by Beth Abbott
“Suzy?” He whispered, moving closer to her face. “Are you Ok, baby?”
When he could see she was trying to speak, Matt lifted the oxygen mask from her face.
“Is Megan Ok?” Suzy whispered.
Matt smiled at his wife, who in typical fashion was worrying about someone other than herself.
“She’s fine.” He reassured her. “She’s in much better shape than you are, as it happens.”
Matt watched Suzy shiver.
“So cold.” She whispered.
“The nurses are warming you up nicely, which is probably why you’ve woken up.” Matt reached his arm across her in what was as close to a hug as he could manage. “You need an operation on that ankle, but otherwise you’re gonna be just fine.”
Suzy stared up at him looking like a lost child. When her eyes filled with tears it nearly broke his heart.
“I’m so sorry for all the things I said to you in the car.” She whispered. “I was just being a heinous witch-hag.”
Matt let out something close to a half laugh/half sob.
“Suzy, you have absolutely nothing to apologise for.” He leaned in to kiss her brow. “I’ve been so stupid I could kick myself. I never should have let this business with Lacey come between us. I was too busy trying to be Superman, proving to all our family how well I could run the business, that I forgot that my most important jobs are to be a dad to our kids and your husband. Lacey was just helping me paper over the cracks at the office, and in my mind, I gave her too much credit for all the success in gaining the club contracts. I guess that’s why I couldn’t believe anything bad about her.”
He watched Suzy struggle to get her arm free of the blankets, but when she did, he took her hand carefully in his.
“All I ever wanted was for us to spend time together.” She whispered. “Time for you and me, time for us with the kids, even just time for you to spend with the kids without me. You’re the heart of our family, Matt, not me. Without you, we’re not as strong, or as whole as we are when you’re there.”
“Suzy, that’s not true.” He protested. “It’s you! You’re everything to me, and to the kids. You’re like this shining star at the heart of our family.”
Suzy coughed a sob.
“If I’m a star, then you must be the sun and the moon.” Suzy argued. “Because when you’re not there… well, I just don’t seem to shine anymore.”
Matt lowered his head, so it was leaning on Suzy’s shoulder.
How had he ever allowed his wife to feel so neglected? What sort of man was he?
“Suzy, I swear to you, I will never let you feel like that, ever again.” He lifted his head to stare into her beautiful blue eyes. “I’ll never let you or the kids down like I have been, I promise you.”
Suzy managed to raise a small smile, even though the tears were still dripping down her cheeks.
“I know you won’t.” She squeezed his hand.
“I fucking love you, Mrs Johnson.” He whispered, watching her eyes fall shut.
“Love you, too, Matt.” She mumbled, as sleep overtook her.
Matt tucked her hand back under the cover and glanced up to see the nurses suddenly busying themselves, clearing away things that didn’t need clearing away.
He should probably be embarrassed that they’d heard him make his grovelling apology to his wife, but he wasn’t.
Those words were sadly long overdue, and if he had to repeat them every day for a year, he’d do it.
As long as it took for Suzy to believe in him again, he’d say those words to her, no matter where they were, or who heard him.
He owed her that much and a whole lot more!
Chapter 66 – Megan
Megan sat patiently on the bed while the doctor examined her, following his instructions as he checked her over from top to toe.
“Well, Miss Powell, I think you’ve managed to come out of this situation remarkably well, all things considered.” He noted. “Your temperature is still on the low side, but nothing that needs drastic intervention. A warm blanket and some warm drinks should do the trick.”
“We’re going up to a family waiting room, apparently, so I’ll make sure she sits near to whatever heating supply you have up there.” Evan nodded, his eyes never leaving hers.
“Then if you’re taking charge of Miss Powell’s care, I suggest you also make sure that she gets plenty of rest and down-time, for at least a week.” The doctor glanced at Evan. “I appreciate that medical professionals are notoriously difficult patients, but you need to make sure she has time to recover from what’s happened to her. Possibly seeing a counsellor would be a good idea, to make sure she processes everything properly, and it doesn’t have a long-term effect on her mental health.”
