Epilogue
The beeping woke her. Natasha forced her eyes open as again, that horrid hospital smell sank into her. Tubes were attached to her and she had to struggle not to rip them out. She’d never wanted to be back in here again.
Had something gone wrong with her surgery? Is that why she’d come back in here?
A nurse stood over her.
“Whatever drugs you’re giving me, stop. It’s making me have some horrible dreams.” She touched her chest, her previous scars found beneath her fingertips. I’m in here for something else then.
The woman gave her a small smile, checked the machines, and patted her shoulder before vanishing from view.
Turning her head to the left, Natasha saw a man lying there who looked familiar to her but she couldn’t pull his name from her memory banks.
He opened his eyes and looked at her with soft brown eyes. “How are you feeling, Natasha?”
“Sore. Why are you here?”
“I got shot. Now I know how you felt when you were shot the other day.”
“Is that why I’m in here? Because I got shot?”
“No, because we almost lost you.”
“We?”
He pointed behind her.
Natasha repositioned her head to see who was there. Amazing blue eyes awaited her as the man there sat in the chair by her bedside. “OT.”
He leaned closer and rested his forehead against hers. “No more adventures like that.”
“What happened?” She liked him being so close to her.
“I almost lost you again. We got out by going up a tube that led to the surface. You barely made it but thankfully, despite being shot, Tully was able to get help so they were searching for us. We came up away from the cave, so they found us by helicopter.”
That’s who that is over there, Tully. Her lips quirked up. “Like TC.”
“Exactly.” OT kissed her, softly.
It hit her, that hadn’t been a dream, or nightmare but it had actually happened. “Who was it?”
“Part of it was that Colton guy who’d wanted the treasure. So he’d actually sent people to keep us alive until we found the treasure. Then they were supposed to kill us. But there was another couple of men who were after us. They were the ones that had actually killed Ashlee. Colton had paid off his cousin, the medical examiner to have it reported as an accidental drowning. He didn’t want you digging into it, for fear it would show up as to how she’d actually died, with the bends. So they were simply trying to cover up a murder with a few more, had nothing to do with the treasure.”
“Is it over?”
“Yes. Aside from you having to recover from your broken leg, they’ve been monitoring your breathing and they said you’re okay there. Just have to take it easy. And the cops will be around to take your statement.”
Natasha tensed at this news.
OT brushed their lips together once more. “I’ll be here the whole time. Rest. I’ll be waiting when you wake.”
She didn’t know what the future held but right now, she was safe and her friend’s murderer had been brought to justice. She trusted this man right here, with her, to keep her safe as he’d promised to do.
Natasha fell back asleep, this time unafraid of any dreams coming toward her.
About the Author:
Aliyah Burke is an avid reader and is never far from pen and paper (or the computer). She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached . She can also be found on , , , and . You can follow her on her , , or at .
She is married to a career military man. They are owned by five Borzoi. She spends her days sharing time between work, writing, and dog training.
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