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  Bull spoke up, pointing to Rebel and himself, “We’re her brothers.”

  Dr. Sullivan nodded and said, “We will inform you of any change in her condition.” He advised them to move to the neuro-ICU waiting room to wait for the updates.

  Chapter 18

  The clock seemed to stand still as Noah waited to see Brianna. He paced in the waiting room, and when he couldn’t stand the confines of those walls any longer, he paced up and down the hallway outside the neuro-ICU door. When the ICU door opened, he tried to look in, just to see her for a second. He saw the nurses’ station in the middle of a round room and the sliding glass doors all around the perimeter of the room. She could be in any one of those rooms…

  The ICU door opened again and Dr. Sullivan walked out with another doctor.

  “This is Dr. Conley.” The two men shook hands as Noah waited for the news. Bull and Rebel walked up to stand behind Noah.

  Dr. Conley started, “We’ve monitored her for the last couple of hours and for now, she is stable. She will stay in neuro-ICU until she wakes up. I’m afraid we won’t know if there was any permanent brain damage until then. Her vitals have been stable, and we have sedated her to help her body rest and heal. You can see her for a few minutes, but I should warn you, she is badly bruised, swollen, and there are a lot of tubes. Right now, she’s breathing on her own, but she has been intubated as a precaution, if the swelling in her neck or throat suddenly worsen, as the contusions become more apparent.”

  “Thank you, doctor. I just really want to see her.”

  “I can let you see her for five minutes.” Dr. Conley shook Noah’s hand and walked off.

  Noah stood staring at the ICU door for a moment. The normally calm ex-military man was scared of what he would find on the other side. He mentally chided himself for being a pussy and walked in. A nurse just inside the door directed him to wash and sanitize his hands before proceeding into the unit. Noah complied and asked which room Brianna was in.

  As he walked up to her door, his breath caught in the back of his throat. She looked so small in that big hospital bed. Her hair had been pushed away from her face and laid spread out on the pillow under her head.

  Her face was battered. Both of her eyes were blackened and swollen, her right cheek had a line of dried blood from the split skin, and her left cheek was a mixture of black and purple bruising. As he moved closer to her, he saw the contusions on the sides of her head and arms. He realized the blood red bands across her wrists were where she had been bound.

  The blood pressure cuff was wrapped around her upper arm. There were tubes running in her hand and in her throat. She had wires attached to her chest, and the heart monitor above her bed beeped in time with the rhythm dancing across the screen. A nasal cannula delivered oxygen, and there was a light hiss as the oxygen flowed out of the tube.

  He felt someone behind him and turned to see Bull and Rebel at the door. Bull’s face masked the deep need for revenge that warred inside him. Rebel couldn’t speak, as he stepped into the room. Noah turned back to Brianna and gently touched her hand, afraid anywhere he touched her would hurt her more.

  He spoke gently to her, “I’m here, Brianna. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  Bull and Rebel left Noah alone with her for the last few minutes he had with her on this visit. They walked out to the hall to wait for him.

  “We didn’t fucking get there soon enough,” Bull growled.

  “I know, man. But it could have been worse. They could’ve killed her.” Rebel’s voice didn’t hold the conviction his words tried to convey.

  “They almost did…still might have.” Bull fisted his hands. “You saw what they fucking did to her. You heard what Dr. Conley said. If she dies, Richard fucking dies. Painfully.” Rebel nodded in agreement.

  Noah walked out into the hall and both men looked at him. He was obviously upset, but holding it together. He asked Rebel to go to his house and get enough clothes to last him a few days.

  Noah had to go to the police station to make an official statement. Over the years, he had built a good relationship with many of the guys on the police force. Tonight he was glad those contacts gave him time at the hospital first. Noah told Bull to stay and keep watch over Brianna, to make sure no one suspicious got to her. He wasn’t convinced this was over, and he wasn’t taking another chance with her life.

  “Bull, I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Reap.”