Megan could have laughed at the way Evan was hanging on every word the doctor said, as though it was gospel.
“I’ll make sure she sees someone.” Evan nodded. “And I’ll tie her to the bed and force-feed her chicken soup if I have to. She won’t be going anywhere for at least a week, if not two.”
“Excellent.” The doctor’s lips twitched. “Then I’ll leave her in your capable hands.”
“Charming!” Megan grumbled, even though she was secretly thrilled at the thought of spending a week with Evan. “You rescue me from one tree, and now you think you can take control of my life from me!”
“I heroically climbed an enormous oak to rescue a beautiful damsel in distress.” Evan protested, helping her to slip her arms back into her jacket sleeves. “The very least I should be able to do is take her home and keep her tucked up in bed for a week.”
Megan couldn’t help but smile.
“And where do you intend to be while I’m tucked up in bed?” She asked innocently.
Evan leaned closer to her ear, so nobody else could hear him.
“I’ll be wherever you allow me to be.” He kissed her cheek softly. “Which, if I’m extremely fortunate, will be under the covers, keeping you warm.”
“Hmm.” Megan mulled over the suggestion. “Let’s see how things go, Ok? You’ve still got a job to do that involves looking after my baby brother. A job which, I hasten to add, I think is far more important than babysitting me.”
“I’m sure I can get someone assigned to Robbie that will do as good a job as I can.” Evan smiled. “Logan maybe?”
Megan slipped off the hospital trolley, putting a hand out to steady herself.
“Let’s see how Suzy is, and then we’ll worry about who is babysitting whom, Ok?” Megan pulled the cubicle curtain back and stepped outside. “Shall we go and find out where they’ve taken her?”
Evan led her back out to the waiting area where they’d first come in, and the first person she noticed was Logan, Evan’s colleague. As he spotted them and stepped forward, she saw he was flanked by a couple of giants.
“How’re you doing, Meg?” Logan stepped right into Megan’s personal space and surprised her by giving her a big hug. “We’ve all been worried about you.”
“I’m Ok.” She smiled shyly. “Just a bit cold and a little shaky. Other than that, I’m good.”
“Meg, can I introduce you to two of my Guardian’s team-mates, Hollywood and Kellen.” Evan pointed to the two giants. “They helped Matt find Suzy and catch the kidnappers.”
Megan nervously held out a hand, finding herself pleasantly surprised when both men shook it in a firm, but painless way.
“It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for helping rescue Suzy.” She nodded. “I hated leaving her behind, not knowing if those… men, would find her.”
“Those ‘men’ got nowhere near her.” Kellen grinned. “Suzy managed to crawl behind a cupboard into a fireplace before she passed out. It took two attempts to find her.”
“Is she Ok?” Megan looked between them.
“She was taken in for surgery on her ankle about five minutes ago.” Hollywood confirmed. “But Matt said she was awake and talking before they took her away. She was asking after you.”
“Is everyone back from the factory?” Evan asked. “Did the police arrest them all?”
“They got the five men who were at the factory.” Logan nodded. “JT got one of the ringleader’s phones, so Hannah will be working on it as soon as they get here.”
“Is Robbie with her, d’you think?” Megan wondered. “He must have been so scared today.”
“Robbie will be coming in with Hannah.” Kellen confirmed. “We stopped off at the Alpha offices, but there were too many of us for the one vehicle, especially as Hannah and Abbey wanted to bring some equipment with them.”
“They can’t be much more than a few minutes out.” Logan agreed. “We can wait for them upstairs in the family room.”
Evan wrapped his arms around her, and Megan allowed herself to be guided to the elevator.
“We need to get your core temperature up, and I need to get you a warm drink as well.” He murmured. “And rest! Don’t forget you need to rest.”
