“We’ll be there within a couple of hours, Noah. I’m having the jet fueled as we speak. Now, I have to tell Diana and the girls.”
Noah thought back to the note she left him. He left that part of the story out when he talked to her father. He had been turning her words over and over in his head, reading between the lines at what she didn’t say. Or more accurately, what he didn’t say.
She told me she loved me, showed me she loved me. She answered my questions. She made love to me all night. She waited for me. She sacrificed herself for me.
And I never once told her I loved her. Or even that I missed her.
Noah made a silent vow to never let a day go by without telling her how much he loved and needed her.
Brianna’s family arrived at Jackson Memorial soon after sunrise. Every single one of them was in tears and frantic to see her. Noah warned them of her appearance much the same way as the doctor had told him. He knew that no description would really prepare them for what they were about to see. Even putting the shock of her actually being alive aside, the sight of her battered body with all the tubes, bells, and whistles attached to her would invoke nightmares.
Brianna’s parents and her three sisters all took turns visiting her during time they allowed. Her visits were limited to fifteen minutes at a time to keep the stimulation stress at a minimum.
Her condition was still serious and she hadn’t opened her eyes. They couldn’t be certain whether she’d suffer permanent brain damage or if she’d ever wake up again at all. It killed Noah that he hadn’t seen her since she first came out of surgery two days ago. He simply reminded himself that her family hadn’t seen or talked to her in three years.
At the mid-morning visit, Missy told Noah to take her turn. She’d already been in once that morning and she knew he’d been patiently waiting for his turn. He hugged Missy and went straight for Brianna’s room. He sat next to her bed and put his hand underneath hers to avoid hurting her.
Her bruises were slightly better than when he had first seen her. Instead of the angry black and purple bruises, they looked more purple than black and had a hint of green beginning. Her eyes weren’t quite as swollen, though they were still pretty black. The contusions on the sides of her head were better but they still looked angry.
“Hey, Brianna, it’s me, Noah. You probably can’t hear me, but there’s something I need to say. There's something I need you to know.”
He stopped talking for a moment and hoped to get some kind of reaction from her. He needed some indication she was waking up.
“I haven’t really been living the last three years. I’ve only existed. The only time I feel anything is when I’m with you. So you have to get better, because I can’t live without you. I can’t love without you. I love you, Brianna. Only you.”
Noah rested his forehead on the bed rail while he said a silent prayer. His head jerked up and he stared at her. Did she just… “Baby, did you just squeeze my hand? Squeeze it again. Come on, Bri. Squeeze it for me, baby.”
It was weak, but she squeezed his hand on command. Noah called for the nurse and watched as she checked all the vital signs. Noah asked her to squeeze his hand again, and the nurse watched as her hand slightly closed around his and then released it. The nurse smiled and walked off to call the doctor.
Visiting time was over, but Noah refused to leave. He assured the nursing staff he wouldn’t be a problem. He explained that he had promised Brianna he would be there when she woke up and that was a promise he intended to keep. Dr. Conley came in, reviewed her most recent EEG, checked her pupils, and then examined her surgical site and her other wounds.
Noah reached through the slats in the rail and put his hand under hers again. She lightly squeezed his hand and he stood to talk to her.
“Bri, you’re in the hospital. You’re going to be okay. You just need to rest. I’m right here with you and I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you, baby.” Thank you, God!
Dr. Conley and the nurse stepped back in the room and began to put gloves on.
“What’s going on, Dr. Conley?” Noah watched the nurse draw up a syringe and walk to Brianna’s IV. “What is that?”
“It’s okay. It’ll just help her relax so we can remove the intubation tube. We’ll monitor her for an hour or so in here. If all goes well, we’ll move her to a private room.” Noah stepped out of their way, but refused to leave the room.
23
Chapter Twenty-Three
All the events that led up to her hospital stay were still fuzzy to Brianna. She was on her second day in a private room. The first day, she slept a lot. When she had tried to talk, her throat hurt and her voice was still raspy from the intubation tube. Noah was there every time she woke, giving her water to sip on, and assuring her that she was okay. He explained again that she was in the hospital and he wouldn’t leave her.
She watched him sleep on the uncomfortable hospital chair-turned-partial-bed beside her. She tried to move in the bed and gasped in pain. The stitches in her shoulder pulled and her cracked ribs vehemently objected. In a split second, Noah was up and at her side.
“Bri, are you okay? What happened?” His voice was drenched with concern.
She smiled at him, “I’m okay. I just wanted to turn over, but the rest of my body said no.”
He smiled and put his hand under hers again. Brianna had a brief glimpse at a memory that was just barely out of reach. Noah watched her face and recognized her puzzled look.
“What is it, Bri?” he asked.
“When you put your hand under my hand just now, I had déjà vu. It was so familiar.”
Noah chuckled. “I’ve done that every time I’ve been in to visit you. I was afraid I’d hurt you if I held yours, so I let you hold mine.”
She squeezed his hand, “It doesn’t hurt, honest.” They were both silent, looking deep into each other’s eyes, but neither was quite sure of what to say.
Brianna started, “Noah, tell me what happened that night.”
