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“Maybe.”

“No maybe about it. He’s a sick and twisted man.”

She closed her eyes and tried to make sense of Adam’s obsession with her.

David’s fingers intertwined with hers. “Go to sleep. You’re safe. I’m not leaving.”

Warmth spread through her. The man she’d fallen in love with was staying right by her side even after the way she’d treated him.

Her limbs felt heavy, and her mind slid toward darkness once again.

Chapter 20

Saturday 3:00 p.m.

David had pulled up a chair early in the a.m. when Jennie had fallen asleep and wrapped her hand around his. Jennie’s pain levels had been off the charts a couple of times. Her whimpers had broken his heart. Only after she’d settled down and Brandon informed him of Adam’s death had David fallen into a deep sleep for a few hours.

The afternoon sun shone through the blinds. Aunt Emily had brought Zoey by to see her mom after they’d moved Jennie from an emergency bay to a regular hospital room. Jennie woke to reassure her daughter for a few minutes before exhaustion pulled her under.

“David?” He tore his gaze from the woman he loved and landed on Brandon.

“Yeah,” he whispered.

His partner slipped inside the room. “How’s she doing?”

“It’s been a rough day, but I think she’s finally resting a little easier now.”

“Glad to hear it. She’s one tough lady.”

David shifted his gaze to the battered woman next to him. “I could have lost her.”

“Yes, you could have, but you didn’t. And if the worst would have happened, it wouldn’t have been your fault.”

“I don’t know about that.” He shook his head.

“I do. I’m not sure I could have kept it together out there if it was the woman I loved. You did what you had to do. I am proud to call you my partner.”

Loved? Who was he kidding? Jennie and Zoey had become everything to him. “Thanks, man.” He lifted his hand and ran his fingers through his hair. Brandon was right. He had put it all aside and did his job. Because if he hadn’t, he would have lost everything again.

“So? Are you going to give yourself a break now?”

David scrunched his brow. “What do you mean?”

Brandon rolled his eyes. “Seriously? Mr. I-can’t-trust-my-own-judgement-when-someone-I care-about-is-involved.”

He exhaled. He had trusted his judgement out there, and his decisions had been the right ones. Jennie being alive and breathing next to him was proof. It hit him like a baseball bat across the back of his head. He didn’t control life and death. He could only do what he thought was best under the circumstances.

“You’re right.”

Brandon snickered. “Say that again.”

David tried to smother a grin. “I said, ‘You’re right.’”

“That’s what I thought.” His partner beamed with mischief.

“I think I like you better when you’re wrong.” David huffed.

Brandon turned serious. “She’s gonna be okay?”