Chapter 28
Alexa
By the time Luke finally got me out of that house, it was almost sunrise on Saturday morning. We didn’t have time to go home, to recover, to sleep. We had to go to the police station to make our statements, and it took the whole day.
We had to explain what had happened. We were taken into separate offices where we spoke to police officers who asked questions and took note of everything that was said. I struggled to think with my head aching so badly, and reliving the whole kidnapping when all I wanted to do was forget it made me shake uncontrollably half the time.
Luke found out that I had gone to see Sherry—or at least that that had been the plan—and he was unhappy with me.
“You can’t go around behind my back when it’s so dangerous,” he said. “Look at what happened.”
I shook my head. “It’s not like you were being open with me,” I said. He sighed and nodded. I was right. He hadn’t been open with me.
At least it was getting sorted out now. Dalton’s case was reopened after we pointed out Mason as the killer. Sherry was being detained as well for abetting and aiding kidnapping and manslaughter. I doubted either of them would see the light of day for a while, but there would be court cases and it was far from over.
With the whole thing being so much bigger than just a little spat, the news agencies caught wind of it, too. I wasn’t sure who tipped them off, but before long there were vans outside the police station and news reporters trying to question us when we finally got to leave the police station.
Luke helped me get into the car without having to say anything, but by the time we were finally on our way home, my head was killing me and I felt like I’d been worn to the bone.
The police had asked me if I wanted to join witness protection, a program where I would be safe, because of the other gang members still out there. I wasn’t sure if that was what I wanted. I wanted sleep. I wanted food. I wanted to recover from this godawful headache and have Luke hold me until this nightmare passed before I had to think about it again.
We still didn’t know what had happened to Sam, but Mason was being investigated for the possible murder of Samuel Thomas as well. I hoped he had never gotten to Sam, but I was worried that he might have. If Sam had gotten away, he would be the lucky one.
I would worry about all of that later.
The drive home was almost surreal. It felt like I’d stepped from one world into another, with the one a prison world and the other so normal it felt like nothing had happened.
When Luke pulled into his parking space, he took a deep breath.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I will be,” I said without nodding or shaking my head because it hurt too much.
“Let’s get you inside,” he said.
When we walked up to his apartment, my mom was waiting for us.
“Oh, thank God you’re safe,” she said, and she threw her arms around me. I whimpered, my headache flaring. “I saw you both on the news,” my mom said, crying now. “I thought I was going to lose you, too. I don’t know what I would have done.”
“I’m okay, Mom,” I said, and she finally let me go. “Luke helped. I don’t know where I would have been without him.”
I looked at him and smiled. He stood towering and strong next to me.
“Come inside,” Luke said, unlocking his apartment and leading me in. He got a pillow and a blanket from the bedroom and settled me on the couch. My mom sat down next to me, holding my hand, while Luke walked to the kitchen to put on the kettle for tea or coffee.
“Are you hurt badly, sweetheart?” my mom asked, looking at my black eye.
“I have a concussion and some bruising, but it’s nothing too serious,” I said. “Apparently getting kidnapped is a rough sport.”
My mom tutted. “That’s not funny,” she said.
“Sorry.” I had to make light of it. If I didn’t joke about what had happened, I would break down in hysterics, and I didn’t have the energy for another meltdown. The last month—especially the last forty-eight hours—had been a roller coaster, and I couldn’t deal with more of the same.
My mom held my hand and I closed my eyes. We didn’t speak much. After a while, Luke came into the room with a cup of sweet tea for me.
“For the shock,” he said. He helped me sit up and handed me the tea. He went back to the kitchen and brought two cups of coffee for him and my mom.
“Thank you,” my mom said.
“It’s my pleasure,” Luke said, sitting opposite me. He looked at me with a concerned face.
“Not just for the coffee,” my mom said. “For everything. You saved her life, and I will forever be thankful for that. I’ve already lost so much…” Her eyes welled up with tears. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so emotional.”
I squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back.
“I’m just sorry I couldn’t do the same for Dalton,” Luke said. He looked at his coffee. “I wish every day that I could have done something.”