His face hardened, but he didn’t drop his gaze her from her eyes. “Bri, I don’t really think now’s the time. You’re still healing and-”
She cut him off, “Noah, I need to know. Please. I’m stronger than you think.”
“That you are,” he conceded.
Noah recounted the details from his perspective of what happened, up until she went into that building. He told her about finding out which hotel she’d checked into, grabbing the poor kid driving the limo she took, following her to the club, and then losing her when they took a different car.
She was shocked to hear him describe how close he was to her at the hotel and the club. Then it hit her.
“How did you find me at the hotel? I didn’t use my real name.” Her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes showed her confusion.
He smiled and replied. “Ummm, how do I explain this?”
She cocked an eyebrow at him, “Ummm…one word at a time,” she jokingly mocked him.
The door to her hospital room opened, and a huge, intimidating man stood in the doorframe. The man was bigger than she remembered. The black haired, blue-eyed giant stood 6’6” tall and had rock solid muscle on every inch of his body. A beaming smile lit up his face, as Brianna called his name.
“Shadow!”
Noah strolled over to the door and gave his friend a manly hug. “Good to see you, brother!”
Shadow closed the door behind him, walked to Brianna, and gave her a tentative hug. For such a big guy, he was so easy with her. “How are you feeling, Sunny?”
His voice stirred another memory, and the full realization hit her. “It was you!”
Shadow looked at Noah and tried to play coy with her. “Me? What did I do?”
Noah tried to hide his smile.
She eyed them both suspiciously and playfully hit his arm. “You were there that night! You came in and stopped them. I owe you my life.” Then tears welled up in her eyes, but they were tears of joy and gratitude.
; “Well, I can’t take all the credit,” Shadow’s voice was teasing, but she felt the warmth and love of a brother in it. “Actually, your man, Noah, was the real hero.”
She looked to Noah and saw he was no longer trying to hide a smile. His body suddenly went rigid, and that familiar mask overtook any emotions on his face. Shadow looked from Brianna to Noah as he noted the shock on Brianna’s face and the emotionless expression on Noah’s face.
“Ah. He hasn’t told you, has he? Well, you two will have plenty to talk about then. I just wanted to see for myself that you’re on the mend, Sunny.” Shadow leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Bull, Rebel, and I will always have your back, Sunny.”
She kissed his cheek and hugged his neck as best she could with her injuries. She told him she expected to see him again soon as he walked out the door.
“What did he mean, Noah? What have you not told me?” Her eyes searched his, and he felt that familiar squeeze around his heart.
He didn’t like to think about that night, much less talk about it. It had only been a few days ago, but it felt like it all happened years ago. He knew she wouldn’t let it go. She was hell on wheels when she was onto a story.
“You asked how I found you at the hotel under your alias.” She nodded. “Actually, I didn’t. Bull called Shadow and told him we needed help. Shadow works for the CIA now, so he was able to find out your WITSEC alias.”
“B–Bull called Shadow? For me?”
Noah nodded and continued. “Since we had a name, we could track your financial records. Your credit card showed a room charge hold, so we went there to find you. Then we tracked you to the nightclub. We lost you because of a bad wreck that happened in front of the club, and then they took a different car when they left the club with you.”
“Shadow had been investigating this group for running guns for quite a while. He pretended to be a dirty CIA operative, and Richard was more than willing to use him. He kept tabs on where Richard would be that night. When you activated the recording device, we finally got a fix on you in that building.”
He stopped talking for several seconds. She watched the shadows move across his face and recognized the haunted look in his eyes.
“We were still a good ways out from you, but we were listening.” His jaw tensed and his jaw muscles bunched as he remembered the sounds. Through clenched teeth he continued. “We listened to them torture you.”
She reached her hand up and took his, giving it a squeeze.
“Shadow wasn’t close enough right then to stop it. He walked in just as Richard leveled the gun at your head.” Noah’s other hand clenched the hospital bed so tightly she thought the metal would break. “Shadow stalled them until we could get into position, then we stormed the building.”
With that, he played it off like he’d finished telling the story. But she could tell there was more, and he was holding back for some reason.
“I remember hearing a lot of people suddenly in the room, or what seemed like a lot. I remember a lot of echoes and what I thought was gunshots. I couldn’t really see and my sense of time was way off.“
She continued. “Noah, what are you holding back from me?”
He shook his head and sighed loudly. “You were right. It went way farther up the chain than just Richard. The woman you saw me with at the banquet, Alexa Pope. She was involved, as was her father. She was in that building with you that night, and I…I had to shoot her. She’s dead.”
With that revelation, he turned away from her and walked to the window. She dropped her hand from where it held his, but was then empty.
He shot the woman they said was his girlfriend. She then saw the effect it had on him. He had shot someone he was involved with intimately. He had said she wasn’t his girlfriend, but she was obviously something to him. Her heart broke for him and the pain he was obviously feeling, but more for herself. She knew he would never be able to look at her without seeing Alexa.
“I…I’m sorry, Noah. I didn’t know…about her or her father. You obviously cared a great deal about her. I don’t know what to say. Maybe it would’ve been better if-” Tears streamed down her face, as her thoughts finished her sentence when her voice couldn’t… if it had been me instead.
