“Oh…Nathan, this is Noah Hanson. Noah, this is Nathan Thorne.”

“Pleasure to meet you. Lila’s told me a lot about you.” Nathan held out his hand for Noah who took it.

Noah held a questioning gaze. “Thorne? Former prosecutor Thorne?”

Nathan blinked at him. “Yes.”

Noah tensed, his eyes flickering to the wall that held the door and window before his eyes locked with Nathan’s. “You need to come to dinner with Lila.”

Nathan nodded, and they did one of those guy exchange things before letting go. I was certain Nathan would explain it to me later; there was some undertone conversation I missed. With the way my head was still pounding, I was certain an elephant could run through the room, and I wouldn’t notice.

“Well, I need to get back to work. We need to take a couple pictures of your injuries, okay? Then you’ll need to answer some more questions for the report.”

I nodded in response, and Noah turned to leave.

“Noah!” I called out, and he turned back. “Could you call Teresa and Armando, tell them what happened, and that I’m all right?”

“They’re already in the waiting room; I called them right after you passed out, but I’ll let them know. Get better and give me a call soon.” He waved as he walked out of the room and past the cops guarding the door.

On his way out, I watched as Adam was wheeled down the hall, handcuffed to a gurney. His face was swollen, and blood was still oozing out of his nose as well as the two places where his lips were split. He was groaning in pain.

I smiled a bit, happy to see him get a small taste of his own medicine. I took Nathan’s hands in mine and pulled them to where I could see. His knuckles were swollen and a few were bleeding a little.

“Thank you,” I whispered as I pulled his hand to my lips, placing light kisses on each knuckle. “All that practice on your walls paid off.”

He leaned down and kissed me. “Always, Honeybear.”

The doctors came in and began running me through the exam, followed by tests and machines to make sure I had no internal bleeding from Adam’s vicious kicks. They also wanted to make sure there was no damage done to my skull and brain.

I loved having Nathan near. I needed him; he kept me calm, kept the shaking at bay. Though, every time I looked at him, tears sprung to my eyes. I was almost taken from him. His own look of fright was so overwhelming I didn’t know what to do to calm him because they kept him more than an arm’s length away so they could work.

Nurses took him away for his own exam and to clean off his wounds, but they returned him as soon as possible. Andrew went to the waiting room to sit with Teresa and Armando.

The police came in between tests to get my statement, and I found it was difficult to recount the details to them. Nathan erupted in a fit of rage as I divulged the first few moments after I opened the door, and he had to be escorted out for the remainder of their inquisition.

I began vibrating, tears flowing as I let my mind think about it. I told them what I could remember; some things were hazy, though, due to trauma he inflicted to my head. They took a few photos of my injuries, and then said they’d be back in a day or two for more information, before they left.

The hospital decided to keep me overnight for observation. Another concussion, but the rest was superficial. I was bruised and a few deep cuts from the glass of the mirror were stitched up. Everyone in the waiting room was sent home. I couldn’t see anyone; I only needed Nathan at that moment. I was fighting to keep my eyes open, but through the glass I saw Nathan talking to Teresa, her arms wrapped around him, sobs racking her body before the darkness took over and I was shut away from the world.

CHAPTER 19

My eyes fluttered open, and I sighed at the clock on the wall, telling me it was only three in the morning. There was a weight in my hand, and I looked down to find Nathan asleep, his head resting on the bed, one hand in mine. His hands were bandaged, and I knew his neck had to be killing him from the angle.

Lifting my free hand, I ran my fingers thought the silky strands of his hair. I took stock of my aches while I soothed myself by touching him. My neck was in immense pain when I moved it, so much that it was difficult to look down at him. Adam’s fingers bruised the muscle. My face was swollen in multiple places, giving me that beach ball like feeling again, and the taste of rust was on my tongue from the large split in my lip. I could feel the location of several places they stitched back together in my scalp and at my hairline. I clenched the muscles of my stomach and instantly regretted it.

All in all, I came out better than I had most of the other times. It was, for the most part, superficial. Painful, but it would all heal. No broken bones, torn muscles, or dislocated anything this time. It was all due to Nathan. If he hadn’t come…if he hadn’t made it…

Tears filled my eyes, and I tried to keep the sob in, knowing if Nathan had been as little as five more minutes, I would be in a different part of the hospital – the part people went into once.

“Lila?” Nathan’s rough, groggy voice asked; his fingers reached up to wipe away my tears.

“I didn’t want to leave you!” I cried out unexpectedly, the tears now streaming down my face. He grabbed my hand and buried his face in it, gripping it with his own. Wet drops landed on my skin, tearing at my heart.

“I was so scared, Honeybear. I heard your screams as soon as the door of the elevator opened. My heart stopped, baby, and I ran as fast as I could to find you. I thought it was the Marconi. When I opened the door…” His body shuddered at the memory, his grip on my hand tightening. His eyes were squeezed shut, jaw clenched. “I wanted to f**king kill him. I wanted to rip his arms off and shove them down his f**king throat for even touching you. I wanted him dead for hurting you.”

I pulled in a shuddering breath, willing myself to calm down so that I could tell him. I needed to tell him.

“That was the first time I ever tried to fight back,” I whispered. “Before…before, it would just make him even angrier and hit me harder. There was no escape back then. This time, though, I knew. He was there to kill me, Nathan.” My voice cracked at the end, my bottom lip trembling as tears continued to spill down my cheeks. “He was there to kill me, but he got…distracted.”

I could say it in my head, but I couldn’t say what he was about to do out loud. Nathan understood, his hand reaching up and persuading me to look at him. His eyes held a furious fire, his body vibrating in anger.