The Penalty Box (Vancouver Wolves Hockey #3)(96)

He smiled at me. “She’s asleep, but you can sit with her.”





*



She looked so tiny and pale in the hospital bed. She wore a hospital gown, and her hair was tangled in a riot of curls on the pillow. I pulled up a chair to her bed and watched her breathe. I studied my beautiful wife, who had completely captured my heart.

Thank God she’s alive.

I had no idea what I would have done if she hadn’t survived this. I had lived through my worst nightmare. The full impact of everything that had happened washed over me, and I put my head down on the bed, working to get my emotions under control. I felt a small hand touch my hair. In wonder, I lifted my head and looked into her beautiful brown eyes.

“Sweetheart,” I breathed.

Her eyes looked so scared. “The baby?”

My eyes filled with tears and my voice was gruff. “You’re both doing great.”

A tremulous smile crossed her face. “Are you okay?”

My heart was still hammering in my chest. I lifted her hand to my mouth, kissing her fingers. “I am now.”

Her smile remained on her lips as her eyes drifted shut. “I’m sorry, I just need to take a nap.”

She was so damn cute.

So much joy was spilling out of my chest as I smiled and kissed her hand again. “That’s okay. Just sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”





Chapter 33





CHARLIE





I opened my eyes, taking in the unfamiliar hospital room. I glanced over to see Mica. He was sitting in a big hospital chair, his feet up on the end of my bed. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was breathing heavily with sleep.

My husband. I studied his beauty, taking in his messy hair and dark stubble, loving the thickness of his arms that crossed over his muscular chest. How had I gotten so lucky to have this man in my life?

As if he could sense my stare, he opened his eyes and his face broke into a gorgeous smile.

“Hey.” He put his feet down and leaned closer. His eyes traveled over my face. “How are you feeling?”

“Surprisingly fine.” My voice sounded scratchy. “What happened?”

“You had a blood transfusion, and they gave you some iron.”

“The baby is okay?” I confirmed.

He smiled and picked up my hand, bringing it to his mouth to kiss my fingers gently. “Baby is fine.”

We stared at each other.

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” I confessed. “I never should have.”

“Shhh,” he soothed. “Don’t even talk about that.”

“I believe in you,” I added, scared that he didn’t know that.

“I know.”

I studied him. He looked rumpled and tired. “You’ve been through hell.”

“So have you.”

I frowned as memories of the horror washed over me. “Is that woman okay?”

He nodded and gave a sad smile. “She’s doing good. They treated her for malnutrition and dehydration, but her family is around her and they expect a full recovery.” He cleared his throat. “They came to thank us for helping find her.”

“You saved us.” I blinked. “Sniper. Is Sniper okay?

He squeezed my hand. “He’s fine. Zoey took him to the vet. He was given a large dose of tranquilizers, but he’s fine.”

More memories washed over me. Andrew, with a gun. Telling me I was his wife. “Andrew is crazy.”

His face looked grim. “Yeah. He is.”

I didn’t want to think about Andrew or how close he came to destroying my life.

“Mica, I’m so sorry.”

He stood, picked me up and climbed into bed with me. I sighed as I felt his big body gently curl around me. “We’re safe. It’s going to be okay.”





*



A day later, I got released from the hospital. All I wanted to do was get home. Mica hovered over me as he walked me to the car. I actually felt better than I had in weeks. The doctor said it was because of my iron infusions.

We drove home in silence. We had so much to talk about, but neither of us seemed to want to talk.

As we passed Andrew’s house, we saw a large white tent set up in the front driveway and several police vans.

“What’s going on?”

Mica didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled into our driveway and moved with me inside. The dogs went bananas when they saw me. Sniper whined and pressed his head against my legs.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

When we got over our happy reunion, I settled on the couch.

Mica came to sit beside me. He had that look on his face.

“What is it?”

He swallowed as he debated how much he wanted to tell me. “Andrew was never married. There is no record of him ever being married.”

My eyebrows went up. “But…”

Mica looked grim. “The house belonged to his mom, and he moved in there after she passed away.” He took my hands in his. “They found some other bodies.”

Horror washed over me. “What do you mean?”

“They found two shallow graves in his backyard and the bodies of two women.”