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I swallowed hard, cleared my throat, and gave him a small smile. “Hi.”

“How are you feeling?” he asked gently.

I quickly did a mental scan of my body. When I didn’t feel any pain, I let out a sigh of relief. “Numb.”

“They gave you some pain meds to make you comfortable.” He pulled the chair up to my bed trying to get closer, but I knew that with a guy like him, even if he was inside me, it wouldn’t be close enough.

“What happened?” I asked, running my fingers through his dark beard. It had grown in some and lines sat at the corners of his eyes. He looked like he had aged years in only a matter of days.

“You were brought in for an ultrasound and ended up needing another surgery.”

My stomach twisted over what I had done. “How...is he...”

“He’s dead, baby.”

My eyes widened. “I killed him.”

“No.” Cyrus kissed my forehead. “Someone else did.”

I stared up at him. “You didn’t...”

“No, I didn’t.” He leaned his forehead against mine. “But I wanted to. I met someone who knew him and who also knew you. He’s the one who killed him. I was just there, watching it happen.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I confirmed with a friend that the information this guy gave me, was accurate. I trust this friend with my life, so I believe him.” Cyrus’s jaw clenched as he thought a moment. “The guy who attacked you—”

“He was the one who stabbed me too,” I said, not remembering if I had already told Cyrus that or not.

“I know.” Cyrus pulled away from me.

“No.” I reached for him. “Please, I need you here.”

He stood and sat on the edge of the bed.

I shifted my weight over, giving him some room to lay down beside me.

He laid down, curled on his side, and brushed his thumb down the length of my jaw. “The guy I met tonight knew your attacker. He’s the one who killed him. He also said that he was there during the raid.”

My eyes widened.

“He said that he helped you escape. He’s older, heavily tattooed and has some piercings.” Cyrus waited. “Do you remember anyone looking like that?”

“I...” I tried wracking my brain for those memories when suddenly, something hit me.

“I’m going to help you,” the older man said gently. “I know you don’t trust men right now, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that, sweetheart?”

I didn’t have much to go on when it came to this stranger, but he couldn’t have been worse than who I had dealt with for the past several years.

I only nodded which earned me a small smile.

“Let’s get you out of here.” The man wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me to an ambulance.

Once the EMT helped me into the back of the vehicle, the man had disappeared. I wanted to ask who he was or where he went but the words were stuck on my tongue. I could only hope that I would see him again, so I could thank him.

“I feel like my mind was playing tricks on me. I didn’t recognize the guy who attacked me either. Not at first. But when he started talking and saying awful things, it was like these memories came flooding back and I couldn’t stop them.” A shaky breath left me. Even though he was gone, I couldn’t control the fear rippling over my skin.

“You don’t have to worry about it anymore, pet,” Cyrus said gently.