“How many people are dead?” She asked the officer.
The man looked like he was debating with himself but then he shook his head with a small smile. “So far miss, everyone we got out was alive. We have yet to search the building thoroughly though.”
Sadi nodded. The relief that flooded over her was so great her knees almost buckled. “Thank you,” she whispered. She could see her car now. She let go of the officer’s arm and walked over to it. He looked at her as if he thought it was unsafe for her to be driving, which she didn’t doubt for a second, but he released her arm all the same.
“Take care now,” he said, and turned and walked away.
Sadi got in, started her car and drove to the hospital as the officer had suggested. It would be the most logical thing. She should have just tried it in the first place. Sadi’s hands shook as she searched for the fastest way to get there. Finally she got an address and her GPS turned on. She normally hated the tinny voice but in the moment it seemed strangely relaxing. Sadi took a deep breath before she drove away.
She followed the directions. The route seemed to take forever even though the female voice informed Sadi it was only going to be seventeen minutes in current traffic.
Finally Sadi approached the building. The dread mounting in her chest threatened to cut off her oxygen. Please let Luke be alive. Sadi took a ticket from the dispenser and the bar admitted her into the parking lot. She found a parking spot and hurried into the entrance.
Sadi had never been in the hospital before, but she was able to find the front desk without a problem. She gave her name and told the young woman she was looking for a Luke Pearson.
The girl at the desk looked younger than Sadi. She had long black hair that fell to the shoulders of pink scrubs with cartoon characters on them. While the girl typed something into her computer, Sadi stood wringing her hands.
She was in luck. All the air whooshed out of Sadi’s lungs when the girl said she had a Luke Pearson. The girl looked at Sadi, sympathy shining in her eyes. For a moment Sadi feared the worst. That it was over. All of it. That she would spend the rest of her life living with regret. That there were so many things worse than dying.
Then the girl glanced up at Sadi’s hair and allowed a soft smile. It gave Sadi hope. Surely someone wouldn't choose to smile at her wretched appearance if her fiancé were dead. No matter how ridiculous she looked at the moment, no one could be that cruel.
“Yes we have a Luke Pearson. He’s in room 302. I can take you there if you like?”
Sadi nodded woodenly. She didn’t think she could have found her way even in the best state of mind. As it was she could hardly concentrate on anything but seeing Luke, alive and well. She prayed that was the case. If something was seriously wrong surely she would have been told he was in surgery or in critical care and taken to another part of the hospital? Or told she wasn’t allowed to see him at all. This had to be a good sign.
The young woman took Sadi’s arm and led her down the long white corridor. Sadi swallowed hard. It was the first time another person had touched her with kindness in a very long while. Her nerves were frayed and she was embarrassed to find that she was perilously close to bursting into tears. She shook her head and swallowed to clear the fire that was burning in her throat. The woman led Sadi down the twists and turns and mazes of rooms until she stopped in front of a solid wood door.
“This is the one,” the receptionist, or nurse, or whomever she was, said. Her voice was soft. Almost a whisper. Musical. Sadi liked it. She felt its calming effect like a balm to her frayed nerves.
She watched as the woman pushed open the door. Sadi’s heart stopped beating when she saw him. He was hooked to a myriad of machines and monitors, an IV bag dripping from a pole beside the bed, oxygen going into his nose. His head was bandaged, his leg and arm had white gauze as well but he was alive. Luke was alive.
Sadi was so relieved when she saw the rise and fall of his chest that she crumbled to the floor. She covered her face and sobbed.
“Hey now, surely I don't look as bad as that.”
Sadi started at the sound of Luke's deep voice. How could he possibly jest? That was something Sadi had always loved about him. How his spirit refused to be crushed.
Sadi allowed the young woman to help her off the floor and into a chair by Luke's bed. She was embarrassed but also moved to further tears by the compassion this stranger offered her. Sadi thanked the girl and watched her exit the room. She closed the door shut firmly behind her.
