Finding You

by Elizabeth Holland

  “Yes, so jealous of him.” Sarcasm dripped from every word. “So jealous that I killed him.”

  “Nice try, big brother, but you didn’t kill me.” Laura gasped as the door opened and in walked Luke. He was alive. Slowly, he advanced on Greg.

  “You could never finish a job.” Harry snarled at Greg. He lifted the gun and pulled the trigger, however Jake was too quick for him. He pulled Greg out of the way of the firing line, leaving Laura exposed. The bullet just missed her. Harry’s face was confused until he realised who she was.

  “Laura, how lovely to see you again.” A shiver ran down Laura’s spine at the sound of Luke’s voice. It had once sounded so appealing to her, however, now it filled her with dread and fear. He was a ruthless killer, and she was under no pretences as to how much danger she was in in his presence. Luke continued to move towards Laura as she stood frozen to the spot. She wanted to run but, despite trying, her legs would not move.

  “I’ve missed you.” Luke whispered as he stood in front of her and stroked the side of her face.

  “Get away from her!” Sean’s voice was filled with venom. If they had not tied him to a chair, then Laura knew he would have pulled Luke from her and used him as a punchbag.

  “She’s never said no to me.” Luke’s response sparked something inside of Laura. Fury clouded her vision as she clutched the gun by her side.

  “You are nothing but a manipulative bully. You fooled me into thinking you cared about me so that you could extract information from me.” The gun was heavy in Laura’s hand as she held it up and aimed at Luke.

  “I’ll kill you before you even have a chance to pull that trigger.” Harry threatened from the other side of the room, bringing his own gun up to aim at Laura.

  A gun shot rung out and Laura jumped, pulling her own trigger. Sean called out her name and Laura felt a sudden pain shoot through her side. She tried to work out what had happened. Luke was staggering backwards, a look of shock on his face before he fell. Blood was seeping out from his chest. Laura fell to the ground as the pain worsened. She had been shot.

  “Laura!” Sean cried. He was desperate to go to her, but he was still tied to the chair. Greg ran to her, pulling off his jumper and pressing it against her wound.

  “Hey, you’re going to be okay. An ambulance is on the way.” Laura turned her head to where Harry had been standing. He was lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

  “Is he dead?” Laura asked, her entire body was shaking. Greg held her hand, whilst Jake went to check Harry’s lifeless body. He felt for a pulse and everybody held their breath, waiting for his answer.

  “He’s dead." Jake announced. He then went over to where Luke was lying, still struggling to hold on to his last ties to life.

  "Is anyone going to untie me?" Sean called from his chair. One of the other officers went to his aid whilst their back-up came running into the room.

  “What happened?” They asked, looking at the scene in front of them.

  "You’re a bit late!” Greg’s tone was light, he was trying to keep everyone calm.

  “Laura!” Sean was finally free, and he was wrapping his arms around her. Greg moved so that Sean could take his place, however he kept nearby so that he could put pressure on her wound.

  “I think he’s dead.” Jake announced as he stood next to Luke. Laura breathed a sigh of relief. Even if she didn’t make it, at least Sean would be safe.

  “I love you.” Sean whispered in her ear. A huge smile spread across Laura’s face before her vision went and she passed out in Sean’s arms.

  Chapter Thirty Four

  For the second time in her life, Laura woke up in a hospital room with the overly bright artificial lights shining directly into her eyes. She blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden light. As she was trying to adapt to her surroundings, her last memories came flooding back to her. She had just killed somebody, and she had been shot. However, she didn’t know what had happened after that. Laura used every ounce of strength that she had left to thwart her overactive brain. Instead, she concentrated on looking around the room. With a sigh of relief, she realised Sean was sitting in the chair next to her bed, softly snoring. A year ago she would have nudged him and got annoyed at his snoring, but having been apart for so long she had almost missed it.

  As Sean slept on, Laura enjoyed the moment. He was back beside her, and for now, they were safe. Laura had so many questions that she wanted to ask, but she knew they would keep. Right now, it was time to celebrate their reunion and look towards the future.

  “Morning.” Sean’s voice was gruff from sleep as he rubbed a hand across his face. Laura was grateful that he’d never been able to grow a beard, God only knows how long it would be after a year of no shaving.

  “Good morning, sleepyhead.” She beamed back at him. It was surreal to be back in his company. Despite a year apart, it was like no time at all had passed. He was still her Sean.

