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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ANNA

I kept waking up, disjointed images and feelings swirling around me. Fear as I opened my eyes. Pain. Fragmented thoughts of being cold, terrified.

But every time I lifted my eyelids, he was there.

Niall.

Reassuring me in his low, rich voice.

Comforting me with his scent and gentle touch.

Watching me with his dark-brown eyes, caring and filled with love.

I was warm, my body cradled by softness and often his arms.

Sometimes I heard music. A sweet, familiar voice singing quietly. Gentle hands holding mine.

Still, I hid in the darkness, too scared to wake completely and find that I had been dreaming.

Until I heard it.

His whisper. His plea.

“ Come back to me, mo mhuirnín . I miss you. I need you. ”

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking at the light, grimacing at the brightness.

“I turned the light down,” Niall’s voice murmured. “Open your eyes for me.”

I did, his face slowly coming into focus. He looked exhausted. Drawn. Anxious.

And he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

“Niall?”

He cupped my cheek, bending over me. “ Mo mhuirnín. ” He pressed a kiss to my brow. “Thank God.”

I peered around. I was in a hospital room, machines whirring and beeping. There was a sofa by the window and a large chair beside the bed where Niall had been sitting. Coffee cups were scattered on a table.

He smiled at my confusion. “You’re in a private hospital. We brought you here after—” he swallowed “—after we got you out.”

The whole ordeal rushed back, and my eyes widened, a flood of tears pouring down my cheeks. I gripped his wrists, panicking.

“No, Anna, hush,” he soothed. “You’re safe.” He leaned close. “They are dead. They can’t harm you again. No one will ever harm you again.”

“But he…she… He was alive.”

He pressed his lips to my ear. “I killed him. I made sure of it.”

Something in his voice, his adamant words, made me relax.

“He said a bomb—your car,” I babbled, feeling panicked.

“No. You already said something to Finn, and it’s been checked. We’re all safe, Anna.”

I exhaled a shaky breath, another memory becoming clearer.

“Finn shot her,” I whispered, recalling the closet.

“Yes.”

“It’s over?” I pleaded, gripping his shirt, trembling.

He sat on the bed, gently lifting me into his arms, crooning my name. “It’s over.”

And I wept.

The doctor came in, examined me, removed the oxygen, and capped off the IV. When I asked when I could leave, he patted my hand. “Soon.”

I wanted soon to be now.

He spoke with Niall, then left. A few moments later, a nurse came in with a basin of warm water and some towels. She left after making sure I had ice water to drink and didn’t need anything.

“How long was I out?” I asked, as Niall gently washed my face with a soft cloth.

He frowned. “Two days. The doctor was worried about your head, but they did a CT scan and there was no swelling in your brain. He told us you needed to rest, that your body needed the time to start healing.” He met my eyes, his still anxious. “I hated seeing you like that.”

“I know,” I whispered, stilling his movements. “I’m okay, Niall.”

“You will be,” he assured me, bending down to press a tender kiss to my mouth. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“You said us.”

“What?”

“You said ‘the doctor told us.’ Who is us?”

“Finn and Una were here until a few hours ago when you started to wake up. They thought we’d want privacy. Roman and Effie were here.” He indicated flowers in the corner. “Aldo and Vi were here as well.”

“Oh.”

“Everyone was concerned.”

“What about the hotel?”

He set aside the cloth and sat down. “It was obvious something had happened and it involved you. Finn told them there had been an attempted abduction, but you were safe. Everyone was horrified but so glad you’re all right.”

“Okay.” I shifted, trying to pull myself up and grimacing.

He stood and helped me.

“My shoulders hurt the most.”

He looked angry, but his voice was calm. “I know. I want you to stay on top of the pain meds. I hate seeing you in discomfort. When we get home, I’ll have a massage therapist in for you daily.”

I didn’t respond, and he sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you coming home with me, Anna?”

“What?”

“I’m sure you’re thinking how dangerous my world is now. If you’ve changed your mind?—”

I stopped him by covering his mouth. “Stop it. Because of your world, I am here. Alive and with you. I was taken before I knew you. He came after me again because of his obsession. Both times, you rescued me. I’m grateful for ‘ your world .’” I drew in a deep breath.

“And I love you. I never want to leave you.”

He was silent.

“I knew you’d come for me. Find me. I believed that the same way Una knew Finn would find her. Because of you, I had hope.” I touched his hand. “And I was right. You found me.”

I watched as emotions crossed his face. I was shocked to see tears in his eyes.

He took my hand, kissing the palm and holding it to his cheek.

“I thought I’d lost you. Even after we got you out, you were so lifeless in my arms—I was terrified.

