Never Stop

32. Ander

Chapter thirty-two

Ander

" I love you, Ander, and I'm scared. I'm fucking terrified that he's going to hurt you. Or worse, take you from me. I. . . Need you."

Liam Foley hurting me is the last thing she needs to worry about. Being able to keep my cool enough not to land myself with a life sentence should be her only concern.

He tormented her for her entire life. He's the cause of me losing her. He put his hands on her. He hurt her. She was lying there, barely clothed due to his cruelty. She's in a fucking hospital because of him.

My anger boils molten hot beneath the surface as I attempt to process everything in my mind.

There's only one solution.

Where I'm concerned, you don't hurt her in any way and get away with it. I'll be damned if I allow him the freedom of having another opportunity to cause any form of harm to her again.

I walk over to her side and nuzzle my face in her hair as I kiss her neck. She's crying uncontrollably, and every sob she lets out cuts through my heart like a dull blade.

"Shh, baby. You don't need to stress about anything." I grab her face between my hands and lean my forehead to hers after kissing her lip softly. "

You need to rest and heal. That's the only thing you need to worry about."

She nods.

"I'm sorry for raising my voice at you, my Rosie. I need you to promise me no more shutting down and shutting me out. We are in this together... I'm terrified of losing you again. I can't. I simply just can't." I pull back to look at her eyes, and her lips curl up at the corners into a soft smile. F uck, I melt for her .

"Promise. I'm in this. I'm in it with you." She says through her smile.

With one more gentle kiss pressed to her sweet mouth, I release her. Turning to leave her room, I call over my shoulder, still looking straight ahead, "I won't be long, babe. My family should be here soon."

I stop just as I make it to the door and slowly pry it open; I glance back over my shoulder, getting a good look at her.

Damn, even in the condition she's in, she's absolutely beautiful. Without a single ounce of effort, no makeup, hair a mess— She's perfect.

"I love you, V. So fucking much. I'd burn this entire world down for you, baby." I throw a half smile her way and exit the room, not waiting for her response.

"Hello?" I hear the raspy feminine voice on the other end of the line say.

"Hey, Mom," I choke out as I open the door to my truck and hop in.

"Oh, Anderson, How are you holding up?"

I nod as if she can fucking see me.

God, I'm an idiot sometimes .

Realizing she doesn't have this extraordinary ability, I decide to use my words like a big boy.

"Holding up, Mom. How far out are you guys?"

"We should be there in about forty-five minutes. Do you need something?"

"No, I just wanted to see. She sent me away. She needed some time to herself, but I didn't want her alone for long. I will run to Maverick's house and shower, and then I'll be back after."

"Oh honey, take care of yourself. Why don't you get some rest while you're gone? We will be there soon. She will be just fine." My mom has always worried about me. I love her for it, but I'm the last thing or person I'm worried about right now.

After two hours of riding around looking for Liam with no luck, I quickly stopped at Maverick's house to shower and freshen up. Now, I'm walking back down the hospital hall toward Via's room when I hear voices and laughter bellowing down the hallway.

If there's anything I appreciate about my family the most, it's that they can lighten the intensity of any situation around them. I spare them a quick smile as I take them all in, but I don't stop. If they're all out here, she's still alone. Fuck that . She's had enough time alone.

Walking into Via's hospital room, I'm instantly taken back by the greeting of a bouquet of roses next to her bedside. I saw the same black and red flowers inside her house a few months back. Via is fast asleep peacefully. It kills me to see that tears are staining her beautiful face. I hate the thought that she cried herself to sleep alone, but knowing Via, it's probably exactly what she needed to process through things. I'm not trying to overwhelm her, but I don't want her to think she's in this alone, either.

Because she will never be in anything alone again.

Turning back to the new creepy flowers by her bedside, I can't help the fury that flows through my body.

I'm unsure what to make of it, but my head is spinning. She always suspected they were from that creep Clark at her previous job. If it is him, I'll fucking end him this time. No more chances. Something about it doesn't sit right with me. She confronted Clark about it that day in the hallway, and thinking back to it now, the guy looked fucking clueless when he denied it.

Being sure not to wake her, I quietly grab the vase beside her and return to the lobby. As I pad down the long hallway and their voices come back into earshot, I notice a card stuffed in the flowers.

I open the small card. It simply says, " He is going to. "

What the fuck ?

"Did anyone see who left these?" My firm, deep voice echoes loudly throughout the lobby, bringing silence behind my last word.

Everyone's eyes flash up to glance over me, standing there, seething, holding what looks like dead roses.

My mom speaks up first, "Ander. . . Those weren't there when we checked on her thirty minutes ago."

"Who the hell would leave red and black roses?" Jett's tone is harsh, seeming just as concerned as I am as he stands and makes his way over to me.

My sister Abbie asks, "What does the card say?" as she pulls it from my hands. "He is going to? What in the hell is that even supposed to mean?"

"He is going to? He is going to what? He is going to. He. . . Oh, good god." My mom's voice shakes. "He. . . Is going to die?" She stands up and walks toward me, frantically pulling the card from Abbie's hands.

"He is going to die. . . This is his way of threatening you, Ander!" Abbie covers her mouth, and the tears begin to flow instantly.

Fuck this.

I inhale a sharp breath, pull back, and throw the vase of flowers to the nearest wall, and I don't stay standing there to watch it all crumble to pieces. I rush over to the nurse's station, lock eyes with the armed guard sitting at the desk, and lean in toward him.

"Pull up the security footage!" I demand, my tone sharp and leaving no room for negotiations.

"Excuse you, sir?" He barks back, trying to assert his dominance over the situation.

"I didn't stutter. Someone went into her room while I was gone and left a threat. They had to know I was no longer here, meaning they could have been here. I don't have time to swing dicks with you. Now pull up the damn footage and find out who the fuck went into that room with black and red roses!" My yelling subsides, and my tone is a low growl as I slam my hands down on the counter.

It's not in my nature to be aggressive, but switching it off is hard once I get to this point.

The man hesitates for a moment, but after turning my words over in his pea-sized brain for a bit, he nods and pads over to his laptop.

"Time frame?" He asks simply.

"The past forty minutes." The words cause my stomach to turn into knots as they slide off my tongue. That asshole slipped through with my family right down the hallway. The balls of nerve on that fucker. He must think that he's fucking invincible.

Fuck his threats against me.

Not only did he put his hands on her, but he hurt her. Really hurt her this time.

He's a fucking dead man. He should have been a long time ago.

The guard takes his time scrolling through the footage and then finally shouts out, "There!" as he waves me over to look at what he sees. It's not like I needed the proof; I already knew.

Sure enough, there's the little weasel.

He came up through the back entrance, going unseen by my family in the lobby down the hallway, walked into the room, and walked right back out with a wicked smile plastered on his face.

After throwing my fist into the wall beside me, I pull away, grabbing my keys, and without hesitation, I retreat toward the parking garage.

"Ander, you can't leave!" My mom screams after me.

I stop in my tracks, taking a second to think, but then I start walking again. This fucker wants to hurt my girl and now threatens me and has the nerve to think he's untouchable. Everything we've gone through, our years of separation, it was all at the hands of his doing. The years of torment he put Via through. . . My firsts clench at my side, and I swear, I see nothing but red.

I yell over my shoulder, "Please make sure all of you stay with her and in the room this time. If she wakes, promise her that I will be back. Just make sure that she knows I am coming back!"