  Bull stood his post at the ICU door, checking the picture on the hospital ID against the person who wore it, to make sure no one got past him. If anyone objected, they didn’t dare complain to the intimidating sentinel standing guard.

  Noah anguished over whether or not to call Brianna’s family in Atlanta. On one hand, their daughter was in the hospital fighting for her life. On the other hand, this is the same daughter they thought was already dead. Should he deny them the last chance they may have to see her? Or let them move on, having already somewhat accepted her death?

  If it were his parents, or one of his three siblings, he decided someone had damn well better told him. Having the chance to say goodbye is somehow better than the limbo they’d all felt at not seeing her one last time.

  Plus, once she was fully healed, he had plans for their future, and her family would be part of it. It wouldn’t be a good idea to start out with this kind of secret. He sighed deeply and punched the numbers on his cell phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Mr. Tate. This is Noah Steele. This will be an unbelievable shock. I’m not really sure how to even begin….”

  “What’s going on, Noah?”

  “It’s Brianna, Evan. She’s alive…. and in the hospital here at Jackson Memorial. You and your family need to get down here as soon as possible…She’s hurt, sir.”

  “Wh—what did you say?” Evan sounded as if the breath had been knocked out of him. Noah knew the feeling.

  Noah relayed as much of the story as fast as he could, not wanting to waste any time. Evan told him they would be there within a few hours. He was having his private jet fueled and readied as they spoke. Now, he had to break the news to his wife and three daughters.

  Noah thought back to the note she left him. He left that part of the story out when he talked to her father. He had been turning her words over and over in his head, reading between the lines at what she didn’t say. Or more accurately, what he didn’t say.

  She told me she loved me, showed me she loved me. She answered my questions. She made love to me all night. She waited for me. She sacrificed herself for me.

  And I never once told her I loved her…or even that I missed her….

  Noah made a silent vow to never let a day go by without telling her, ever again.

  Brianna’s family arrived at Jackson Memorial soon after sunrise. Every one of them was in tears and frantic to see her. Noah warned them of her appearance, as much as the doctor had told him. He knew that no description would really prepare them for what they were about to see. The shock of her actually still being alive aside, the sight of her battered body and all the tubes, bells and whistles attached to her would invoke nightmares.

  Brianna’s parents, Evan and Diana, and her three sisters all took turns visiting her during the set thirty minutes allowed. Brianna’s visits were limited to fifteen minutes at a time, though, to keep the stimulation stress at a minimum.

  She wasn’t out of the woods yet, in her guarded condition. It was killing Noah that he hadn’t seen her since she first came out of surgery, two days ago. He just kept reminding himself that her family hadn’t seen or talked to her in three years.

  At the mid-morning visit, one of Brianna’s sisters, Missy, told Noah to take her turn. She had already been in once, and she knew he’d been patiently waiting for his turn. He hugged Missy and went straight for Brianna’s room. He put his hand under hers, still afraid of squeezing her hand and hurting her.

  Her bruises were a little bet
ter than when he had first seen her. Instead of the angry black and purple bruises, they now had more purple than black with a little bit of green. Her eyes weren’t quite as swollen, though they were still pretty black. The contusions on the sides of her head were better but they still looked angry.

  “Hey, Brianna, it’s me, Noah. You probably can’t hear me, but there’s something I need to say. There's something I need you to know.”

  He stopped for a moment, hoping to get some kind of reaction from her, or some indication she was waking up.

  “I haven’t really been living the last three years. I’ve only existed. The only time I feel anything is when I’m with you. So you have to get better, because I can’t live without you…I can’t love without you. I love you, Brianna. Only you.”

  Noah rested his forehead on the bed rail while he said a silent prayer. His head jerked up and he stared at her. Did she just…”Baby, did you just squeeze my hand? Squeeze it again…come on, Bri!”

