Securing His Destiny (Power Security #2)

Chapter 13

Chapter

Thirteen

R ed hot pain ripped through Steve’s shoulder. He was jostled, and he felt himself being lifted and rolled into what he assumed was an ambulance.

He needed to open his eyes. He’d heard something important, and he needed to respond to it.

Don’t you leave me, not when I love you.

I love you, too.

Those were the words Steve wanted to say, but he couldn’t form them. Couldn’t engage his mind to get them out.

Like his shoulder, his head pounded, and it was too hard to think. His mind was a fog of darkness and agony. He couldn’t speak, so he let himself drift back into the blackness that was at the edge of his consciousness.

The last thing he was aware of before he totally succumbed was the feel of his hand being wrapped up with a small one.

Tabitha.

Steve recognized her touch. She was near, which comforted him.

The next time he woke, there was a low buzz of conversation. The hum of electricity and the steadying beat of his heart. He needed to wake up so he could see who was talking. Find out what had happened. Steve had vague memories. A gun being shoved into Tabitha’s chest. Her fear and relief at seeing him. The split-second when Elton turned and fired, at the same time as Steve had.

Don’t you leave me, not when I love you.

The words floated across his mind again, and warmth consumed the coldness that lived deep in his soul. A coldness that’d been conquered by a love he didn’t believe he deserved but he needed as much as his next breath.

A relationship with Tabitha might have only solidified over the last week and a bit, but there was no doubt she was his. Not to mention she’d said she loved him.

She had, hadn’t she?

Steve hadn’t conjured it up in his mind while he’d been unconscious, right? His mind wasn’t playing tricks on him.

“I don’t know if you can hear me or not, but you’re going to be fine, Steve. I need you to wake up. I really need you to do that for me.” Tabitha’s sweet voice sounded close to his ear.

“Ta-Tabby.” The word croaked out of him, but at least he’d said it. At least he hoped he did, and he didn’t just think her name.

“Steve? Come on, sweetheart. Open your eyes for me.”

Sweetheart.

This was the first time she’d used an endearment, and the desire to fulfill her wish compelled him to force his brain to engage. With a couple blinks, her face came into focus.

Steve squinted against the bright light, and the urge to close his eyes again so he could stay in the blissful darkness was strong. But so was the desire to see the woman he loved.

“Hey, there you are,” she crooned.

“Mhmm.” He couldn’t manage more than that, even though he wanted to say so much more.

“I’m going to buzz the doctor to let them know you’re awake. Okay?”

Steve gave a short nod. Slowly, the situation became easier to bear. The light wasn’t as bright as it’d seemed at first. The ache in his shoulder and head were there but not as intense as they had been.

He could do without the constant beeping of the heart monitor, but if he pulled the clip of his finger, everyone would rush into the room and probably freak Tabitha out, so he could live with it—for the time being.

Before he could question her about the fuzzy images in his mind, the door swung open, and a doctor strode in with a nurse hurrying behind him.

“Good, you’re awake. I’m Dr. Drake. I looked after you when you came into the ED. You were shot in the shoulder, but it went straight through. You were lucky it didn’t connect with any bones or arteries. You’ll be in a bit of pain for a while as it heals and you’ll need to do some physical therapy to get your motion back, but it won’t be too much. You’ve got a cut on the back of your head and a concussion, hence why you’ve been unconscious. We’ll keep you in for a couple of days, and then you should be free to go.” Dr. Drake listed everything out rapidly, as if he preferred to be anywhere but in the room.

Perhaps he had other more urgent patients to see, but from what he’d said, there was nothing major wrong with him.

“Okay. Thanks,” Steve croaked. What else could he say? He’d do what they said, but he also knew his body and he’d recovered from many things while he’d been on missions without having to lay low for a couple of days.

“Good, I’ll leave you in Nurse Smith’s capable hands.” With a nod, the doctor left.

