Page 172 of Distress Signal

SOLDIER

And that’s two minutes too long. If I could, I’d handcuff us together so you could never get away from me.

I sucked in a gasp that released as a laugh as another message quickly followed his last.

SOLDIER

…too soon?

ME

I love you. I’ll be back soon.

My excursionfor coffee and food took longer than I planned, but I had to admit, moving about freely without constantly looking over my shoulder, feeling like there were eyes on my back, watching me from the shadows, was a welcomechange. My stalker was dead, and Lainey was home. I could breathe easy for the first time in months.

Well, if you didn’t count the fact that the love of my life’s brother was fighting forhislife.

When I pulled back into the lot, I sat unmoving in the truck for a moment, listening to the tick of the cooling engine.

Truthfully, I was fucking sick of this place. Between Aria, me, and now Lane, I’d spent more time in hospitals the last few months than I had in the years since the accident that took my parents combined.

When this was all over, I was going to convince Finn and my sister to take a long tropical vacation.

As long as Lane pulled through and made a full recovery, the days when we were free of this trauma and pain were coming soon.

Finally, after a final deep breath to steel myself, I collected the bags of food and trays of coffee from the passenger seat and went inside.

Upon walking into the waiting room, I was surprised to find most of the deputies and Addie had cleared out, leaving only the Lawless family and Sutton. Birdie and Aria clung to each other, crying quietly, and the brothers all wore varying expressions of…shock? I hated that I couldn’t tell if the emotional uproar meant good or bad news.

“What happened?” I asked Finn, setting the food on a nearby table and approaching him.

He pulled me into his arms, squeezing me so tightly I could barely breathe.

“Lane made it through surgery,” he said quietly. “They managed to remove the bullet. It missed his heart thankfully but had lodged itself in his lung. They’re going to keep him in an induced coma and on a ventilator to give his body a break while the tissue heals.”

“But the prognosis is good?”

“The prognosis isgreat,” he breathed, tone full of awe and…hope.

I pulled back to look up at him. His eyes shone with tears, but this time, they were accompanied by a smile wide enough to light this entire city. The shadows in his stormy depths had receded, leaving that crystalline blue I loved so much.

Grinning in response, I said, “Happy looks good on you, soldier.”

“Youlook good on me, belle. I wouldn’t be able to get through this without you.”

Digging the fingers of my good hand into his shirt, I fisted it and pulled him impossibly closer, tilting my head back for a kiss, which he obliged.

“Iwouldn’t have survived these last few months withoutyou.”

He shifted from my mouth to my forehead, lips lingering. “We can unpack all of this later, all of what happened to you in that basement, but…god, belle. I’m so fucking happy to be holding you.”

“In your arms is right where I belong.”

After assurancesfrom the hospital staff that Lane was in good hands, the Lawless family began filing out to head back to Dusk Valley. Birdie planned on packing a bag and spending some time in a nearby hotel, wanting to be close in case something happened. Owen, Delia, and Jace were heading back to Michigan, though Owen would be back in a few days.

Eventually, only Finn, Lainey, and I remained. Lainey’s test results had come back clear, but the doctor wanted her to stay overnight so he could keep her on a steady IV drip in an effort to return some of her strength.

The second visiting hours ended, we were promptly kickedout. Finn tried to convince me to go back to Dusk Valley and sleep in our bed, but I refused.