I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the bright lights overhead. My head throbbed, and my arm felt torn in two. My eye swelled shut, and my throat burned. I swallowed cautiously, wincing when it hurt even more than my arm. A whimper escaped me.

There was immediate movement beside me. “I’m here,” Ben said, his voice deep with exhaustion. “I’m right here, Sar.”

His hand touched mine, and I turned toward him, my eyes burning with unshed tears. He stared at me, his face pale and his eyes shadowed with darkness. When I’d woken up in that motel room and seen him sitting above me, I’d tried to ask him if I was dead.

Nothing had came out.

Now, here we were, hours later in a hospital room, and I could only assume I wasn’t, indeed, dead. Ben must’ve arrived in time to save my life. I licked my lips, and he hurried to reach for the Styrofoam cup on my bedside table.

“Doc said you could drink if you want.” He pressed the straw to my lips. “So, drink if you want.”

I took a cautious sip. It burned going down, but it also cooled the fire, so I took one more before sagging against the pillows again. I tried to speak, but only a croak came out.

“Shh. Doc said you won’t be able to talk right away.” He set the cup down and held my hand again. “But your voice will come back. You’ll be yelling at me again in no time, don’t worry.”

There was so much I wanted to say.

So much I needed to say.

Not being able to voice those thoughts out loud was frustrating, and that familiar feeling of helplessness washed over me. It was as unwanted as it was infuriating.

His face twisted with worry, and he stood up, leaning down to kiss my head. “Don’t cry. He’s dead. Hernandez shot him. He saved us both. That asshole will never hurt you again.”

Thank God.

“Dad knows we were together when it happened, but isn’t going to punish us. He’ll reassign partners, sure, but then we can be together, if you want. And if you don’t want, that’s okay, too.” He forced a smile. “You’ve been through a lot, and you might want to be alone. You might not want to be with someone right now, and if that’s the case, then I’ll wait. I’ll wait forever for you, if that’s what it takes, because there’s no one else I want to be with besides you.”

Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I opened my mouth to speak, but again, nothing came out. I fisted my good hand in anger. I wanted to tell him how I felt.

“I know. It sucks.” He forced another smile and pushed my hair behind my ear. “But you can tell me everything later. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here, waiting.”

I gripped his wrist tight, nodding.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to stop him from hurting you, and I’m so sorry I was too late to get him before he hurt you even more. If you can forgive me…” He trailed off, lowering his head. “If you can forgive me, I swear I’ll make it up to you. Someway, somehow, I will.”

I shook my head. He wasn’t to blame. This wasn’t on him, or me.

It was on Vinnie.

“But if there’s one thing this tragedy has shown me, it’s that I never want to lose you again. Whether you’re at my side as my friend, my partner, my lover, or my everything…” He swallowed hard and studied my face. “…I never want to lose you again. I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give me, however you’re willing to give it, but in the interest of full honesty, I love you. I’ve always loved you. I’ll always love you. Nothing you say, do, or don’t do will ever change that—it’s just not possible to kill the kind of love I have for you.”

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

“Because the love I have for you, Sar?” He reached out, smiled, and smoothed his rough, calloused hands over my skin. “It doesn’t die, or crack under pressure. It just grows stronger.”

I clung to his wrist even harder, nodding because the words, no matter how much I might wish otherwise, wouldn’t come. Instead of trying to speak, I settled for a whisper.

One way or the other, I was going to say the only thing I needed to right now. The only thing that mattered, in the face of all this other crap. Pulling back, I looked him straight in the eyes, smiled despite my tears, and whispered, “I love you, too.”

He blinked, staring at me, and then a joyous smile broke out over his perfect, charming, unforgettable face. “You do?”

I nodded, not bothering to attempt to speak again.

He laughed, cradled my face, and kissed me gently. As he pulled back, he rested his forehead on mine, and swore, “I will never lose you again. I swear to you, from this day on, to always be there for you. I’ll never fail you, or make you doubt me again. I love you, Sarah.”

Nodding, I squeezed his wrist and kissed him again.

I might not be able to say the pretty words back, but he knew I felt the same way. I could see it in his eyes, in his smile, in the way he watched me with that warm glow that he always had when he stared at me when he thought I wasn’t looking. This time, I was looking, but he didn’t care.

There was nothing to hide anymore.