“Get me to the family room and find me a chair, and I swear I won’t move for an hour.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m so tired right now I could sleep for a month.”
“Do you need me to carry you?” Evan offered.
Megan stared at him like he’d gone crazy.
“Are you serious?” She chuckled. “Thanks, but I’d rather not have everyone staring at me.”
Evan looked around them.
“Every-who?” He asked. “It’s gone one o’clock in the morning. How many people do you think are wandering around a hospital at this time of night?”
The elevator doors opened, and six or seven people walked out.
“Enough.” She grinned, stepping forward on shaky legs. “I’ll walk until I can’t walk any further, and then you can do what you like with me.”
It wasn’t until Evan snorted a laugh that Megan realised what she’d said.
She glanced around to see Hollywood, Kellen and Logan grinning.
“Lady, that’s an offer any one of us would be happy to get from our significant other.” Kellen chuckled.
“Or even from someone we never met before, if they looked remotely like you.” Logan grinned.
“Logan!” Evan growled at his team-mate.
“What?” Logan shrugged. “I’m just saying, is all. Sheesh! Don’t get your boxers in a wad!”
“Well, don’t say.” Evan instructed. “Not now… not ever!”
Logan rolled his eyes, and Megan cuddled closer to Evan. She kinda liked this possessive cave-man side of him. It was new, and… well, different.
As the elevator door opened onto the second floor, there was already a crowd of people waiting in the corridor.
The first thing that struck her was that they were all giants. Even the woman standing closest to her with the bright red curly hair.
As she looked closer, Megan realised she recognised the woman from the helicopter.
“Vicky?” She whispered.
She might as well have shouted the word, because every head turned in her direction.
“Megan?” She heard her brother’s voice, but she couldn’t see him for all the large bodies in between them.
“Robbie?” She looked around anxiously, until all of a sudden, a gap appeared in front of her and her brother was barrelling towards her.
“Shit, Megan!” Robbie grabbed her in a hug that squeezed the breath out of her.
Megan wrapped her arms around him, feeling his body jerking as he sobbed into her neck. Tears fell unchecked from her eyes as the men and women around them looked away to give them some small measure of privacy.
“I’m Ok, Rob.” She whispered. “Everything’s gonna be Ok, now.”
It took a few minutes before her brother could compose himself enough to let her go, and when he stepped away, it was with an embarrassed grin.
Before he could step back too far, she took hold of his arm and raised her hand to his cheek.
“I missed you kid.” She smiled. “Love you more than you know.”
Robbie pulled her close again, but this time there was significantly less force in his hug.
“Love you more.” He murmured into her hair. “But I guess I have to give you back to Evan now, hmm?”
“I’d appreciate it.” Megan heard Evan’s voice right behind her. “She needs to sit down, warm up, and rest. Standing around in a hospital corridor isn’t on her to-do list for a little while.”
“Come on, Megan.” Vicky smiled at her. “There’s a room just down the hall we can wait in.”
Megan smiled and started to follow.
“I almost didn’t recognise you without your headset on.” She observed. “The lighting in your helicopter and in the woods really didn’t prepare me for the colour of your hair. It’s so beautiful.”
“Thanks.” Vicky smiled. “It’s usually the curls people comment on first.”
“And luckily our daughter has inherited both.” A voice came from the other side of Vicky.
“Meg, this is one of my husbands, Drew Dixon.” Vicky stepped aside so Megan could see the tall dark stranger. “He was part of the team that rescued Suzy.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Megan smiled shyly.
“It’s really good to meet you, Megan.” He gave her such a warm smile she felt instantly at ease with him. “And welcome to the family, in case nobody has said it yet.”
Megan looked around at Evan, but he was steering her through a doorway.
“Hey, sugar.” A woman’s voice broke through her thoughts. “It’s good to see you looking so well.”
