ll probably knock you out again.”

“I’d rather not. Not yet anyway.” I glanced toward Gideon. “I’d like to stay awake a little longer.”

“You got it.” She typed a few things on her tablet, then looked my way. “You have a good man there.” She nodded toward Gideon. “Refused to leave your side until you woke up.”

I smiled, meeting Gideon’s eyes. “I do have a good man.”

It was the truth. He may have done some bad things, but underneath it all, he was still a good person. And I’d do everything in my power to make him see it, too.

Chapter Seven

Gideon

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