Page 74 of Wildest Desire

I feel her hand tighten around mine. “I’m sorry,” she says in a raspy voice.

“I don’t know why you're saying you're sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for. Don’t ever, for one second, think I love you any less. I didn’t know until now that was even possible to love you more than I did, but I do.” I stop, blinking away a tear that escapes my eye. “All I want is you, Lexi. You are my life, and I don’t care about anything else.”

Taking her hand out of mine, she wipes my cheek. “I love you,” she whispers.

Standing up, I put my lips to hers, then rest my forehead against hers. “You’re stuck with me.”

“Who else is here?”

“Everyone,” I tell her as I sit back down in the chair. “The girls came back from whatever clients they were with, and have canceled the ones they had scheduled until they see you and know you're okay.”

“Can I see anyone else?” she asks the nurse that just walked into the room.

“Only two in the room at a time,” she says, checking Lexi’s monitor and the fluids going through the tube in her arm. “I'll start letting them come in.”

As much as I want to stay with Lexi, I know everyone wants to see her; they’ve waited long enough. I kiss her lips then walk out of her room and head toward the waiting room.

I stop when I see all the police lights coming through the windows. What the fuck is going on? I look around and see Travis running toward me, glancing back momentarily. I look behind him and can’t believe what I am seeing. “You fucker!” I run to where I see Sam sitting in a chair with police officers surrounding him. “I'll fucking kill you!” I shout.

As I get closer to Sam, Travis stands in front of me, trying to push me back. “Travis, move out of my fucking way.” I start pushing him away, but he stands firm. “Travis!” I shout, pushing him with all my strength, making him take a step back. As I’m moving around Travis to get closer to Sam, one of the officers reaches out and grabs my arm to stop me.

“Ethan!” Travis shouts my name then grabs ahold of the back of my shirt and pulls me back. “They have him. The shit-head will get what he deserves.”

Sam starts laughing, his eyes locked on mine. “I hope you enjoyed fucking my wife. You remember that every time you touch her. When you see those scars, you remember I was the one who did that. No matter what, she will have something to remember me by for the rest of her life.” Sam’s voice comes out like daggers being thrown at me.

Curling my fingers into a fist, I swing as hard as I can and feel a rush of satisfaction as it connects with his jaw. The officer standing beside me jumps in front of me, effectively holding me back from swinging again. Another officer reaches down and picks Sam up, holding him steady. Sam spits blood out of his mouth, then looks up at me again.

I stand face to face with him. “I'll make sure you never see the light of day again. You will become someone’s bitch, and above all things, you can put money on the fact that you’ll suffer a hundred-fold what Lexi suffers. And the entire time, I want you to remember that Ethan Knight was the one that made it happen.” As I go to take a step, an officer places a hand on my chest to stop me from reaching Sam. “Just remember one thing. You’ll be safer in prison than on the outside, because outside I would have been your worst nightmare.”

Travis pulls me away. I wanted to be the one to find Sam, to hurt him in a way that only happened in movies. I never wanted the police to get him.

“I want my lawyers here. I don’t give a shit what time it is or what they’re doing, I want them here right now!” Pushing Travis out of the way, I follow the officers outside, making sure they get Sam into the car. “Why was he here?” I ask the officer as the car door closes.

“He wanted to finish what he started,” the officer replies as he walks around the car and gets in the driver’s seat.

Watching him drive away, my palms become clammy, and my heart beats faster. He came back to finish what he started. He was here to kill Lexi.

Walking back into the waiting room, I look around at everyone. “Who wants to see Lexi first?” I ask. I’m not in the right frame of mind to see her right now.

“Do you think we should tell her about Sam coming here?” Dan asks me. Well, it’s not like I can fucking hide it from her.

“Who wants the job?” I look at them all staring at me. “I guess I’d better go talk to her, then.” Shaking my head, I walk past them.

Standing by the door, I stop and soak in her beauty.

“I can feel you staring.” Her voice is still quiet and weak. “Does no-” she pauses to take in a breath, “-one else want to see me?”

“They do, but I need to talk to you about something, first.” I take her hand in mine as I sit on the side of the bed. “Sam was just here.” Her small hand grips tighter on mine. “The police have arrested him—you’re safe. I won’t let him get close to you,” I tell her as I kiss her hand. I want her to understand there is no way I'll let her get hurt again. “I’ve called my lawyers, and now we have to decide how we want to proceed.” I feel her hand tightening even more.

Bringing my hand to her cheek, I wipe the tear from the side of her eye. “I’m going to tell the lawyers everything and they'll make sure you won’t have to do anything. The police will come to you, and I'll make sure my lawyers work it so you never have to see him again.” Placing my hand softly on her stomach, I feel her body shaking. “Lexi, do you still trust me?” I whisper. She nods her head. “I promise I'll make sure you don’t have to go to court. But, for now, I need you to know that I am here and you can relax.” I reach up and wipe away her tears.

“I can’t…see him.” Her voice shakes as she talks.

“Ethan, your lawyers are here,” I hear Dan say from behind me. “You really have them in control.” I look at him as he walks into the room with Jon right behind him.

“They need to know who they work for.” I bring my eyes back to Lexi’s. “You won’t have to worry about anything, I promise.” I kiss her soft lips, then turn and leave the room.

Walking into the waiting room, I see three of my lawyers talking to Travis and my mom.

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