  There it was! It was weak, but he felt her hand squeeze around his on command. Noah called for the nurse and watched as she checked all the vital signs. Noah asked her to squeeze his hand again, and the nurse watched, as her hand slightly closed around his, and then released it. The nurse smiled and walked off to call the doctor.

  Visiting time was over, but Noah refused to leave. He assured the nursing staff he wouldn’t be a problem. He explained he had promised Brianna he would be there when she woke up and that was a promise he intended to keep. Dr. Conley came in, reviewed her most recent EEG, checked her pupils, and then examined her surgical site and her other wounds.

  Noah reached through the slats in the rail and put his hand under hers again. She lightly squeezed his hand, and he stood to talk to her.

  “Bri, you’re in the hospital. You’re going to be ok. You just need to rest. I’m right here with you and I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you.” Thank you, God!

  Dr. Conley and the nurse stepped back in the room and began to put gloves on.

  “What’s going on, Dr. Conley?” Noah watched the nurse draw up a syringe and walk to Brianna’s IV. “What is that?”

  “It’s ok. It’ll just help her relax, so we can remove the intubation tube. We’ll monitor her for an hour or so here. If all goes well, we’ll move her to a private room.” Noah stepped out of their way, but refused to leave the room.

  Chapter 19

  Everything that happened was still fuzzy to Brianna. This was her second day in a private room. The first day, she slept a lot. When she had tried to talk, her throat hurt, and her voice was still raspy from the intubation tube. Noah was there every time she woke, giving her water to sip on, and assuring her that she was ok. He explained again that she was in the hospital and he wouldn’t leave her.

  She watched him sleep on the uncomfortable hospital chair-turned-partial-bed beside her. She tried to move in the bed and gasped in pain, as the stitches in her shoulder pulled, and her cracked ribs vehemently objected. In a split second, Noah was up and at her side.

  “Bri, are you ok? What happened?” His voice was drenched with concern.

  She smiled at him, “I’m ok. I just wanted to turn over, but the rest of my body said no.”

  He smiled and put his hand under hers again. Brianna had a brief glimpse at a memory that was just barely out of reach. Noah was watching her face and saw a puzzled look.

  “What is it?”

  “When you put your hand under my hand…I just had déjà vu. It was so familiar….”

  Noah chuckled, “I’ve done that every time. I was afraid I would hurt you if I held yours, so I let you hold mine.”

  She squeezed his hand, “It doesn’t hurt, honest.” They were both silent, looking deep into each other’s eyes, and neither was quite sure of what to say.

  Brianna started, “Noah, tell me what happened that night.”

  His face hardened, but he didn’t drop his gaze her from her eyes. “Bri, I don’t really think now’s the time. You’re still healing and…”

  She cut him off, “Noah, I need to know. Please. I’m stronger than you think.”

  “That you are,” he conceded.

  Noah recounted the details from his perspective of what happened, up until she went into that building. He told her about finding out which hotel she checked into, grabbing the poor kid driving the limo she took, following her to the club, and then losing her when they took a different car.

  She was shocked to hear him describe how close he was to her at the hotel and the club. Then it hit her.

  “How did you find me at the hotel? I didn’t use my real name.” Her eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes showed her confusion.

  He smiled and said, “Ummm, how do I explain this?”

  She cocked an eyebrow at him, “Ummm…one word at a time,” she jokingly mocked him.

  The door to her hospital room opened, and a huge, intimidating man stood in the doorframe. The man was bigger than she remembered. The black haired, blue-eyed giant stood 6’6” tall and had rock solid muscle on every inch of his body. A beaming smile lit up his face, as Brianna called his name.

  “Shadow!”

  Noah strolled over to the door and gave his friend a manly hug. “Good to see you, brother!”

  Shadow closed the door behind him, walked to Brianna and gave her a tentative hug. For such a big guy, he was so easy with her. “How are you feeling, Sunny?”

  The voice stirred another memory, and the full realization hit her. “It was you!”

