28
Bella's eyes snapped open, frantically searching the room. She had expected to be inside the dark, dank bunker, which had become her own personal hell. But she wasn't. Maybe she was dreaming. Maybe Edward hadn't busted into that room and shot Phil Dwyer.
Had that been only a dream?
"You're okay, dear."
Turning her head to the left, she found a woman sitting beside her bed. She was beautiful with soft, auburn hair and bright green eyes. She had her legs crossed and wore a beige cardigan wrapped around her torso. She smiled, tilting her head to the side.
"He wasn't wrong about you."
"Who . . . who are you?"
Softly laughing before she uncrossed her legs. "I'm Elizabeth Masen."
"Edward's mother?"
"Yes."
"Where is he?"
"He should be back soon. I forced him to go shower and eat. He was starting to stink."
"He . . . he's not dead?"
Elizabeth frowned. "No, dear."
"And why are you here?"
"They didn't want you to be alone, so I volunteered."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"I . . ." Bella turned away. "Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital in Oklahoma City. Mercy Hospital, in fact."
"How long have I been here?"
"A week and two days."
Bella's eyes closed.
"He hasn't left your side until now. To be honest, we weren't sure you would wake up."
Her eyes opened. "And how long have you been here?"
"A week and one day." Elizabeth stood, turning her chair to face her before sitting again. "My son has been beside himself with worry. I couldn't just stay away, not when he needed me. When you needed me."
"You don't even know me."
"That's true," she admitted. "But the way my children talk about you, I knew he would need me here."
"And he's okay? He's . . . he's not dead?"
Elizabeth frowned. "No, dear, he is perfectly fine."
Tears streamed down her face. When she tried to move her arms, pain radiated through her body. Bella looked down, finding both covered in plaster casts well above her elbows. Her lower body was covered in a thick, white blanket, but she could feel the bandages covering her feet and traveling up her ankles to the middle of her calves.
Elizabeth reached around the bedrail and pressed the button for the nurse's station.
"Yes?" a garbled voice echoed through the speaker.
"Agent Swan is awake."
There was a pregnant pause before they said, "Okay."
Elizabeth stood and moved her chair moments before the door to her room opened. A young doctor with dark brown hair hurried into the room, followed by a woman with long, curly red hair. They stopped for a moment before reaching her bed.
"Agent Swan, I'm Dr. Felix Moreno. How are you feeling?"
"I . . ." Bella swallowed thickly. "I hurt. A lot."
He nodded before turning and adjusting her pain meds before facing her again. "This should help."
She wasn't sure what to say. Thanks? She didn't feel very appreciative of anything right now. Everything hurt; every part of her body radiated with pain.
But more than the physical pain, her soul felt like it had been torn apart. She could feel Dwyer's hands on her body, his lips on her nipples, the smell of his breath as he whispered into her ear. She shuddered, searching the room again for any sign that she was still inside the bunker. Her eyes landed on the woman with curly red hair.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Maggie."
"But who are you?"
She smiled. "I'm a trauma therapist, Agent Swan."
She inhaled a sharp breath. "I see."
"Agent Swan —"
"It's Bee. My name is Bee," she whimpered. "Is he dead? Is Phil Dwyer dead?"
However, before either could answer, the door to her room was thrown open and she heard herself start sobbing because standing in the doorway were Charlie and Renee.
"Mom? Mom, you're alive?" Bella all but screamed. "Mom! Momma!"
"Shh, Bee, I'm okay." Renee hurried over, sitting on the side of her bed. She placed her hands on either side of her face, her blue eyes filled with tears. There was dull bruising on her cheek, under her left eye, and around her neck. "Oh, Bee, I was so scared you wouldn't wake up. I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry."
"I don't understand. He . . . he hurt you. He . . . he told me he killed you."
Renee scooted closer. "No, Bee, he never touched me."
"But I . . . I heard it, Mom. I heard what you said to him. I . . . I heard it."
"Listen to me, Bee," she said, holding her face tightly. "I don't know what that monster told you, what he made you think, but none of it was true. None of it. I'm okay, baby."
She shook her head, searching her eyes for lies, but found nothing but the truth. "I don't understand."
"Bee," Charlie softly spoke before he moved to stand behind her mother. He paused and looked at Felix and Maggie. "Can we have a minute alone with her, please?"