Sadi took Luke’s hand in her own, squeezing firmly as if to reassure herself that he was real, and that he was still with her. “Thank god you're okay,” Sadi whispered. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and leaned forward, placing a kiss on Luke's forehead.
She was almost afraid to touch him. Afraid if she did he would break. She couldn't quite believe that he was really here, whole and well and alive.
“Have you heard about Connor yet? Did they find him?” There was a catch in Luke’s voice that told Sadi she wasn’t the first person Luke had asked about his brother.
Sadi felt the bottom of her stomach drop and for a second she thought she was going to be sick. She could feel the tremor start in her hands, the sickly sweet heat wash over her.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to regain her composure. Luke was the one who had been through a bombing. He was the one lying in the hospital bed, tubes and machines hooked to his body. Not her. Yet somehow he was more put together than she was.
“I’m sorry I haven’t heard anything. I came right to the hospital when I found out what had happened. I don't understand Luke, who would do something like this?" The Pearson brothers were good men, well liked and even revered by their peers and rivals alike. It was beyond Sadi that someone would want to hurt them let alone bomb a building filled with innocent people.
Connor. Luke had asked about his brother. God, if Connor hadn't made it out, it would destroy Luke. Not only were the two brothers impossible to tell apart, they thought like one man. The two were an enigma to Sadi, their bond something she could never understand.
She had heard the stories of people who had lost their twin. That their life became groundless, unmoored. That the survivor always felt the empty spot where the other half of them had been.
Luke looked disappointed although he tried his best to hide it. Sadi suddenly glanced down at his wrist.
“Where's your watch?” It was the only way she could tell the two brothers apart. It had become a standing joke between them that if he ever took it off Sadi might accidentally pick the wrong brother. She had bought Luke a watch for their one month dating anniversary. It had been silly and inexpensive, but he had treasured it regardless and worn it ever since.
Sadi had been surprised when she moved into Luke’s house to find a whole dresser drawer full of other, more expensive watches. Some of them were worth well over ten thousand dollars, yet Luke always wore the cheap watch Sadi had given him. She remembered how she had flushed when she thought about it, how her chest had ached with the knowledge that Luke loved her.
“I lost it in the building,” Luke said. He glanced up at Sadi, eyes shining with uncertainty. “I asked one of the nurses about Connor. She did the best she could to find out what happened to him. All I know is that he hasn't been brought to the hospital yet.”
Chapter 3
Sadi heard the catch in Luke's voice. She could feel his dwindling hope and feel his pain like an aching hole in her own heart. She reached out and grasped Luke's hand firmly between her own. She stared down at the tip of the IV which protruded from his skin.
She wanted to say something, anything that would make this better for Luke. Something that would take away his uncertainty and give him back the brother whom he loved more than his own life. Sadi longed to do something, but no actions, no words could bring solace or peace until Connor was found.
Sadi could only dare to hope that he was alive. She had no idea what Luke's future would
hold if he were forced to go through life knowing that he had survived the blast and his brother had not.
The next few days at the hospital were full of doctors and nurses checking in on Luke. They ran tests. Sometimes he was taken from the room but always returned a short while later. Sadi found that she was reluctant to let Luke out of her sight. The thought of him leaving and not coming back set off a thousand panicked alarms inside her skull.
The worst part was when the cops came to question Luke. There had been at least six different members of the police service in Luke’s room over the last three days. They seemed to ask him all the same questions. Did he know who would want to hurt him or his brother? Did he have any enemies? (Wasn’t that the same question?) What had he been doing the morning of and leading up to the bombing? Where was he when he heard the blast? What happened after?
Luke did his best to answer the questions but Sadi could see how worn out he was and how awful the experience had been for him. She could see the muscles in his jaw clench every time a new cop or a different detective entered the room.
