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“But . . . but Ed, this was just a freak thing. It won’t happen again.”
“I thought that after Saber took you. That it was a freak thing that wouldn’t happen again. And look what happened.”
“Shoot. You have a point. But what are the odds that I’ll get kidnapped again? That rarely happens, right? Three kidnappings?”
“One kidnapping is rare! There’s no point in arguing. My mind is made up. You are not running alone. At the moment, I’m seriously considering not letting you go anywhere alone, so I wouldn’t push me.”
“But running is my stress relief.”
“Then you can do it with me or on the treadmill in the gym. Besides, you have other ways of relieving stress now.”
She seemed to think that over. “I’m in trouble, huh?”
“Oh yes. Not only did you leave the house, but you went for a run without telling me. And you didn’t take your phone. When you’re feeling better, you won’t be sitting for a week.”
“I didn’t mean to get kidnapped. I mean, I didn’t even know there was a threat. I mean, I can remember feeling like someone was watching me a few times, but I put it down to being stressed and having so much going on. And I didn’t connect the dead roses to anything.” She shuddered.
He gently massaged her jaw, easing the tension. “I know, baby. Don’t worry, I’m having cameras installed around the house, throughout the yard and beyond. I was too complacent. I never had anything precious to protect before. This won’t happen again.” Then he gave her the ‘Ed look’. “Even if you had known there was a threat, would you still have gone running? Were you thinking clearly?”
She shook her head, looking concerned. “No. I wasn’t thinking at all. After that nightmare, I just wanted to get out of my head. To run until I forgot.”
“And you didn’t pay attention to your surroundings, did you? You didn’t notice how far you had run or in what direction. And you didn’t notice how exhausted you were. Oh, I forgot to add something else. You didn’t eat all your food.”
“Hey, that one isn’t fair. I was being kidnapped by a psycho who chased me up a tree.”
He gave her a thunderous look.
“Too soon to joke, huh?”
“Enough time will never pass for me to joke about this, my girl.”
Georgina watched as Ed paced back and forth across the hospital room. She kind of felt bad for trying to lighten things, but right now she didn’t want to think of everything that had gone bad.
She didn’t like feeling weak. But that’s how she felt right now. As though all her shields were down and it would take just one hit for her to crack.
“You could have died. That bastard could have done anything to you. If it hadn’t been for that necklace you were wearing, I might never have found you again. You could be dead.”
Fuck. He was making everything worse. She knew he didn’t mean to. Knew he wasn’t angry at her. That he was scared. She got it. But she really just needed him to hold her right now.
“I f-fought him off.” She tried to keep her voice steady. But he didn’t seem to notice the slip-up.
“Jed said when he found you that he was pulling you from that damn tree. If he’d gotten you down,” his voice cracked and that was all that was needed for her to lose it.
A sob escaped, tears tracked down her cheeks. Ed froze then spun around. “Baby. Oh God, baby. Don’t cry. Please. Fuck. Don’t cry. I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you. I’m not mad at you.” He gathered her against him and then slid her over so he could lie on the bed beside her.
Screw that. She knew where she had to be.
Moving carefully so she didn’t dislodge the electrodes from the heart monitor or her IV, she climbed over him, laying on him chest to chest, her legs on either side of his hips. He moved his hand up to the nape of her neck, massaging the tension free. She started to relax, as much at the feel of him against her, the touch of his hand on her neck, as anything else.
Sobs still escaped but he whispered to her quietly. She couldn’t understand what he was saying, but the even cadence of his voice was all that was needed. Reassurance flooded her. Her cracks started to mend. She was all right.
She had Ed.
She’d always be good with Ed.
He rubbed her bottom. “I love you, my girl. So much. I’m only upset because the thought of losing you . . . it’s more than I can handle.”
“I’m sorry. I just wasn’t thinking.”
