Page 104 of See It Through
The police confirmed Tina hadn’t made it, most likely strangled to death, and Hannah had been able to tell them Teller was the one who’d done it. Teller had gone after Hannah next, giving her a concussion and bruises all over, the worst on her throat. If Caleb and I had been a minute later, we might have been too late.
It took all my power to hang on to the fact that we’d made it in time. We hadn’t been too late. Lock had been right. Spiraling down the rabbit hole of “could haves” would only lead me to a bottomless pit of misery. We’d been there, and Hannah was going to heal. That was what mattered.
I didn’t know how, but I fell asleep sometime during the night, waking to fingers running through my hair. Jerking my head up from where I’d rested it on Hannah’s bed, I was greeted by the most beautiful sight of my life, Hannah’s smile.
“I woke you up,” she whispered.
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” Scooting to the edge of my seat, I surveyed her bruises. They had gotten darker over the hours. “How are you? How’s your pain?”
“Come closer.” She’d barely pushed out any sound, but I’d heard. I pulled my chair as close to the hospital bed as I could, and she cupped my face, sweeping her gaze all over me. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Not a chance.”
“I kept thinking that…when she was killing me, I kept thinking I wasn’t done loving you. We just got started.”
I nodded, though each time I lowered my head, it became harder and harder to pick it back up with the weight of reality bearing down on me.
“You and I both had close calls; we both stared down death, but we turned back, and it brought us together. This is it, sweetheart. It’s gonna be easy street from here on out.”
She stretched her thumb to brush it over my bottom lip. “Your mouth to God’s ears. I could use a little easy right about now.”
“You’ll get it. That, I can promise you. Your feet aren’t going to touch the ground.”
The door swung open, and Elena and Lock walked through. I must’ve been crashed out hard because I hadn’t even noticed they’d left.
Elena stopped on the other side of the bed and bent down to kiss Hannah’s forehead. “Morning, my darling girl.”
Lock squeezed her foot over the covers and handed me a steaming cup of coffee.
“We spoke to Detective Cox,” Lock started. “It looks like Brady and Teller are in the wind. Car’s gone, clothes packed, cash withdrawn from their bank accounts. There’s an APB out for them. Cox thinks they’ll be picked up pretty quickly since neither are seasoned criminals.”
“Your doctor will be in soon to check on you,” Elena added. “If he thinks you’re okay, you can go home this afternoon.”
Lock folded his arms over his chest. “Not alone. Until Teller is brought in, you can’t be on your own, Hannah.”
“I’ve got her,” I said. “She won’t be alone.”
His eyes landed on mine, staying there for a long beat. “I figured as much. She’ll be safe with you.”
“She will,” I confirmed.
Hannah waved a hand. “I hate not being able to talk,” she whispered.
Chuckling, I caught her hand and brought it to my lips. “Do you have any objections to staying at the house with me?”
Her eyes were round, worried. “Phoebe…”
Elena brushed her knuckles along Hannah’s forehead. “Your sister is staying at the ranch for the time being. No one will be alone.”
Hannah nodded then winced. “Moving is bad.”
I kissed her fingertips. “Lucky for you, I enjoy being at your beck and call. You won’t need to lift one pretty little finger until you’re feeling better.”
“Love you,” she mouthed.
“Love you too, sweetheart.”
The doctor came in to check on her soon after, and Lock and I waited outside. Resting his head against the wall, he blew out a long breath.