Page 149 of Shadows of Obsession

Because I'd learned tonight what I should have known all along.

Life was too short. Too fragile. Too precious.

And love—real, true, fight-through-hell-for-you love—was worth everything.

CHAPTER 41

Jaxon

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The steady, rhythmic sound of the heart monitor pierced through the haze of my consciousness like a drill boring into my skull, dragging me from the depths of a dreamless sleep I hadn't wanted to leave. The noise cut through the fog like a knife, making my face scrunch up in discomfort. I desperately wanted someone to turn that damn thing off.

I flexed my body experimentally, testing the movement of limbs that felt like they belonged to someone else. Stiff, heavy, uncooperative. The slight shift sent a sharp spike of pain through my side, making me suck in a breath and wonder what had happened.

The movement must have caught Anna's attention because suddenly I felt her hand tighten around mine, warm, familiar and grounding. I hadn't even realized she was holding my hand until that moment.

"Jax? Are you awake?" Her voice was soft, gentle, close enough that I knew she was leaning toward me.

I kept my eyes closed against what I could sense was a bright, sterile light beyond my eyelids. My throat was dry, so dry it felt like I'd swallowed sand. I swallowed painfully, licked my chapped lips, and tried to speak.

"What happened?" My voice came out rough and raspy, barely recognizable as my own.Why can't I remember? Where am I?

Slowly, I forced my eyes open, immediately squinting against the harsh whiteness surrounding me. Hospital. I was in a hospital. The smell hit me next, antiseptic, cleaning chemicals, and that distinct scent all hospitals shared.

As my vision adjusted, my gaze found Anna's face, and my heart clenched painfully in my chest.Jesus Christ.

Bruises marred her delicate features. Dark purple and yellow marks stood out starkly against her pale skin. Bandages wrapped around her arms, white against the mottled colors of healing injuries beneath. A medical ID bracelet circled her wrist.

And then it all came flooding back. Daniel. The cabin. The fight. The knife. Anna. He had Anna. He was killing her.

"Daniel stabbed you," Anna said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper, as if speaking too loudly might shatter something fragile between us. "The blade hit your liver. They had to operate to close the wound and stop the bleeding."

The realization settled deep in my bones. My liver. That explained why everything hurt like hell.

Her words carried the weight of everything we'd survived, but there was something else in her eyes—relief. Profound relief that we were both still alive, still together, still here.

Anna reached out with her free hand and ran her fingers through my hair, the simple gesture filled with so much love and tenderness it made my throat tighten. Her fingertips grazed the side of my face, and I winced slightly. There was a bruise there too. I could feel it now. I remembered it was from his elbow, when he got that opening to stab me.

Anna leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead, her lips soft and warm against my skin. I breathed in her scent; hospital soap mixed with something uniquely her and felt something in my chest settle.She's okay. She's alive. We both made it.

I lifted my hand, ignoring the pull and tug of the IV line taped to my arm, and traced the outline of the bruise on Anna's cheek with my fingertips before moving down to the bruises that wrapped around herneck. My heart ached at the thought of the pain she'd endured, at what Daniel had done to her before I'd gotten there. I should’ve been faster.

With a gentle tug, I pulled her closer, needing to feel her lips on mine, needing the confirmation that this was real. Our lips met in a kiss that was tender despite everything. Careful of our injuries but no less meaningful.

When we pulled apart, I looked into her eyes and made her a promise. "He'll never hurt you again."Never. I'll make damn sure of it.

Anna chuckled softly as she pulled back, reaching for a tray beside the bed that held a cup with a straw. "No, he won't. You killed him."

The words should have hit me harder. I'd taken a life, but all I felt was grim satisfaction. There was no judgment in Anna's voice, only a quiet finality. A recognition that the nightmare was finally over.

With gentle hands, Anna slipped her arm beneath my head, helping me sit up just enough to take a sip of water. The movement sent pain radiating through my side, and I had to grit my teeth against it.

"Drink slowly," she cautioned, holding the straw to my lips.

The cool liquid soothed my parched throat like nothing else could. I took several small sips before she carefully lowered my head back to the pillows. Even that small effort left me exhausted.

"I wish it wasn't so quick for him," I admitted, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. The anger I hadn't been lucid enough to feel before now rose to the surface, hot and bitter. "I wish I could've prolonged his suffering for touching you." I felt a burning urge to have made him pay, to have made him hurt the way he hurt her.