” A tear rolled over my hand as he spoke.

“I can’t lose you, Anna. You have become so ingrained in my heart.

The thought of anything happening to you tears me up inside, and I?—”

I shook my head. “Then the safest place in the world for me is with you, isn’t it?”

He inhaled, his emotions so clearly visible in his fierce expression. “Yes.”

“Then the matter is settled. I’m staying with you, and you’ll protect me and love me.”

He smiled even as another tear splashed on my hand. “And you’ll bake me cookies and love me.”

“Always.”

He rested his head on my chest, letting his emotions out. I stroked his hair, crooning softly, knowing I would be the only one he allowed to see his fear.

When he lifted his face, he met my eyes, his once again calm.

“Always.”

Finn and Una came in, looking worried. I had moved to the chair, propped up with pillows, and Niall sat on the bed, feeding me tidbits of the food he had ordered in. I wasn’t overly hungry, but I ate to please him.

Una saw I was awake and promptly burst into tears, racing to me and hugging me as she wept. I patted her back, grateful she was gentle. My shoulders and arms ached constantly. I let her cry, offering the box of tissues when she pulled back.

“I was so frightened,” she whispered.

I squeezed her hand. “Me too.”

Finn came over, bending and kissing my cheek. “Good to see you alert and sitting up.”

“Thank you.”

I glanced between him and Niall. “Maybe you two could go for coffee,” I suggested. “Get Niall to eat something substantial, Finn.” I indicated the morsels on the table. “He needs more than this.”

Niall began to protest, and I smiled. “Una is here. You have a man outside. And I’d like to talk to my friend.”

His face softened in understanding. He knew what a close bond I had with Una.

Finn nodded. “I brought food from the hotel for both of you. It’s in the lounge.”

Niall bent and kissed me. “Right down the hall.”

“Okay.”

Una held my hands. “She walked right past me…I didn’t know.”

“I know. Niall told me everything.”

“I never liked her.”

That made me chuckle. “I know.”

“I wish I could slap her a few times,” she confessed.

“Finn shot her.”

She nodded. “He told me.”

“Dead,” I emphasized.

“I think that was the point.”

“She was a bitch.”

“Tell me.”

I told her what I could recall. Some things were blurry. Some things too painful to relive, but I got them out. Una listened, letting me get all the words out in the open. She understood.

“Do you know what she called Niall?” I asked after we’d been quiet for a few moments.

“What?”

“Doughy.”

Una frowned. “Doughy? What, compared to her stick of a wannabe man?”

“Exactly. I told her off.”

“Bitch.”

“She hit me.”

“Finn killed her.” She grinned. “He’d have killed her again if he’d heard that. He and Niall are a bit vain about their physique.”

“As they should be.”

We started to laugh, and it felt good.

She sighed. “Niall was beside himself. He loves you the way Finn loves me.”

“I know.”

“We’re postponing the wedding.”

“No, you can’t. I’m fine. I can stand up for you—just maybe no pictures.”

I had seen myself in the mirror. I was bruised, and I had a cut on my cheek where the bracelet had hit me. Another one by my mouth. A long one on my neck from the knife, which luckily was only surface, not a deep cut. But I wouldn’t be camera-ready in a few days.

“We decided to go to Ireland first. See Roisin and let her have her party. Get married there unofficially, then come home and do it here. You’ll have recovered more.”

“I hate that you’re putting it off for me.”

“I realized I don’t have to be married for Finn to be mine. He already is. So, whatever date the piece of paper says is just that. A date.”

Then she smiled and winked. “And soon, we’ll be planning yours.”

I shrugged. “We haven’t discussed that yet.”

“You will.”

NIALL

I glanced across at Anna who slept on the sofa. She was bundled up with blankets, warm and safe. Close. I needed her close at all times. Luckily, she felt the same way.

There was a knock at the door, and I hurried over, smiling when I saw it was Una.

“Come in. She’s napping.”

“Good. Finn needs you in the office. Roman is here with Aldo.”

I looked over to Anna, hesitant.

“She’ll be fine. I’ll stay with her.”

“I just ordered some lunch.”

“Great. I’m starving.”

I chuckled. “Okay, I’ll get something with Finn.”

She pushed her hair over her shoulder, her ring catching the light. She saw me looking at it with a smile.

“Something on your mind?” she asked playfully.

I tugged her into the hall. “I want to marry Anna.”

“Good.”

“I have no clue about a ring.” I lifted her hand. “Would she like one like yours, maybe?”

She rolled her eyes. “Absolutely not. This rock would look wrong on Anna’s hand. She is so small it would be an ice rink. It’s even big for me, but Finn…” She trailed off with a shrug.

“What should I look for?”