Megan turned to see a woman sitting on a worn sofa, a laptop on her knees and a phone in her hand. Sitting cross-legged she didn’t look much more than a teenager, but when Megan looked closely, she guessed the woman to be somewhere in her thirties.
“I’m Hannah.” The blonde smiled. “We spoke very briefly on the phone earlier.”
“Of course, the American voice.” Megan smiled. “It’s nice to have a face to go with the voice.”
Evan pulled her towards the sofa and pushed her gently to make her sit down.
“Here.” A man pushed a blanket into her hands. “You need to get warm.”
Megan glanced up to see yet another giant hovering over her.
She smiled and took the blanket and then watched in amazement as he bent down and lifted Hannah, laptop and all, and sat down in her place, settling her back down on his lap.
“That’s Danny, Hannah’s husband.” Evan smiled. “He also regularly doubles up as her chair.”
Megan glanced around as the room filled up with more and more giants, until there were no more seats to be had.
Without the slightest embarrassment, Evan dropped to the floor by her feet, and after tucking the blanket around her, settled himself by leaning on her knees.
When he looked up to find her staring at him in bemusement, he reached for her hand and squeezed it gently.
“This is your new family.” He murmured. “Well, some of it, at least.”
Megan felt the lump form in her throat.
These were the men who’d put themselves on the line for her today, and the women who’d done their utmost to make sure the rescue happened.
When the door opened and yet another giant walked in, Megan wondered how many more there could possibly be. He looked around the room until his eyes landed on Megan, and his smile told her he’d found who he was looking for.
He moved forward until he was right in front of her, and then crouched down so they were on the same level.
“Megan Powell, I’m guessing.” He smiled again. “I’m Matt Johnson, Suzy’s husband.”
“Oh, it’s so good to meet you.” She smiled. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Matt looked down and chuckled, his cheeks taking on a rosy hew.
“I can imagine what Suzy had to say about me today.” He acknowledged ruefully.
“It was all good.” She smiled reassuringly. “Well, mostly good, anyway.”
Matt barked out a laugh.
“That’s my Suzy.” He conceded. “Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for what you did to get her out. She told me something about what happened, and I have to tell you, you’re my hero. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
Megan shook her head.
“It wasn’t me.” She insisted. “If Suzy hadn’t known so much about the layout of that place, we’d never have gotten out. She was brilliant.”
“Technically, that’s not quite true.” Hannah interrupted, holding up a piece of paper. “The site where you were being held was fourth on our list of places to check out, thanks to some excellent detective work by Robbie and Evan. We’d have found you by morning.”
“Well, let’s just call it a team effort, shall we?” Matt patted her hand. “But please remember what I said. I’m indebted to you, so if there’s ever anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Before she could argue or thank him, Matt looked over at Hannah.
“Have you got anything out of that phone yet?” He asked.
“Oh, I’ve got plenty out of the phone.” Hannah nodded. “The guy has about five hundred contacts, and around ninety-eight percent of them are females.”
“Not helpful.” Matt growled. “Anything else?”
“Yeah.” Hannah frowned at the phone. “About ten thousand videos, mostly porn. And don’t even get me started on the selfies he’s had sent to him of half-naked young women. Jesus, you should see them! I doubt these women could even spell the words ‘self-respect’. What is wrong with them?”
“If you need some volunteers to help check out the videos…” Danny grinned. “I’m sure we can find some guys who can be persuaded.”
“Oh, honey, that’s such a sweet offer.” Hannah leaned in and kissed her husband on the cheek. “I think Abbey and I can handle it by ourselves, although it’s gonna take us ages to go through this shit.”
“Have you checked for outgoing and incoming calls and messages?” Evan asked.
“Yep, all erased.” Hannah nodded. “I’ve got hardware back at the Hub that might be able to retrieve them. And I can always get the call and text log from the phone company when they open in the morning. But for now, we’re just gonna have to make do with what we’ve got.”