Though Bella could see the worry in their eyes, they nodded and left her alone with her parents and Elizabeth Masen, who had moved to the far corner of the room, pulling the two sides of her cardigan around her.
"Where's Edward?" Bella asked again. "Where is he? You said he was okay, but where is he?"
"He's on his way, dear." Elizabeth smiled. "I'm going to step out into the hallway, see if I can . . . speed him up a bit."
Once she was gone, Charlie moved to the other side of the bed, sitting on the edge. "You scared us, kiddo."
"I was pretty scared myself," she cried. "Tell me what happened."
Charlie sighed. "Masen and Officer Clearwater made it to the second floor before they realized you weren't behind them. They found a door leading to the basement open, and when they went down, you were gone, but they found your mother tied to a chair."
Renee looked away, using her shoulder to wipe a tear from her cheek.
"It was Jessica Stanley," Bella whispered, drawing their attention back to her. "She was working with . . . with Dwyer. She injected me with something. I tried . . . I tried to scream, tried to get away, but . . . he was there. Next thing I remember was waking up inside some kind of bunker."
Charlie nodded. "We found Jessica Stanley's body ten miles from the lumber company."
Bella's eyes closed. "He killed her in front of me. Said now that he had me, he was done with her."
"Figured as much."
"I don't understand, though. He . . . he told me he had you, Mom. You're saying he never did?"
She shook her head. "After we left D.C., Jessica and I made the trip to Charlotte's. Everything . . . everything seemed okay. I mean, she was scared. So was I, but I thought we were safe. Charlotte and I got her settled in the guest room, made dinner, and then went to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night. Maybe two in the morning when I heard Charlotte screaming. I rushed to her room, and . . . and I found Jessica towering over her with a baseball bat. I tried to stop her, but she got the upper hand. She, um, she wrapped her hands around my throat, and I passed out. Next thing I knew, Edward was kneeling next to me, and . . ." Renee shook her head, exhaling a deep breath. "I don't know how it happened."
"Is Charlotte okay?" Bella asked.
"She has a broken arm," Charlie told her. "Bee, what happened inside that room?"
Shaking her head, she looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Bee —"
"I don't want to talk about it, Dad!" she screamed. "I don't want to think about it!"
"Okay, okay," he said, putting up his hands. "We don't have to talk about it right now."
Bella closed her eyes, inhaling a deep breath, but then wincing when her chest hurt. Her eyes opened when she felt her father shift. He picked up the little red button that controlled her pain medication, clicking it three times. Bella appreciated the gesture but knew they were set up on a timer.
"Is he dead? Is Phillip Dwyer dead?"
Charlie sighed. "No."
"No?" she cried.
"No, he . . . He's in the ICU with second and third-degree burns to his face, especially his eyes. Masen shot him in the shoulder, causing a lot of nerve damage to the left side of his body. They're keeping him sedated for now, but they don't know if he will ever wake up."
"He's here? In this hospital?"
Charlie swallowed thickly before nodding. "We have agents outside his room every second of the day, Bee. Every second."
Somehow, that didn't make her feel any safer, though. He was smart, too damn smart. He'd been ahead of them every step of the way. Something told her that burns to his face and nerve damage wasn't going to keep him from taking his revenge on her again.
"How long did he have me before Ed . . . before Masen showed up?"
Charlie shook his head before standing and folding his arms in front of him. "Six days."
"Six days," she whispered. "Six days."
"We . . . Bee, we . . ."
"Get out," she whimpered.
"Bee —"
"Get out. Get out of my room. Just get out!" she screamed. "Six days, Dad? Six fucking days of hell!"
"Bee," he whispered.
"Get out," she sobbed. "Get out, just get out!"
"Come on, Charlie," Renee said, standing and reaching for her husband. "Let's give her some time to process everything."
Though she could tell her father didn't want to leave, he nodded, wrapped his fingers around Renee's, and the two left, letting the door close behind them.
—
Bella drifted off to sleep with the help of the tears sliding down her face and the pain medication pumping through her I.V. She didn't dream nor have nightmares. She just seemed to drift into nothingness. When she woke again, her room was dark and quiet. Only the glow of the monitor tracking her heart rate, pulse, oxygen levels, and blood pressure provided any illumination. Every single inch of her body hurt more than it had the first time she woke.