She could see the vein stand out on the top of his forehead, near his hairline. She was surprised that she noticed that, as she had never seemed to before. Luke was exhausted after the questioning. He only ever asked one question of his own. Had they found Connor?
Four days after the bombing, Luke’s lawyer entered the room. He carried an immaculate black briefcase with him. Dressed all in black, shoes shined and gleaming, black trench coat barely clearing the white tiled floor, he looked like the harbinger of death.
Sadi looked at Edward Greeson’s face and instinctively knew who he was. He could have been there on the company’s behalf but Sadi knew that he wasn’t. He wouldn’t have bothered Luke with those details until he was well and out of the hospital. No, this was much, much worse.
Edward Greeson cleared his throat. The man was in his fifties and probably smoked a pack a day. The sound was like glass in a blender.
Sadi flinched. She crossed the room and went to stand beside Luke. She placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, his smoky blue eyes meeting her own dark ones. She could see the puzzled look on his face. Oh god, Luke had no idea what Greeson was here to tell him. Sadi pressed her hand a little harder onto Luke’s shoulder.
“Mr. Pearson, I wanted to be the one to tell you, as I’ve known you for years. Your brother Connor… it seems he hasn’t been found.”
“What do you mean he hasn’t been found? Surely they would have had to find… something.” Luke all but exploded out of the bed. His voice held the shrill tone of panic, of rage, of the horrible impotence of being able to do nothing at all. Buried underneath it all was the horrible twinge of guilt. Guilt at being the one who had survived.
“I’m sorry Mr. Pearson, that is all I know. The body of your brother has not been found. Yet… I was advised that sometimes there is nothing left… that the blast obliterates everything.” Greeson cleared his throat again. He looked distinctly uncomfortable, standing there, briefcase in hand facing the young man who had just lost everything.
“If they haven’t found a body then there’s still hope,” Luke whispered. “Neither of us were in my office that day. We had a meeting across the building, a couple floors below the blast. Connor was running late and he hadn’t made it yet. We were waiting for him when everything… when everything fell apart.”
Greeson nodded. Sadi could tell that he didn’t want to give Luke false hope. She thought Greeson knew that Connor was dead, even if he didn’t come out and say the exact words.
“Even so Mr. Pearson, there is the matter of the business to take care of. Given the extreme circumstances, I think it best we take care of it right away before yourself, or your company, is left vulnerable.”
The man’s tone infuriated Sadi. She could tell that Luke was just a paycheck to him, and that this visit was nothing more than the thousand dollars an hour he could charge for his services. The man probably took pleasure in the fact that since Connor was missing and probably assumed dead, that Luke was going to need a whole pile of those services in question.
“I’m going to get a drink,” Sadi said. She thought if she stayed in the room another minute she was going to be sick. “Are you sure you’re up to doing this now?” Sadi asked, bending down to look Luke in the face. “I could take you with me.”
Luke shook his head. He steeled his face into a mask of impenetrability. “No, he’s right. I probably shouldn’t wait.” Luke’s eyes betrayed the fact that he wished Sadi would stay with him but she just couldn’t. She needed to be out of that stifling room, away from the horrible dead eyes of Mr. Greeson. Away from the terrible grief that she knew was tearing Luke apart from the inside, though his face remained stoic.
“I’ll be back in an hour,” Sadi said. “That should give you enough time.” She looked pointedly at Greeson. The man nodded.
“Of course,” he replied. “An hour now will get us started.”
Sadi gave Luke a quick kiss. She felt the tremble in his lips when they met hers. She squeezed his hand one more time, then walked out of the room. She needed to get outside, to breathe in some fresh air. She wanted to pretend that she was anywhere but here and that this was some bad dream, that it wasn’t real, that it wasn’t happening to her and Luke.
Sadi was relieved to see Luke's smile as they walked through the front door of their home. She set her purse on the hall bench and took a deep breath. It had been a long two weeks.