My mom shook her head. “Don’t do that to yourself. There was nothing any of us could have done. If we’d known what he was involved with, it might have been different, but he didn’t involve us at all and that’s not your fault.”
Luke nodded. I was so glad my mom told him that. I knew Luke beat himself up some days for Dalton’s death, and I hated that he felt so responsible. For his sake, I was relieved things hadn’t gone wrong with me in that house and that Koby was the man he was.
We sat together in silence for a while, sipping our drinks and thinking. A knock sounded at the door, and I jumped. I was terrified for no reason. Luke got up and walked to the door. A moment later he reappeared with my dad.
“There you are,” my dad said, and he looked relieved. He walked to the couch where I was sitting and kissed me on the forehead, careful not to hurt me.
“I saw it on the news and I had to see that you were okay. I’m so glad you’re alive.”
It was much the same as what my mom had said. I wondered for a moment if it would be awkward with the two of them together here, but it was the same as with Dalton’s death. It was like they put their differences aside when things were hard.
It was the first time since Dalton’s funeral that the four of us were together, and it felt surreal. My parents spoke to each other normally. Luke answered all their questions until they both seemed to be more at ease with what had happened.
“Dalton’s case is going to be reopened,” Luke said, looking at both my parents. “Justice will be served now, but it might drag on for a while.”
My mom nodded. “It will be hard to go through all that again, but we can be there for each other,” she said.
My dad agreed. “If they catch the guy, I’m okay going through it all again. He was a good kid. It’s not fair just to leave it alone.”
I was glad my parents agreed on something. I felt Luke’s eyes on me, and when I looked at him, his expression was soft and warm and difficult to read. There was a lot of love and a lot of sadness, but there were other things, too. But he wouldn’t bother me with it now. I knew that. And I was relieved.
I rested my head on my hand. It was so heavy. I was so tired.
“I think I better get going,” my dad said. “I’ll check on you during the week, okay?”
“That would be great. Thanks for coming, Dad.”
He kissed me on the head and Luke saw him out.
“Was that okay?” I asked my mom when they were out of the room. “With Dad here?”
“Of course, baby,” my mom said. “This isn’t about us.”
I was so happy they could put their differences aside. My mom stayed a while longer. I dozed off on the couch a little, falling asleep to Luke and my mom softly talking. After a while, my mom touched my shoulder and I jerked awake. For a moment I thought I was in the basement again, but I could move my arms and it was my mom, not Sherry, looking down at me.
“I’m leaving, sweetheart,” she said. “I’ll call you later.”
“I love you, Mom,” I said. Luke got up and walked my mom to the door before he came back.
“You need to get to bed,” he said. He picked me up before I could say anything.
“You don’t have to carry me,” I said.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” he said, but his voice was gentle. I laid my head against his chest and he carried me to the bedroom. He had to put me down so I could change. He handed me one of his shirts, and it was like a dress on me. I pulled it on and he tucked me into bed. When he switched off the light, the darkness terrified me.
“Don’t leave me,” I said, panicked.
Luke switched on the lamp on the nightstand as if he knew. “I’m right here, princess,” he said to me and crawled onto the bed next to me. He lay on top of the covers while I was beneath them, but it pulled them around me tightly and made me feel safe. Luke’s body curled around mine like a question mark, and he held me.
I was safe in his arms. He had come to save me and I was here, in his bed, with nothing to fear. I hadn’t died and he was still alive, too. We had made it through without Dalton’s killer taking us down as well.
I wished we could say the same for Dalton. I wished he was here, too. I wished we’d been able to save him.
But between the two of us, Dalton was here in a way. And he would be avenged. His death wouldn’t be forgotten or written off as an accident, and that was all that mattered now.
I closed my eyes. Flashes of the basement, of Koby’s face and Sherry’s laugh, came to me. When I jerked, Luke stroked my arm and made small shushing noises. He managed to chase the nightmares away, and finally the darkness pulled me under.
The last thing I felt was Luke’s lips pressing against my cheek, the line of his body strong and warm behind mine.
Tomorrow was a new day, and we would be okay.