Noah whirled around and took a giant step to the side of her bed. “Don’t even think that!” He stepped back, with one hand on his side and the other raking down his face. “Bri, she had a gun on you. She was squeezing the trigger right in front of me. I leveled my gun at her and yelled for her to stop. She laughed–laughed!
“I pulled the trigger, barely a split second before she did. My bullet hit her, threw her backward, and knocked her aim off. If I had been even one second later, she would’ve killed you. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
Leaning over the rail, he took her hands in his. “I love you, Bri. I’ve never stopped loving you. I’ve missed you every damn day that you’ve been gone. When I thought you died, all I wanted to do was die and be with you again. Living without you has been hell on earth.”
Brianna pulled him to her and kissed him through her tears. “I love you, too, Noah. I love you so much and I’ve died a thousand times living without you.”
“I stormed in that building to save you. There’s no way I could watch you die again,” he murmured against her skin.
He felt her tense underneath his hands. “What about Richard? Did he get away?”
“No, he didn’t get away at all. He got better than he deserved–a bullet right between the eyes,” Noah replied and showed no remorse.
Later that day, as Brianna was taking a nap, a light rap on the door alerted Noah. He looked up to see Bull walking in. “Hey, brother.”
“Hey, Reap,” he said softly as he looked at Brianna sleeping. “I wanted to see how she’s doing,” he hesitated before continuing, “And I need to apologize to her.”
Noah placed his hand on Bull’s shoulder and nodded in understanding. They watched her sleep for a minute when she began to stir. She opened her eyes and looked from Noah to Bull, then back to Noah.
“Something wrong?” Noah heard the slight elevation of fear in her voice.
Bull answered, “No, no–well, on second thought, yes, I guess there is. Me. I’ve been wrong–about you and how I treated you, Brianna. I’m sorry. I should’ve at least heard you out. You deserved at least that, and I let you down. I promised I would always protect you, and I let you down.”
Brianna considered his words, and Bull waited for her to order him out of her room and out of her life.
“Sunny.”
Bull looked confused. “What?”
“My name is Sunny, to you.” And with that, she smiled at him. Bull was suddenly at the side of the bed, bending over to hug her.
“Always,” he said, as he kissed her cheek. A silent understanding that his one word answer held a promise only a brother could make.
The following day, Brianna was discharged from the hospital and Noah took her home to his house. His protective instincts toward Brianna were in overdrive and he was convinced that every other driver on the road was out to get her.
“The ride home was interesting.” Brianna tried to keep from laughing.
Noah slowly raised one eyebrow at her remark as he turned the vehicle off. “Are you making fun of my driving?”
“No. I wouldn’t dare do that,” she replied. “The rest of Miami may have something to say about it, though.”
“You do realize that you’re defenseless right now, right? That you literally can’t defend yourself and I can do whatever I want to do to you,” he teasingly threatened.
“You do realize that I know you better than anyone in the world does, right?” she countered. “And I know that you would never do anything but protect me.”
Raw emotion filled his eyes as he slowly nodded. “You’ve got me there. No one else knows me like you do. And there’s no way in hell I’d ever hurt you. However, I will hold you hostage and never let you leave my side
again.”
“You can’t call me a hostage if I willfully and intentionally stay with you,” she whispered. “Forever.”
Noah leaned across the center console and gave her a long, lingering kiss. “Stay right there. I’m coming around to get you.”
He briskly walked around the vehicle, opened her door, and gingerly picked her up in his arms. He carried her to the door and then up the stairs to the master bedroom. He carefully placed her in the bed and arranged the pillows under her head. After he turned on the television, he handed her the remote.
“You are on complete bed rest for the next couple of weeks. Doctor’s orders–and my orders. I’m going downstairs to make your lunch and then I’ll be back. Whatever you need, I’ll take care of for you.” Noah gave her his dazzling, heart-melting smile before he turned to leave the room.
“Noah?” she called after him.
“Yeah, babe?”
“I love you. More than anything in the world. Thank you for loving me.”
“Loving you is more natural than breathing. It’s life sustaining. I don’t even have to think about it. You’re not just a part of me, you’re the best part of me,” Noah replied sincerely.
From one week to the next, he tended to Brianna’s healing wounds, catered to her every need, and reminded her how much she was loved. By the end of the two weeks of restricted activities, she playfully warned him about expectations.
“You know, since you’ve proven you’re capable of spoiling me, I’ll expect it all the time now,” she laughed.
“That’s a promise, sweetheart.” He flashed a wicked smile and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “When you’re all better, I’ll spoil you in every room of this house.”
“I’m holding you to that promise as soon as I’m well enough,” she winked.
“That’s not all you’ll be holding when you’re well enough.”
When she was first discharged from the hospital, she still experienced frequent dizziness from her concussion. Her sore, cracked ribs also kept her from moving easily. But after the last couple of weeks of rest and all the doting attention from Noah, the worst of her pain and symptoms had subsided.
Wicked Games: The Extended Edition (Steele Security #1) Page 26