  Shadow looked at Noah and tried to play coy with her. “Me? What did I do?” Noah was trying to hide his smile.

  She eyed them both suspiciously and playfully hit his arm. “You were there that night! You came in and stopped them. I owe you my life.” Now tears were welling up in her eyes, but they were tears of joy and gratitude.

  “Well, I can’t take all the credit,” Shadow’s voice was teasing, but she felt the warmth and love of a brother in it. “Actually, your man, Noah, was the real hero.”

  She looked to Noah and saw he was no longer trying to hide a smile. His body suddenly went rigid, and that familiar mask overtook any emotions on his face. Shadow looked from Brianna to Noah, noting the shocked look on Brianna’s face and the emotionless look on Noah’s face.

  “Ah….he hasn’t told you, huh? Well, you two will have plenty to talk about then. I just wanted to see for myself that you’re on the mend, Sunny.” Shadow leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Bull, Rebel, and I will always have your back, Sunny.”

  She kissed his cheek and hugged his neck, as best she could with her injuries. She told him she expected to see him again soon, as he walked out the door.

  “What did he mean, Noah? What have you not told me?” Her eyes searched his, and he felt that familiar squeeze around his heart.

  He didn’t like to think about that night, much less talk about it. It had only been a few days ago, but it felt like it all happened years ago. He knew she wouldn’t let it go. She was hell on wheels when she was onto a story.

  “You asked how I found you at the hotel under your alias.” She nodded. “Actually, I didn’t. Bull called Shadow and told him we needed help. Shadow works for the CIA now, so he was able to find out your WITSEC aliases.”

  “B – Bull called Shadow? For me?”

  Noah nodded and continued, “Since we had a name, we could track your financial records. Your credit card showed a room charge hold, so we went there to find you. Then we tracked you to the nightclub. We lost you because of a wreck that blocked the view of the club entrance, and they took a different car when they left the club with you.”

  “Shadow had been investigating this group for running guns for quite a while. He pretended to be a dirty CIA operative, and Richard was more than willing to use him. He kept tabs on where Richard would be that night. When you activated the recording device, we finally got a fix on you in that building.”

  He stopped talking for several seconds. She watched t
he shadows move across his face and recognized the haunted look in his eyes.

  “We were still a good way out from you, but we were listening.” His jaw was tense and his jaw muscles were bunched, as he remembered the sounds. Through clenched teeth he said, “Listening to them torture you.” She reached her hand up and took his, giving it a squeeze.

  “Shadow wasn’t close enough right then to stop it. He walked in just as Richard leveled the gun at your head.” Noah’s other hand clenched the hospital bed so tight she thought the metal would break. “Shadow stalled them until we could get into position, then we stormed the building.”

  With that, he finished telling the story, but she could tell there was more, and he was holding back for some reason.

  “I remember hearing a lot of people suddenly in the room…or what seemed like a lot. I remember a lot of echoes and what I thought was gunshots. I couldn’t really see and my sense of time was way off.“

  She continued, “Noah, what are you holding back from me?”

  He shook his head and sighed loudly. “You were right. It went way farther up the chain than just Richard. The woman you saw me with at the banquet…. Alexa Pope…She was involved, as was her father. She was in that building with you that night, and I…I had to shoot her. She’s dead.” With that revelation, he turned away from her and walked to the window. She dropped her hand from where it held his, but was now empty.

  He shot the woman they said was his girlfriend. She now saw the effect it had on him. He had shot someone he was involved with intimately. He had said she wasn’t his girlfriend, but she was obviously something to him. Her heart broke for him and the pain he was obviously feeling, but more for herself. She knew he would never be able to look at her without seeing Alexa.

  “I…I’m sorry, Noah. I didn’t know…about her or her father. You obviously cared a great deal about her. I don’t know what to say…Maybe it would’ve been better if...” Tears streamed down her face, as her thoughts finished her sentence when her voice couldn’t…. if it had been me instead.