Tilting her head to the side, she expected to find Elizabeth Masen sitting at the bedside once more, but she wasn't. The one and only person she wanted to see was curled up in the standard gray plastic recliner that seemed to take up residence in every hospital room. His hair was messy and dirty, like he hadn't washed it in days. His black suit was wrinkled, but he'd taken off his shoes. His black dress socks were twisted and slipping off the heel of his right foot.
Opening her mouth, she wanted to call out to him, wake him, and hear his voice again. But the pictures Dwyer had shown her trickled through her mind. His claims that Edward had betrayed her, played her, and worked side by side with him reverberated inside her. And she wondered how much of what he had told her were lies . . . lies to mess with her mind.
But how much was the truth?
Edward stretched, his arms lifting above his head before he sat up. He looked at her and turned away before snapping his head in her direction once more. He smiled, scrambling to his feet and reaching for her, but seemed to pause when she moved away.
"Hey," he whispered, taking a step backward. "I didn't believe them when they told me you'd woken up. I . . . I just didn't believe them."
"Open your shirt."
Edward's eyes widened. "What?"
"Open your shirt," she repeated, speaking slower. "I need to see your chest."
"Okay," he said, reaching up and unbuttoning his shirt. He pulled the two sides apart, and she exhaled a breath of relief. His chest was smooth and bare. "Can I button it back up now?"
Bella nodded.
"Do I want to know why you needed to see my chest?"
She opened her mouth to tell him, but the words died out in her throat. So, instead, she simply shook her head.
"Okay," he replied as he finished fixing his shirt. He gestured to the side of the bed. "Can I sit?"
Once more, Bella nodded and watched as he sat.
"I'm sorry, Bella. I . . . I'm so sorry."
"Why are you sorry?"
"Because I should have been paying better attention. I . . ." Edward shook his head. "I didn't think I would ever see you again."
"Me either."
Edward reached for her face, but she pulled away, so he dropped his hand to his lap. "I heard you met my mom."
She nodded. "Kind of surprised to wake up and find her sitting next to my bed."
"I tried to stop her from coming, but . . . Well, she insisted, so . . ."
"Why?"
"Um." Edward clasped his hands together. "She knows how I feel about you."
"That you're in love with me?"
He nodded.
"How does she know?"
"Because I told her."
"Why?"
"I . . ." Edward stood. "I thought I'd lost you."
"You did."
He frowned.
"How'd you know where he was holding me?"
"We tracked him to the highway but didn't know which direction he'd taken you. But we knew you were still in Broken Bow."
"How?"
"It's where it all began for him, wasn't it?"
Bella nodded.
"Marcus Henderson's father used to work for the Lumber Company. He forced his wife to sell herself for money, sometimes to help pay their bills but usually to support his habit. On the other hand, Marcus was taken to a small community about five miles outside of Broken Bow. It was an old commune that had been abandoned after the nuclear scare back in the fifties. It was in one of those bunkers that he would take Phillip Dwyer. There were almost three dozen to search. You were in the twenty-second."
Bella nodded. "And you were alone."
"We had to split up. Too much ground to cover, even with help from local PD and agents from the city." Edward sat again. "Bella, I'm sorry we were too late."
"Are you?"
"Of course I am. Why . . . What's going on? I was worried sick about you."
"Okay."
"Okay? Why do I feel like you don't believe me?"
"Should I?"
"Have I ever given you any reason not to?"
Pressing her lips together, she waited a moment before she replied, "I don't know, Masen. I just . . . I don't know."
Edward raised an eyebrow before he shifted toward her. "You can trust me, Bella."
"Can I?"
"Of course you can! We're . . . we're partners, aren't we?"
"We stopped being partners the night you fucked me."
Edward's eyes widened. "Is . . . Is that's what's bothering you? That we . . . we had sex? I thought you wanted that."
But Bella didn't respond.
"What happened inside that room, Bella? I saw the . . . the bruises, the brand. The cuts to your ankles. I covered you before anyone else arrived, but I saw. Didn't think you'd want them to see you like that."
"Very considerate of you."
"Did he do anything else?"
"Are you asking if he raped me?"
Edward flinched but nodded.
"I don't know. When I woke up, I was still clothed except for my shoes. He took those off so he could cut my Achilles tendons. Of course, I didn't know that at first. It wasn't until he . . . Until he decided it was time to play. That's when I realized what he had done. I tried to fight." She looked away. "I really tried, Masen, but he won the game in the end."
Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews! Huge thank you to Sunflower Fran for cleaning up my mess.
