Page 61 of Secret Revenge

“That’s bullshit,” I whispered. My voice felt better already, and the ache in my head when I woke up had reduced to a dull throb. I looked around the room and realized who I’d been subconsciously expecting to see. “Where’s Michael?”

Brendan raised a brow and frowned in confusion. “Who’s Michael? Are you talking about your friend? Well, he’s outside. We didn’t know the depth of your relationship and we weren’tsure you’d want him by your side.” Brendan shot Travis a glance and Travis nodded, giving the go-ahead for Michael to be let into the room.

“Hey, you’re awake…” Michael was all smiles when he saw me and I smiled back, increasing the throbbing in my temple a notch.

“You got my SOS. Thank you. And thank you for tracking my damn phone.”

“I did. I knew something had gone wrong as soon as the burner phone lit up. I didn’t even go to your house first: I went straight to the Ross brothers when you said you were both in danger.”

“You didn’t need to hack into the house security system to do that,” Brendan Jackson murmured as the third Ross brother, Brendan, appeared behind him.

“I apologize.” Michael raised his hands in apology. “I needed something that could get your immediate attention.

“Well, you managed that,” Brendan murmured, looking amused.

“Thank you so much, Michael.” I took his hand. “What could I ever do without you?”

He raised a brow. “Not a lot, unfortunately. Your tab is starting to run rather high.”

Brendan cleared his throat loudly, interrupting the banter between me and Michael. He glanced from me to Travis, then back to me again. “I really, really wanted to pursue charges against you, Emily. It seems unnecessary to do so now, though, given the situation.”

I smiled weakly.

“We also got our data back,” Brendan continued, “and it doesn’t seem like it was used to do anything malicious. Still, this is not something that we can just sweep casually under the rug.We still need to do a ton of investigations, plug any security risks.”

“We should hire him to help with that,” Jackson interrupted Brendan, pointing at Michael. Michael’s eyes grew huge.

“Yes, sure,” Brendan waved a hand dismissively as though he weren’t offering Michael the chance of a lifetime. “But, Emily…you clearly mean the world to Travis. That’s what swung the decision.”

Joy flooded through me as I remembered how he had come to me, how he had given me a chance to explain my side of the story. How he had proven me wonderfully, gloriously wrong about him in every way.

How he had almost died because he trusted me. I shut my eyes.

The fact that such a good man believed in me meant more to me than anything else in the world. But he had almost died because of it. I pried my eyes open and glanced at him. He was watching me with love clear as daylight in his eyes.

Brendan must have noticed us looking at each other. “Alright then, come on guys. Let’s give the two survivors a private moment. Everyone out.” He shut the door quietly behind him, leaving Travis and I alone in the room.

Travis smiled and shook his head, then slid into the bed beside me. “Nothing has ever terrified me more than when you got shot,” he murmured. “I was so afraid you were going to die.”

A dark, distant look overtook his eyes and I reached out, wrapping his fingers in mine. “Oh, Travis. I was never going to die. Icouldn’tdie. I had something very important to live for, and even when it got dark, I held on. I could feel your love for me, and I couldn’t die knowing what it would do to you.”

“I love you, Emily,” Travis said in a soft voice. “I tried so hard to fight it. I denied it, I ran away from it. It didn’t matter. I can’trun away from it anymore. I am absolutely and completely in love with you.”

“I’m in love with you too, Travis,” I whispered, surprised to feel tears filling my eyes. “You’re not the only person who lived in denial. Even while I hunted through your files for dirt on you, even while I investigated you. Even as I looked for reasons not to be so helplessly in love with you. All I found were reasons to love you even more. I loved you then, and I love you now.”

Travis’ eyes shimmered and I wondered if he was about to cry too. Before I could find out, he leaned forward and planted the softest kiss on my lips.

In that moment, the world shrank to just us, I forgot all about my injuries and pulled him closer into me, my lips melting sweetly against his.

30

TRAVIS

“Your scans show no major internal injuries, and you're lucky to have a clean gunshot wound – it passed through without hitting any vital organs. The concussion from the collision appears mild, but we'll monitor you closely for any changes.”

The doctor tapped on the X-ray printout with a pen as he spoke to Emily. I sat on the bed beside her and listened attentively, squeezing her hand gently for support.

“So, nothing to be worried about?” I asked, wanting to be certain.