23. Liar

23 LIAR

Jade

They lied.

Every single person who waxed poetic about there being a light at the end of the tunnel was a bold-face liar. All of them. Not only was there no freaking light, there also wasn’t anyone waiting to greet me. I thought at least Gran would be there, but nope.

Death was lonely.

Death was dark.

Death was painful.

Wait. What?

Heaven was supposed to be pain-free. Guess they lied about that too.

“Come back to me, Angel.”

Koen. God, I loved him.

If I could still hear him, maybe I wasn’t as dead as I presumed. Could I have actually survived?

When I woke up in the dark and all alone, I fought. I fought to hold on to all the memories of my brother and Koen. I fought to hold on to the joy I’d found in recent months with my friends. Then when my breathing became ragged and difficult, I fought to hold on to hope. I thought I’d lost, but maybe…

“Open those beautiful brown eyes for me.”

“Give her time, Koen. The doctor’s said all her vital signs looked good. Her mind just needs time to process the trauma.”

That was Henley.

I took a deep breath through my nose and immediately regretted it, as searing pain rippled through my chest.

“Ow.”

“Angel.”

I felt his breathy response whisper against my face, then his warm lips pressed softly to mine. All too soon he pulled back, but he didn’t go far. His fingers danced lightly along my cheek and I leaned into his touch, wanting more, needing more.

“Where does it hurt, Jade?”

“I’m okay.” Licking across my chapped lips, I tasted the salty remnants of his kiss. My voice was raw…scratchy, like I’d swallowed serrated knives. And, holy hell, was I thirsty.

“You’re not, but you will be.”

My eyelids were so heavy that it took several attempts before I was finally able to crack them open. Koen’s smiling face was the first thing I saw. His features were dim and fuzzy until I blinked a few times, clearing my vision. I was lying in a bed; a hospital bed I presumed. He was there beside me, his fine ass pressed against my hip as he bracketed my body with his arms on either side.

Okay. Not dead then.

“Hi,” I croaked, then frowned. “Why are you crying?”

He chuckled. “Happy tears, Angel. I’m just so damn happy you’re here. ”

“Where else would I be?”

It was his turn to frown then. A million different emotions crossed his beautiful face, then he leaned close once again. “You scared the shit out of me. Don’t do it again.”

“You scared the shit out of all of us.”

“Language, Jett.”

I turned my head, smiling at my little brother. He looked about as tired as I felt. Peering beyond him, I saw Henley and Keaton. His arms were circling her waist from behind, probably in an effort to keep her from bum-rushing me. Next to them, Duncan and Riley stood to one side while Willow was crouched down next to Teresa, who was seated in a wheelchair.

My family.

We were missing a few vital members of it; however, they were here in spirit.

“What happened?” I asked, focusing back on my husband.

“You don’t remember?”

“Only bits and pieces. I remember being cold and I remember the dark.” An involuntary shudder ran through me. “Where did you find me?”

Koen looked away.

“She needs to know, Brother. It’ll help her heal,” Riley encouraged.

From the look he gave his brother, Koen didn’t agree, however, he spent the next few minutes explaining the basics.

What the fuck? Buried alive! Who does that?

“How in the world did you find me?”

Jett drew closer, tugging my hand into his and grinned wide. “Your brother is a freaking genius, that’s how. ”

The bed shifted as Koen leaned over, retrieving a Styrofoam cup, then putting the straw to my lips.

“Small sips,” he said. “The water will help your throat.”

Initially, it hurt to swallow, but as I drank more and more of the cool liquid, the burning subsided. Other than my throat, my face ached from where I was punched and my chest twinged with every breath, even though I didn’t recall that specific injury. Besides those few things, I was tired and hungry and grateful to be alive.

“I slipped one of my AirTags in your pocket on the elevator. We used it to track you down.”

Memories of those few moments assaulted me. The sheer terror I’d felt. That I wasn’t strong enough to hold that man back so Jett could get away. My eyes stung with unwanted tears.

“Hey now.” Koen pressed his lips to my forehead. “Breathe, Angel. You’re safe.”

Despite his reassurance, the tears continued to flow and worse, my body began to shake. He slid down next to me, carefully avoiding the wires and IV tubes I hadn’t noticed, then gently wrapped his arms around me. Given the space constraints of the bed, I didn’t know how he was able to do it without falling off the side, but I was so very grateful he found a way. I closed my eyes and just breathed while his love surrounded me––blanketed me––until the tremors stopped and my tears dried up.

“Better?” he asked, kissing my shoulder.

“Better. I love you so much, Koen. Thank you for finding me.”

