“I like it too.”
A sweet ache tightens inside my chest. “Where are you? I hear beeping.”
“The hospital.”
I bolt off the bed. “You’re hurt?” I whip off my robe and hurry to my dresser. “My goodness, Rowdy, why didn’t you tell me that first?”
“I promise I’m fine. Or at least, I will be when you get here.”
Despite my worry, I can’t help melting a little at his words. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
When I peekinto Linnea’s room, a nurse is packing up wound care supplies and wrappers. A stapled packet of what I’m assuming are discharge instructions rest on the side table. Linnea’s wrists are wrapped in stark white gauze and her cheeks are pale, with a bandage covering the abrasion on her left cheekbone.
I step into the room as the nurse asks Linnea if she needs help getting dressed.
“No, thank you,” Linnea says as I beeline for her bedside.
As the nurse leaves, closing the door behind her, I press a kiss to Linnea’s temple. “How are you feeling?”
A flicker of a smile plays across her face. “Tired. A little hungry.” She runs two fingers across the edge of the bandage above her left eyebrow. “Ready to put everything behind me.”
I settle on the edge of the bed and slide my left palm under her right, the warmth from the contact sending another wave of relief through me. She’s okay. She’s safe. I know it’s not that simple—she’s been through a lot—but for now, it’s enough.
“How’s Dad?” she asks.
“Not bad for someone who took a bullet to his femur then hiked a couple of miles.”
She laughs, then winces in pain.
“Sorry.” I press a kiss to her hair. She smells like earth mixed with antiseptic, another reminder that she doesn’t belong here.
A soft sigh leaves her lips. “Sofie wants me to stay with her, but I really just want to go home.”
Sofie hugged the stuffing out of me earlier when she thanked me for saving her sister and helping Rowdy escape. I got to meet Jesse too, and his spunky daughter, Skye. It’s great their family is so tight. I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little bit envious. “Will you let me take care of you?”
Linnea worries her bottom lip. “I was thinking, maybe you could come stay at our house. Just for a few days, until I’m getting around better? And to help with Dad when he comes home? Jesse and Sofie will be around, of course, but it’s going to be a lot, and they have their own families to look after too. There’s room for Jasper in our barn, so you can have him close.”
She’s asking me for help? She’s choosing me? I swallow the lump in my throat. “I’d like that.”
Another soft laugh followed by a wince. “Don’t get too excited. I’m probably not going to be very good company.”
I kiss the back of her hand, a smile tugging at my lips. “What if I’m not looking for good company?”
She tries to scowl but it turns into a smile, and it’s cute as fuck. “Let’s get out of here.”
I reach for the stack of clothes Sofie brought. We start with underwear and a pair of sweatpants, going slowly to minimize her discomfort. Seeing the big bruises blooming on her thighs and kneecaps cracks my chest wide open, emotions stinging my nose and eyes.
“Those fucking bastards,” I grit out.
Linnea touches my bandaged knuckles. “It’s okay.”
I shake my head. “It’s not.”
“But it’s over.” Her eyes turn glassy with tears.
“That’s for fucking sure.” I’m not one bit sorry her tormenters are dead, but it’s a special kind of melancholy knowing they tormented those children for as long as they did. That an FBI agent lost her life trying to rescue them.