Beautifully Broken Pieces (Sutter Lake, #1)(85)

As the door closed with a quiet snick, my eyes found Walker’s again. They seemed pained. Did he dread telling a girl in a hospital bed that their relationship was over? My stomach churned.

Walker sank down into the chair next to my bed. He gently took the hand that was free of the IV between his own. My eyes stung with tears again. “I really am so sorry—” I didn’t know what else to say, couldn’t seem to find adequate words to convey everything I felt, all I had realized.

Walker shook his head and then lifted my hand so that my palm rested against his rapidly beating heart. “I’m the one who owes you an apology.”

My eyebrows rose. “What are you talking about?”

“I knew you were scared, terrified really. I never should have let you push me away. I left you alone, and you were taken.” A single tear crested over his bottom eyelid. “And I didn’t find you quick enough…”

Walker’s words trailed off as I shook my head vehemently, wincing at the pain the action caused. “You found me. I’m alive because of you.” More of the moments in the cave had begun to come back to me, and I knew if Walker hadn’t gotten there when he did, I would likely be dead.

Walker’s jaw was granite-hard, his words seeming to be ripped from his throat. “But I didn’t get there before he hurt you.”

I pushed my hand harder against his chest. “I’ll heal.” The statement was simple but true. I would heal. And if I had Walker by my side, I knew that recovery would happen quickly.

Walker’s gaze locked on mine with such intensity, my heart stuttered in its rhythm. “I love you. You snuck in and stole my goddamned heart, but I hope you never give it back. Please give me the chance to love you.” His eyes pleaded with mine.

My heart seized and burned. A sensation that was nothing but pleasure and peace this time. “I’d love nothing more than to be loved by you and to love you in return.”

Walker dropped his hold on my hand and grasped my face again, this time brushing his lips against mine. It was a feather-light touch, but one with the deepest of meanings. “You’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” I whispered against his lips.

Walker pressed his mouth to mine again. “And I’m yours, too.”

“Yes, you are.” Warmth flooded my entire body. This beautiful, strong man, who never gave up fighting for me, was mine. I flashed a huge grin.

Walker gave me a slow and sexy smile. “I might have to share you for a little bit, though.” I blinked up at him, confused. He let out a low chuckle. “The waiting room is filled to the brim with people just waiting to see you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Carter and Austin hopped on a private jet as soon as they heard what had happened and have been going between Liam’s hospital room and the waiting area. My entire family is there, a large portion of the SLPD, Tessa, even Arthur, Clint, and the rest of the bridge club is out there.”

Pain flashed in Walker’s eyes at the mention of his family, and my own face lost its grin. “How’s Jensen?” I couldn’t imagine what she must be going through right now. My heart ached for her.

“In stoic denial, I’d say.” He rubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw. “It’s not that she doesn’t believe Bryce did those things. She does. She just…I don’t know, is playing off that it has any sort of impact on her. She’s focused solely on you.”

I reached for Walker’s hand again, needing to draw strength from him to ask the next question I needed an answer to. “I-Is he dead?” That part of my memory was still hazy. I was pretty sure I remembered Walker shooting him, but I had no idea if that shot had been fatal.

Walker’s teeth ground together. “He is.” He seemed to struggle with how to express what he needed to say next. “I’m not sorry for it. Bryce never would have stopped. There was no other option. He was sick. I’m not sure why, but maybe Ashlee will be able to fill us in on the missing pieces once she’s able to come to terms with it all.”

Oh, God. Ashlee. I couldn’t imagine how this must be rocking her world. “Is she—?” I started to ask, unsure of what word to use because of course she wasn’t okay.

“She’s hanging in there. She’s been in the waiting room, too. Wanted to make sure you were going to be okay.”

“Walker, that poor girl.”

“I know,” he said, his voice gruff. “He was the only family she had left. Her dad took off when she was twelve, and Bryce was fourteen. Her mom drank herself to death.”

My stomach churned again as tears pricked my eyes. Walker brushed his lips across my temple. “We’ll get past this. All of us. Together.”

A knock sounded from the door. “Come in,” Walker called.

The door swung open, and a disheveled Ashlee appeared. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her face was incredibly pale. She shuffled in, one hand grasping the bag that was over her shoulder, the other shaking slightly by her side. The door closed quietly behind her.

Ashlee’s wide eyes swung from Walker to me. “They said you were awake.” I wasn’t sure how to respond or what to say to someone who had just recently discovered that her brother was a serial killer. Ashlee just bobbed her head slightly. “That’s good. I needed you to be awake for this.”