“I’ll always find you, Angel. And I love you too. More than words can express.”

“Can you let me go now, Keaton? I really need to hug my best friend. ”

He chuckled.

“Okay, Little Bird.”

“How are you really?”

Henley kept me company while Koen took a shower. He argued against leaving my side until I expressed my displeasure with his odor. It was a dirty tactic––pun intended––but we both needed the time apart to know neither of us was going anywhere. According to Riley, he rode in the ambulance with me, then refused to be more than two feet away at any given time until I woke up. He and Willow had taken their mom back up to her room to rest for a bit with promises to return later.

“You were here when the doctor came in. Mild concussion and dehydration, which is why I’m still hooked up to these fluids.” I lifted my hand off the bed, indicating the tube taped to my arm.

Fact: intravenous fluids go into your body almost as fast as they come back out. I swear I’d spent half of the time I’ve been awake in the bathroom. Thank God the doctor decided not to put in a catheter. Ugh.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it. Stop deflecting.”

“Physically I don’t feel too bad, a little achy maybe. The rest of it is going to take some time to process.”

“Understandable. I’m here for you, Jade,” she promised. “You need to cry? I’ve got two shoulders at your disposal. If you want to hit something? I’ll get the boys to take us to their gym. Whatever you need, I’m there.”

She meant it too. Every word. I was a firm believer in the whole right place, right time saying. Even more so after meeting Henley and then Lanie. Some friendships took years to cultivate. The three of us though? Peas in a pod. Our bond was almost instantaneous. I couldn’t imagine a time when they wouldn’t be at my side and the same went for me.

“Love you, Henley. You’re the best friend anyone could ever hope for.”

Her eyes welled up. “Stop it. These damn pregnancy hormones are no joke. These days I’m either crying or puking.”

“Eww, sorry.” Changing the subject, I asked, “Have you heard anything from Noah and Lanie?”

“Not personally. Duncan said some shit was going down, that’s why they're not here. But he did talk to Waverly so they’re all aware of what went down here.”

“Damn.”

“What’s wrong, Angel? Are you in pain?” Koen exited the en suite bathroom, wearing gray sweats and nothing else. I licked my lips as my eyes roamed over his sculpted chest. Damn, my husband was hot. “Jade?”

“Huh?” I shook my head, snapping myself out of my Koen-induced brain fog.

“Are you hurting?”

“Not in the way you’re thinking,” I muttered under my breath.

He winked at me playfully, then smiled. I hadn’t seen enough of either of those things in the last few hours. When the doctor stopped in to check over my injuries, he’d been like a grizzly bear protecting its mate, grumbling and snapping his jaws every time I winced or grimaced. And don’t even get me started on the way he acted when a police officer showed up to take my statement. I thought both Banks brothers were going to have to be removed from the room, especially after I told them about Macha’s sort-of confession regarding their father’s death. They’d already suspected his involvement, but to hear he’d basically admitted to ordering the hit renewed their dwindling hopes.

At this point, the drug lord was facing charges for my kidnapping and attempted murder. The lead detective on the case was confident he’d be able to get the man who took me to flip on his boss in exchange for lesser charges. Considering the guy thought I was Riley’s fiancée; it was clear he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the shed. Still, he might have enough information to bring down the whole operation or, at the very least, severely hamper it.

“Where do you need me to kiss and make it better?” He sauntered his fine ass over to the bed and bent down to kiss me. “Here?”

Damn him. I rubbed my thighs together, knowing if I actually had panties on, they’d be drenched.

“Gross.” Henley wrinkled her nose. “I’m outta here.”

We both laughed at her hasty exit, then his face grew serious as he traced a finger along the deep purple bruise at my temple.

“Marry me,” he said.

“What?”

“Marry me.”

“I know I’m the one with the concussion, Koen, but you seem to have bumped your head on something. We’re already married.”

“That was a practice run, Wif e.” He nipped my bottom lip. “Our marriage was never just a convenience to me.”

“To me either, Husband .”

“We did it wrong the first time.” I narrowed my eyes on him, but he quickly explained. “Our family wasn’t there. Let’s do it right this time. The whole shebang: church, flowers, you walking down the aisle in a hot-as-fuck white gown that I’ll look forward to peeling off of you at the end of the night. I want us to be able to share those memories with our kids one day.”

I smirked.

“Okay, maybe not that last memory, but you know what I mean. What do you say? Marry me? Again?”

Dreaming big was never a luxury I thought I could afford. My happiness didn’t matter as long as Jett had everything he needed to have the best possible future. It wasn’t until this amazing man barged his way into our lives that I realized I could have both.

“Yes.”