Page 134 of Romancing His Heart

A few moments later, I’m sliding into the bed next to Sloane. We are both hurting physically, but I won’t allow her to hurt emotionally alone for another second.

“Can you guys give us a few minutes?” I ask the room.

“Yeah, I need to go make sure Dex gets approval for this,” Emory waves her hand at our bed, “too.”

I smile and settle in next to a silent Sloane. When the room empties, I turn her face to look at me, and her walls come crashing down.

“I-I thought you wouldn’t remember me,” she sobs.

“Oh, sweetheart. I’m sorry you thought that. I have a concussion, and things were a little fuzzy when I first woke up, but I never once forgot you. I plan to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I remember you.”

“That’s a long time,” she whispers.

“Because of you, it is. What in God’s name were you thinking, Sloane?” My voice catches as tears cascade down my cheek. I haven’t wept openly in a long time, but now that she is safe, in my arms, the emotional toll of the last few months weighs heavy on my heart. “I could have lost you.”

“I-I saw that man stab you. Then I saw them drag Ashton in by his foot, and I knew they were going to kill you. No one could get to you in time. Westbrook Bay was too far from town. Even if Sylvie had called the police, they wouldn’t have gotten to you in time. We made the best decision we could.”

“Knock, knock,” Seth’s tired voice precedes him. “Ah, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I’m heading home to get to Sadie. She’s pretty upset, and the nanny has been on around the clock for days.”

He walks closer to the bed and takes a seat next to Sloane. Taking her hand in his, he lays his head on the bed. His shoulders shake with emotion. When he raises his head, I see he’s joined us in our tears.

“Thank you, Sloane. Thank you for stupidly risking your life like you did. M-My daughter, she isn’t an orphan because of you …” The emotion is too much for him, and he fumbles over his words.

“Seth,” Sloane’s voice is muted and her eyes heavy.

“If Sylvie hadn’t gotten through to Preston, though, this all could have ended very badly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sloane ran through the woods. Her security team had no idea what was going on.”

“What?” It comes out harsher than I intended, but maybe some details I’m better off not knowing.

“I-I didn’t know they were there. I thought I snuck away from them when I left Camden Crossing.”

“That’s another issue altogether,” Seth says dryly. “Their plan was for Sylvie to create a distraction so Sloane could slip into the room. After that, I don’t know what her plan was. Luckily, Preston called just as Sloane was taking off. He told Sylvie there was a security team at the front gate. They rushed to your house and set off a series of mini-explosions.”

I gape at Seth, then turn my focus to Sloane. “That’s when you snuck into the room and started shooting up the place?”

She shrugs and glances down at her chest. “I didn’t mean to shoot you, though.”

Her confession causes a burst of laughter from Seth and me. We both grab our chests—everything hurts.

“You didn’t shoot him. I saw the report. Initially, they thought your gun had gone off when you fell because they found it so far from your body. But after forensics went through, they found it was a stray bullet that ricocheted from one of the undercover agents.”

“Oh, thank God,” Sloane murmurs. Her eyes are blinking slower and slower. After a few moments, soft snoring fills the room.

“Have you seen the guys?” I ask.

Seth stands and comes to my side of the bed, so we don’t have to talk over a sleeping Sloane.

“I have,” he replies solemnly.

“How are they?”

“Luca took the brunt of it physically, but he’s doing okay. He had just spoken to Nadja when I saw him. He’s happy that Claire is bringing her home. He has a long recovery ahead of him, but he’ll make it.”

It’s the words he isn’t saying that make my stomach roil.