Page 52 of Hidden Shadows
He’d wanted to go down the hill and find the fucker. Chase after the asshole and make sure he breathed his last breath. But the need to get to her, to make sure she was okay, had been like a living, breathing thing inside him. Nothing and no one would have stopped him.
Paramedics had taken too long to get to the fair. That’s when Nixon had finally watched the phone footage. The person who’d hit her had been a man in a beanie. The footage had been from behind, though, so there’d been nothing distinctive about him.
He’d shown some guards and told them to search the fair, but he’d known it was a wasted endeavor. The fair was packed, there was no finding him.
His phone dinged.
Nate: How is she?
He’d texted Nate about what happened the second they’d reached the hospital. His friend had been angry as hell, but also worried.
Nixon: Confirmed concussion and some bruises, but that’s all. I’m just waiting for her to wake up.
Nate: Look after her for us.
Nixon: Already done.
He shoved his phone into his pocket before his gaze returned to Finley. Fuck, he was a mess. His emotions were all over the place. After his conversation with Nate that morning, he’d pulled away from her, the certainty that she was his suddenly wavering. Because Nate had been right, he didn’t do relationships. Never had. Was he even capable? He had no idea.
And what if he told her hecould? What if he got her to uproot her life to be closer to him and she fell in love with him, then he fucked up? Hurt her?
He’d hate himself even more.
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, pacing up and down the length of the room. Conflicting emotions of pain and guilt and anger rioted inside him.
“Wake up for me, honey,” he begged, never taking his eyes off her. “Show me those beautiful brown eyes. Let me know you’re okay.”
She didn’t. She just lay there, so damn still.
When his phone rang, he almost expected it to be Nate again. It was Beth.
“Did you find him?” he growled, unable to smooth out the sharpness of his voice.
“No,” she said quietly. “The description was too broad to isolate him. Most of the men here are wearing dark beanies and jackets.”
He knew that, but damn, it still hurt.
“It’s good today was her last day,” Beth said, voice resigned. “I think her being at the fair isn’t safe for anyone.”
Damn straight it wasn’t. “I couldn’t agree more, Beth.”
She sighed. “Okay. Good. Well, please let her know Rad and I are thinking of her. And let me know if there’s anything we can do.”
“Thanks. Will do.”
When he hung up, he lowered to the seat beside Finley’s bed. Unable to stop himself, he lifted her hand and brought it to his lips before pressing a kiss to her skin. The call this morning had shaken his confidence in them. In his ability to take care of her and be what she needed him to be. But after today, after seeing her hurt, and not for the first time…he wasn’t capable of walking away.
Maybe he’d screw things up, maybe he wouldn’t. But one thing he was absolutely sure of was that he’d do the best he could to be what she needed. Be the best version of himself possible for her. Because he needed her safe, and he needed her in his life.
He kept her hand close to his lips as he whispered, “Come back to me, honey. I need you.”
* * *
Dread pooledin Finley’s belly. That smell…antiseptic and cleaning detergent. So familiar, yet she hated every part of it and the memories it evoked. And it wasn’t just the smell. It was the incessant beeping. The tapping of shoes on vinyl flooring.
The rhythm of her heart sped up as her skin chilled. A hospital. She was in a hospital. Why?
She forced herself to think through the fog. She wasn’t in Redwood. She was in Fallen Ridge, Ontario, for the Winter Wonderland Christmas Fair. Is that where she’d been hurt?