  “How are you feeling?” Sean asked. He was more alert now.

  “Physically, I feel fine. Well, besides being shot. Mentally, I’m not sure. How about you?” Laura was being honest, she knew it would take a while for her to be completely okay again.

  “I’m the same, just some bruising.” He reached forward and took hold of her hand. His touch still felt the same, and it still made her heart quicken.

  “Sean, what happened?” The question escaped Laura’s mouth before she could stop herself. As she heard the words out loud, even she didn’t quite know what she meant. Did she mean what happened at the warehouse after she lost consciousness, or did she mean what happened over the past year?

  “I think I better start at the beginning, Laura.” Sean’s face was drawn and his eyes blank. He was carrying the guilt of everything that had happened.

  Sean told Laura everything, from how he was assigned to the undercover role, to infiltrating an organised crime group, and stealing drugs from them. His eyes filled with tears as he told her the stories of selling drugs to vulnerable people. He explained that was why he had stolen the drugs so that no more innocent lives would be lost.

  “It’s okay, Sean, you did the right thing.” Laura smiled at him, squeezing his hand to comfort him.

  “Oh, Laura, what are we going to do? Our lives are a mess.”

  Laura pulled back the bedsheet and gestured for him to climb in besides her. He did as he was asked and as soon as he was next to her she was in his arms.

  “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered, enjoying the feeling of being in his embrace. “Sean, what happened in the warehouse after I blacked out? Am I in trouble for killing someone?" The questions had been gnawing away at Laura since the second she regained consciousness, and she couldn’t keep them at bay any longer.

  “You’re not in any trouble, I promise you. It was self defence and you have police officers as witnesses.” Sean paused for a moment to allow the news to sink in, Laura immediately relaxed.

  “Actually, you’re a bit of a hero. You helped bring down one of the most dangerous gang leaders in the north.” Sean let out a bemused chuckle as he told her, and Laura couldn’t help but giggle. Perhaps she could do slightly more than cut up an onion without crying.

  “You taught me well. So what happened?" Laura was impatient to hear what had happened whilst she was unconscious.

  “We ran, well I carried you. We were worried that Harry might have had a few gang members lurking around, so instead of waiting for the ambulance, we jumped in the cars, drove you to the hospital and called the police on the way.”

  “And then what?” Laura wanted to know everything she could.

  “You were admitted to hospital. They said you were lucky to be alive. The bullet just missed any internal organs. The police then came and took statements from everyone and confirmed that Harry and Luke are dead. They’ll want to speak to you at some point too, but we’re all okay and nobody is in trouble.” Sean finished his explanation with a kiss, preventing Laura from asking anymore questions
. Even after a year apart, he still knew her so well. Knowing how close to death she had been made her want to treasure every second that she had with Sean. She had finally found him.

  They laid in silence for a while, enjoying each other’s company and knowing that the worst was over. What would happen next, neither of them knew, but for now they were together and that was all that mattered.

  The police took a statement from Laura and reassured her she wouldn’t be facing prosecution for shooting Luke. For the time being, it was decided that she and Sean would be safer at the hospital with a guard stationed at the door. The police were almost certain that they had arrested the last of the gang members, but they wanted to be safe. Decisions would need to be made as to what happened next. Witness protection was mentioned, but everyone was reluctant to make that decision. For now, they would be safe with armed officers protecting them. Laura and Sean were in the middle of discussing their options when there was a knock at the door. To their relief, in poured their immediate family. It was a tight squeeze to fit everyone in the room, but that was instantly forgotten about as they were enveloped in hugs and kisses. It had been an awful year, but it had finally ended.

  Epilogue

  25th October 2021,

  “Are you ready for another day?” Sean asked. He walked towards the door and pulled back the heavy brass bolt.

  “Let them in!” Laura called from her place behind the bar. They were running late today, and she was still wiping the sticky surface left over from yesterday. As she moved an old newspaper, she glanced down and was shocked to see that it was almost two years since Sean’s disappearance.

  So much had changed since, and her life was now unrecognisable. After Laura had shot Harry, they had spent three days in hospital before being moved to a cottage in a quaint Welsh village. They then spent a few months there, both receiving therapy to help them process everything they had witnessed. The police had thanked Sean, both physically and financially, for his help, and had let him go. However much he would have liked to continue to serve as an officer, it was impossible. Slowly, they had pieced themselves back together and their relationship had grown even stronger.

