Page 15 of Final Vendetta

“What about Liam?” she asked quietly.

My chest tightened at the mention of his name. The man who had set it all in motion. The man who I thought was a friend, then betrayed me in a way I never anticipated.

“You’re really okay with walking away? With him getting away with everything?”

I shifted my gaze from her, focusing on the horizon. For a long moment, I didn’t answer. I didn’t know if Iwasokay. I hated Liam with every fiber of my being. Hated the idea of him not suffering the consequences of his actions.

But I hated the person I became in my pursuit of revenge even more, especially as I raked my eyes over Imogene’s battered frame, bruises marring her fair skin, her arm in a sling.

“I have to be,” I said with determination, locking my gaze with hers. “I lost sight of what’s important. That’s you, Imogene.” I pressed a hand to her cheek, relishing in her soft skin. “We have each other again. No more living in the past. No more playing god. I just want to live for you. For us.”

“For us,” she echoed, and for a moment, the weight on my chest eased.

I bent down to press a kiss to her forehead, letting the warmth of her presence chase away the darkness. The world around us disappeared, the noise below forgotten, the memories of revenge fading into distant echoes.

Exactly where they belonged.

Behind me.

In my past.

They had no place in my present or my future.

Not anymore.

Chapter Eight

Imogene

The sun had begun to set on my ninth day stuck in this hospital when a knock sounded on my door during a rare moment to myself.

Between Gideon being glued to my side, as well as my parents and Melanie visiting me as much as possible, I’d barely had any time to be alone and reflect on everything that had happened. From the accident, to Gideon’s admission, and then his promise that he was done being Gideon Saint.

I still wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I hadn’t hadtimeto figure out how I felt about that.

But Gideon just left to attend to some business down in San Diego, allowing me some much-needed alone time. The last thing I wanted was more visitors.

I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get my wish, though.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” one of my nurses said as she popped her head into my room.

“Is anything wrong?” I asked, hoping my most recent round of tests and scans came back clear.

I’d been on the mend for over week now, but the doctors still wanted to keep me in the hospital for a bit longer to make sure there weren’t any complications from my surgery. So far, therehadn’t been. As long as I continued to make positive progress, I’d be released in just a few more days. I was itching to get out of this place.

“Not at all. There’s someone from the FBI here who’d like to ask you a few questions. I can tell him you’re not up to it yet, if you’d prefer.”

I let out a heavy sigh.

With Liam still missing after having withdrawn large sums of money from his various accounts, I knew it was only a matter of time before law enforcement came knocking on my door, considering my once close ties to him.

I prayed their investigation didn’t also lead to Gideon… Samuel.

“It’s okay.”

“I’m happy to send him away,” the nurse said, obviously picking up on my reluctance.

“It’s fine,” I assured her.

---