The nurse bustled around, taking his blood pressure and topping up his pain relief, before she too left.

The door clicked close behind her, and Steve waited for Tabitha to take her seat before he lifted his hand, indicating he wanted her to grab it.

She did, and he loved the reassuring squeeze she gave him.

“We’re a matching pair,” he said, pleased he could get a sentence out, but it wouldn’t be long before the pain relief kicked in and he’d drift off to sleep again.

There was so much he wanted to say before that happened and he’d fight the drowsiness for as long as it took.

“Matching pair?” she asked.

“Yeah, both have a concussion and cuts on the back of our heads.”

Tabitha laughed. “I guess we do.” Her expression sobered, and she gripped his hand a little tighter. “It could’ve been worse though. Much worse.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t. I’m okay. You’re okay. We’re okay.”

“We are. How much do you remember?” she asked.

Sleep was threatening to take him down, but as Steve promised himself, he fought it. “I remember my life flashing before my eyes when I saw that gun pressed to your chest. I remember thinking there was no way I was going to let that asshole hurt you. I remember taking a shot at the same time as getting shot. What happened to him?”

She looked down, and the outcome was obvious, even before she said the words. “He didn’t make it.”

“Right. I’m guessing the police are waiting to talk to me.”

“Yeah, they are. Damon’s helping them. They’ve got all the video footage from the cameras so they can see how it all went down.”

Steve nodded. He was licensed to carry a gun with his job, but firing it was never a good thing, even in self-defense. It would take a little time to clean up, but the result would be fine.

He wanted to question Tabitha more about Elton Quinn and why he’d been holding a gun on her, but the meds were doing their job and he couldn’t fight it any longer. He pushed out one more thing. The most important thing. “I love you, Tabby.” Steve’s eyelids drifted shut, and he fell into the void where he dreamed of a future with Tabitha.

He planned to make everything he saw come true.

T abitha’s back ached, but she wasn’t moving from her spot beside Steve’s bed. He’d been by her side her whole hospital visit, and she was going to do the same for him.

Besides, his declaration of love before he’d fallen asleep was another reason she’d anchored herself to his side.

It’d taken a few seconds for the words to sink in, but when they had, she’d wanted to jump up and dance around the room. Instead, she’d remained where she was, her hand clasping Steve’s, but Tabitha had leaned over and kissed his cheek. She whispered that she loved him too.

It didn’t matter if he’d heard or not. She planned on saying it as often as she could when they were anywhere but in the hospital.

It felt like a lot of their relationship was spent in this place, and she was ready to be as far away from it as possible.

If she knew Steve, and she believed she did, he’d want to be out of there as quickly as possible too.

The whisper of the door opening had her looking up.

Damon was there. “Is it okay to come in?” he asked, his voice pitched low to keep from waking Steve.

“Yep, he fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago. I think he’ll be out for a while.”

The man nodded and came in, sitting in the seat on the opposite side of the bed. The strain around his mouth was evident with the deep grooves, and he looked tired.

Dread filled her. Had things gone badly with the police? Were they planning to charge him with Elton’s murder?

While they’d been working on Steve, she’d given a statement to the detective in charge of the case. Had explained everything Elton had told her and what he’d done. When asked who shot first, she couldn’t truthfully say who did.

Did it matter? Elton had held a gun to her chest. Was ready to kill her. Not to mention, he’d been more than ready to kill Steve because he’d shot him, too.

“Everything okay?” Tabitha asked when the silence stretched between them.

“As best as can be expected. How is he?” Clearly, he didn’t want to talk about what had gone down.

Irritation and anger shot up from her gut. Everything had happened to her, too, not just Steve. It had been her life that’d been threatened.

Her livelihood that had been at stake.

Wait! He didn’t think…

“Do you blame me that Steve was hurt?” She supposed he could since it was because of her that his boss was lying in a hospital bed with a gunshot wound and a sore head.

