Chapter 26
Henley
“Oh my god… Cassidy! Is she okay?” I asked frantically. My mind had been in such a fog, I’d forgotten that I hadn’t seen her since that man grabbed me and dragged me up the fire escape.
“She’s a little shaken up, but she’s fine,” Maverick explained.
“Thank God. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything had happened to her because of my hair-brained idea.”
“I’m pretty sure she won’t be so quick to go along with you next time,” he said, smiling. I was relieved he wasn’t furious with me. This little exploit of mine put everyone in danger, and I wouldn’t blame him for hating me right now. I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d done it all for nothing.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked apprehensively.
“You can ask, but that doesn’t mean I’ll answer,” Maverick snickered.
“Did you get them? Did you get the guy who killed Skidrow? He was there,” I started. Just thinking about that man brought chills down my spine.
“You mean you recognized one of them?”
“Yes. He was there that night… I remembered his voice,” I told him, unable to stop my own from trembling.
“Are you sure it was him?” he asked.
“There’s no doubt in my mind. I’ll never be able to forget that man,” I admitted. When I closed my eyes, I could still see that large snake tattoo taunting me. “Please tell me… did you get him?” I asked again.
He walked over to me and reached for my hand, kissing the tips of my knuckles. “Yeah, baby. We got him.”
“Did he tell you who he was? Why they killed Skidrow?” I prodded.
“Don’t worry about all that, Henley. We’ll get what we need out of him. You just concentrate on getting yourself out of this hospital,” he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Thank you. Thank you for coming tonight… for saving my life,” I whispered, unable to fight back my tears.
“Henley, you’re mine. I know I haven’t been clear about that. I’ve been too bullheaded to admit it out loud, but I’ve known it since the night you were trying to leave the club, wearing nothing but that damn t-shirt. I couldn’t stand the thought of you walking out that door. No one has been able to get to me the way you do—no one. I love you, Henley,” he said as he leaned over me, kissing me softly on my lips. In that moment, I knew I loved Maverick with every fiber of my being. He wasn’t a man who gave away his love freely, and I was overwhelmed by the thought he had given it to me.
“I love you too, Logan. Now and forever,” I told him. I leaned in to kiss him, and the moment his mouth met mine, I was lost. He was everything I’d ever wanted and more, and now he was mine.
We were still kissing when Cassidy eased into the room and said, “Sorry, I couldn’t hold out any longer. I just needed to see for myself that you were okay.” She was a mess. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and mascara was running down her cheeks.
“It’s okay, Cass. Really, I’m fine,” I said, trying to reassure her.
“Well, you look like shit,” she said with a soft laugh.
“You look a hot mess yourself,” I told her as I reached out my arms and gave her a hug. She started to cry again, so I held her close to my chest until she pulled herself together.
“I don’t know why I let you talk me into doing these crazy things with you. You could have gotten yourself killed tonight. I was so scared, Lee Bug. I thought I had lost you,” she whimpered.
“You know, I blame you for all of this,” I told her smiling. “You’re supposed to be the smart one. You should’ve talked me out of it.”
“Don’t you start that shit with me! You know I didn’t think we should do it,” she said, her face turning red with frustration.
“They got him,” I whispered.
“You mean it actually worked?”
I looked over to Maverick while I said, “It was stupid of us to get involved like that, and we will never do anything like that again, but yeah. It worked.” I couldn’t stop my mouth from curling into a huge grin.
“I’m still going to kick your ass for scaring me like that,” Cassidy snickered.
“I can’t say that I blame you.”
“We need to let her get some rest,” Maverick interrupted.
“I can stay with her tonight… help keep an eye on things,” she offered.
“I’m staying. Go home and get some sleep. I’ll call you in the morning to let you know how she’s doing.”
Cassidy hugged me once more and said, “I’ll come check on you tomorrow. I love you, Sis.”
“I love you too.” Cassidy was an amazing sister. She never failed to be there when I needed her, and I knew I was lucky to have her.
“I’m going to head out. Try to behave.”