  Two months after the move to Wales, their flat in Manchester sold, and they had to make a more permanent decision for their future. Eventually, they had stumbled across a village pub that was within their budget. After viewing it, they had immediately fallen in love with the quaint building and the local punters. Laura and Sean were now the proud owners of The Beehive Inn - a homage to their Manchester roots. Laura spent her days using her skills and cooking for their customers. Meanwhile, Sean charmed everyone at the bar, and when it came to closing time, he would use his experience as a police officer to throw out their rowdy customers.

  “Morning!” One of their regular customers, Charles, called as he came through the doors. It was a Saturday morning and by midday the pub would be heaving with people. Laura’s food kept the locals coming back for more. Sean liked to think it was his personality and witty banter, but Laura knew better.

  “Usual?” Sean called as he joined Laura behind the bar.

  “Yes, please. You’re Sean Scott, aren’t you?” Charles asked, squinting over the bar.

  “Yes.” Sean replied. He had frozen with a glass in his hand. They didn’t make a point of making their full names known.

  “You’re in the paper!” Charles exclaimed as he handed Laura the day’s paper.

  With trembling hands, Laura unfolded the paper and glanced at the front page. Her heart hammered in her chest as she saw the heading; ‘Drug gang jailed for 20 years’.

  “Sean,” she whispered, turning the paper so that he could read the heading.

  Laura skimmed the writing to see that her and Sean’s names were mentioned as witnesses in the case. Thankfully, the police believed they had tracked down all the members of the gang that were still alive. Laura had forgotten that their sentencing was due. Relief flooded her body as she realised that the remaining members were now in prison. Their nightmare was finally over.

  “Charles, can I offer you a pie on the house in exchange for not pointing this out to anyone?” Laura smiled sweetly over the bar at the elderly man. The last thing they needed was for their regulars to be gossiping about their past.

  “Throw in my ale and you’ve got yourself a deal!” He chuckled, taking the paper back from Laura and immediately flicking to the sports pages.

  “You okay?” Laura moved closer to where Sean stood, still frozen to the spot with a glass in hand.

  “Yeah. Just a bit of a shock.” Sean tried to smile, but Laura wasn’t fooled. After everything that had happened, Sean had found it difficult to process it all. He still woke throughout the night with vivid nightmares.

  “It’s over. Now we can really start to re-build our lives.” Laura reached up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his lips.

  “I love you.” He smiled at her, snapping out of the initial shock.

  “I love you too. I better get Charles his pie.” With a final glance back at Sean, Laura made her way into the kitchen. It would take some time for Sean to heal from everything he had been through, but they would be okay - they had found each other.

  About Elizabeth Holland

  Elizabeth Holland is a keen writer of romance novels. She enjoys the escapism of picking up a book and transporting yourself into a new world. With her mind bursting with lots of different stories Elizabeth is exploring the world of self-publishing her novels.

  You can contact Elizabeth on Twitter @EHollandAuthor

  Thank you for reading.

  I would greatly appreciate it if you could take the time to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

  Other books by Elizabeth Holland

  The Vintage Bookshop of Memories

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  As Prue inherits The Vintage Bookshop of Memories she discovers a diary which details her mother’s thoughts, memories and secrets. The shop is like stepping in to her mother’s mind and Prue is determined to restore the shop. However, with a village full of people against her can Prue win them over and honour her mother’s memory, whilst trying to discover the truth about the past?

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  Christmas at The Vintage Bookshop of Memories

  Whisk yourself away to the village of Ivy Hatch and enjoy the Christmas Day celebrations…

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  As Katie watches her best friend marry her soulmate, she wonders whether she can have her own happily ever after.

  Return to Ivy Hatch this Christmas, where the residents are waiting to celebrate with you…

  The Balance Between Life and Death

  The balance between life and death can be precarious. Ana Adams wakes up every morning, goes to work and comes
home at night to her dog. That doesn’t mean she’s living. After suffering the worst pain imaginable Ana is trying to make it through each day. The smile on her face means nothing, all that matters is the turmoil that is going on inside her head.

  As Ana learns to open up to others and embarks on a new relationship she finds that letting life in is harder than she anticipated. Perhaps she’s moved too fast and needs to focus on healing before opening herself up to more pain and disappointment.

  Will Ana learn her lesson or will it be too late for her?

  This novella focuses on the importance of putting your mental health first.

  A reminder that you never know what someone is hiding beneath their smile.