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Chapter 54
Troy
As I held Monica’s hand, squeezing it every few minutes to ensure she was awake, the city sprawled out beneath us like a sea of concrete and glass. This would have been a perfect date idea had it not been that she was mildly concussed and had just survived a near death. I planted a kiss on the top of her head, gratefully memorizing that smell of jasmine that was so uniquely hers. I never wanted to lose that scent, or the feel of her hand in mine, or her head against my shoulder.
“You awake?” I whispered.
“Mhmm,” she said groggily. “The view is pretty great.”
I smiled down at her. It was dusk now. The sky was a watercolor of navy and lilac, the twinkling lights of the buildings the only warmth below.
The helicopter dipped slightly, and I hoped it meant we were nearing the hospital. Though the paramedics had looked over Monica and had concluded she most likely had a concussion and that was all, I wasn’t sure. The image of the red car’s hood wrapped around a tree was stuck in my head. She was lucky. So lucky. Someone had heard my prayer and saved her, but I just hoped the doctors found nothing else wrong with her.
I also hoped that she would heal from the emotional toil this must have taken on her. When I found her in the car, she was almost unrecognizable with her face drained of color and fear the only thing that filled the eyes that used to be so warm. I couldn’t help but think that I was the one who did this to her. I was the one who got her in the car that was wrapped around the tree. I squeezed her hand again, not to make sure she was awake, but because of the guilt that was coursing through me.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
“Hmm?” she asked, tilting her head up slightly to look at me. “For what?”
“For everything. For the mess I got you into…” I shook my head, fighting back tears as I took in the bruises on her face that were beginning to darken.
“You didn’t do anything,” she said softly.
“If it weren’t for me, Veronica would never have come into your life. She could have got you killed. I don’t know what I would have done…”
“I’m right here,” she said, squeezing my hand back. “It’s not your fault, Troy.”
“She will never hurt you again,” I said firmly.
She nodded, but I knew she wasn’t convinced. There would always be some small part of her that remembered this day and the horror she had been put through. I just hoped I could assure her she could move on with her life, with me, loved and safe. I wanted to protect her. Now that I had almost lost her, I didn’t know how I would ever be able to let her out of my sight.
I knew Veronica would be locked up, and hopefully put some place where they could help her. If I thought she wasn’t right in the head before, today just further solidified her mental state. I saw it in her eyes. The woman I used to know was no longer there anymore. What was left behind was a shattered version, desperate for a life that she could no longer have and it was breaking her in two. I shuddered as I remembered the break in her leg, the one she was unaware of because her anger was too strong for her to feel anything else.
The helicopter dipped lower and Monica groaned softly as she closed her eyes, the buildings getting closer.
“Hey, you okay?” I asked, worriedly.
“Mhmm,” she said, but she kept her eyes closed.
Her face took on a shade of grayish-green as she sucked in a slow, shaky breath. I thought she might be sick. I rubbed her back as I willed for us to get to the hospital quickly. We couldn’t be far now. I needed her to see a doctor fast. I knew a concussion could cause nausea, but I just prayed it wasn’t severe enough to cause long-term damage.
“We’re almost there,” I said softly, hoping I was right.
She groaned again, slumping forward and holding her head between her legs.
“You’re going to be okay, baby,” I said.
“How much longer?” I leaned forward and asked the pilot, a little too sternly. It wasn’t his fault.
“The hospital is coming into view now, Mr. Gunner,” he assured me.
I nodded and sat back in the seat, darkness washing over Monica and me. I could see the yellowXon the top of a nearby building, our landing spot. I let out a sigh of relief. The pilot slowly lowered the helicopter down, the rotors slowing to a stop. I could see nurses with a stretcher rushing toward us. The pilot came around and opened the door, and I lifted Monica out of the helicopter and placed her on the stretcher.
“We will take it from here,” said the nurse urgently, taking the handles of the stretcher and pushing Monica toward a nearby elevator on the rooftop.
“I’m coming with,” I said, trying to keep up.
“Are you family?” she eyed me.