She was surprised to find that she dreaded going home after Luke had finally been discharged from the hospital. The hospital room seemed so safe and sheltered. In there they could almost pretend that what had happened hadn't happened at all. They could almost go on as if their lives were normal.
Except that their lives were anything but. It had been almost twenty one days since the bombing and Connor still hadn't been found. No body. Nothing.
Luke had met so many times with his lawyer that Sadi had lost count. Then there were more police coming for statements. More questions. Luke could provide no answers that he hadn’t given before. Some of the staff at Pearson and Pearson had been injured in the blast but thankfully no one had died. Just Connor....
It seemed unthinkable to Sadi that Luke's twin was gone. Greeson had convinced Luke to proceed as if Connor was never coming back. He had even planted the idea about arranging a funeral for his brother. It seemed very sudden to Sadi; just one more tragedy for Luke to endure.
At the mention of a funeral, Sadi had thought about Luke's parents. She had actually never met them. Luke didn't even know where they were. He hadn't spoken with them in years.
Did they even know what had happened? Sadi had begged Luke to try and contact them, but he flat out refused. She chalked it up to grief. The Luke she knew would never refuse his own parents the right to come to their son’s funeral no matter what he thought about them; or at least Sadi had thought so.
She supposed she may have underestimated the depth of Luke’s hurt and bitterness where his parents were concerned. On the other hand, Sadi knew that Luke believed the funeral to be a farce. He would never give up hope of Connor being found. His unwavering faith that Connor was alive had made Sadi's heart ache.
They had delayed their wedding, which was only right in light of the circumstances. Sadi knew that their impending nuptials were the last thing on Luke's mind. Luke hadn't even been interested in the details she had mentioned.
He seemed completely spaced out, as if he had never heard a single word about the planning she had spent hours going over with him before their world had shattered. She didn't mind. She hadn't been thinking much about it herself.
Sadi had vowed she would change if Luke lived, and she had. She had been by his side in the hospital, offering her nearness as a buffer against the storm of life and Luke had clung to her like a drowning man.
She had felt an affinity with Luke that she hadn’t felt before, even at the start. It was like the horrible ev
ents had drawn them closer than ever before. Luke looked at Sadi differently, like he was seeing her for the first time. Like she was the only thing that mattered to him. Like if he looked away, he would lose her.
Luke was looking at Sadi like that now. He took a step closer to Sadi, his grey blue eyes clouded with desire. The smouldering look he sent her took her breath away. Sadi stood rooted to the spot. Luke took another step and another until he was mere inches from her. He reached out a hand and gently stroked her cheek.
“You're so beautiful,” he whispered, voice husky.
Sadi felt his words to the bottom of her stomach. His touch sent a wave of tingling sensation right to her core. Luke bent his head and kissed Sadi.
Her lips came alive under his. Luke groaned and buried his hands in her hair. He drank her in like he had never tasted her before. It was a desperate kiss. One that was deep and full and passionate. Luke had always been a more passive kisser, more tender in his touch, and the force of his lips, the desperation in his touch, took Sadi by surprise. She pulled away in shock, raising a trembling finger to lips that still tingled with sensation.
“What's wrong?” Luke asked, confusion and hurt mingling on his face.
“I.... I just.... can't remember you ever kissing me like that before. I was surprised.” Sadi studied Luke's face looking for some sign, some signal, that something was amiss, but she found nothing. No guile. Just unguarded affection. Sadi saw the fire burning in his eyes. His eyes roamed hungrily over her body. Sadi felt her skin flush with the pleasure of being noticed. Luke hadn't looked at her like that in months.
Luke gripped Sadi’s hand, turning it over so he could run his finger over her knuckles. He looked up and met her eyes with his. She was surprised to see a sheen of moisture there. “Sadi, I.... I came so close to dying. I've lost almost everything I ever loved and cared about. Yet you're still here with me. I've been so thankful to have you with me these past few weeks. You've been my only light through this.”
Twin Deception: A BWWM Billionaire Romance Page 2