“What? No! Why would you say that?” Damon reared back, as if she’d really insulted him.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. You changed the subject when I asked how things were. I just thought…” Tabitha caught the intense look her love’s colleague was sending her from the other side of the bed.

“I don’t blame you. I would’ve done the same thing as Steve if I’d been the one to find you with a gun pointed at you. It’s just that things are always complicated when a firearm is discharged. Lots of red tape and other legalities to go through. But don’t worry, after seeing the footage, the detective has a better idea of how things went down.”

Perhaps that was supposed to make her feel better, but she wasn’t one hundred percent convinced Steve wasn’t in trouble. Although, when she’d talked to the detective, he hadn’t seen the video evidence yet. Did Damon mean he had now, and that Steve had shot first?

Could Tabitha ask Damon, and would he answer her? “The detective got the answer to the question I couldn’t give him. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes. It was a split-second, but Elton shot first. Although, after seeing your story corroborated with the video evidence, it’s clear how it was going down and that Steve acted in self-defense.”

Well, at least she didn’t have to live with the guilt that she’d sent Steve to prison. “Good.”

Conversation stalled between them, and they both sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts.

Another thirty minutes passed, and Damon stood, stretching his back. “I’m going to head out. Let Steve know I was here, and that all is good.”

“But there’s still more stuff that needs to be done for it to be completely over,” Tabitha said wryly.

He smiled. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Thanks for stopping by.”

Damon gave her a chin lift. “Always. He’s lucky to have you. In all the time I’ve worked with him, I’ve never seen him as relaxed and happy as he has been since you came into his life.”

“Even with all my drama?” she asked, although she was secretly pleased.

He chuckled. “Yep, even with it all. Let me know when he’s going to be sprung from here, and I’ll come get you both.”

“Will do. And thanks for . . .” She waved her hand in the air. “Everything.”

“Always.” A ghost of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

The door clicked shut behind him, and Tabitha turned back to the bed, surprised to see Steve awake. Had he heard any of their conversation?

Had Damon noticed his boss was awake before he’d walked out the door, deciding to leave them to themselves?

“Hey, I thought you may have slept longer.”

“I didn’t want to.” His voice was gravelly, but it was the sweetest sound she’d heard since he’d gone to sleep.

Tabitha shook her head, as if he could control the amount of sleep he needed when the meds he was on were probably strong enough to knock a person out for at least a couple of hours. “Is that right?” She arched an eyebrow.

“It is. What did Damon want?”

She explained what Damon had told her, and relief filled Steve’s brown eyes. Even though he hadn’t said it, it was clear he’d been as worried about the outcome as she had.

Tabitha also told him about Elton and his connection to Bess and what he believed he was entitled to, and how she hadn’t even known her former boss had had a child. “I don’t understand it all, and I could call Bess and ask her about it, but I think it’s probably best to leave it. I have my business, and that’s all that matters.”

“I’m sure the police will inform her anyway of her son and what he’s done. And whatever Linex has planned, well, we’ll find out about it and then deal with it and make sure that they can’t get their hands on your café.”

“Let’s hope they can’t. I mean, they own the rest of the place. Maybe I should sell. I could use the funds to find a bigger place. Have more seating for people.”

Now that Tabitha had spoken the idea out loud, the more she liked it. Expansion had flitted across her mind occasionally, but she hadn’t let it take hold.

“Is that something you want to do?” Steve asked, as if he could tell she was surprised by her own words.

“Maybe. I don’t know. It’s daunting and scary but, yeah, maybe.”

He squeezed her hand. “Whatever you want to do, we’ll do it together because it’s you and me forever. I love you, Tabitha Newton. So very much.”

Her heart exploded at the declaration and the certainty that he’d be by her side no matter what she did. “I like the sound of that. And I love you too, Steve Power.”

They still needed to sort out a lot with her business, but after everything they’d been through the last couple of weeks, they could get through anything. Including making all their dreams come true.