20
Murphy took in the scene and tried to figure out exactly what he was seeing. Tessa sat on the floor at the other end of the kitchen, holding her bloody arm to her chest. Red stained the tile and the peach of her dress, and her face had gone far too pale.
“You should have stayed outside, Murphy,” a cruel voice whispered, the tone ice-cold.
Murphy looked up into his friend Hugh’s eyes and tried to keep his erratic heartbeat under control. He didn’t know what the fuck was going on, but whatever he was seeing in front of him had to be a dream.
There was no way this was happening.
“Hugh? What…?”
“Hugh?” Tessa gasped.
His childhood friend smiled, but there was nothing good in that expression, nothing innocent. “You caught me. Fate has a hell of a good time when it comes to putting us together, I think. My name is Hugh Anderson Greenwood, but everyone called me Andy in college. Anderson’s a family name and before you, I was able to use it to my advantage. I dropped the name Hugh for a while, enjoying being a new person, but when Tessa over here set the cops on me, I went back to Hugh. Who would have thought my woman, the one who shouldn’t have run from me, would end up in your arms, Murphy? You shouldn’t have touched her. She’s mine.”
Murphy’s brain tried to keep up, but he felt like he was missing so many things. He put all of that out of his mind, though, all the whys and what-ifs and focused on the bloody knife in Hugh’s hand, as well as the fact that Tessa was looking paler by the minute.
Murphy had to get to her, had to find someone to help her, but he had to get through to Hugh—Andy—first. Bile coated his tongue, and his mind went through dozens of scenarios as he tried to figure out how to get to Tessa and not end up hurting her or himself in the process. Only Murphy was unarmed, and Hugh was unbalanced.
“You never should have slept with her. You never should have been her roommate. I finally found her after all this time, and she was with you? You’re just a poor excuse for a man who needs drugs to stay alive. The cancer should’ve taken you when you were a kid, that way, I wouldn’t even have to look at you and your helpless little face. You don’t deserve her. She’s mine.”
Then Hugh lunged. Murphy ducked out of the way, missing the edge of the knife by mere inches. If he got cut, even just a little, he could bleed out. His blood was far too thin thanks to the cancer and chemo, and he didn’t clot the way he should. But right then, he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was Tessa.
Hugh swiped out again, this time leaning forward as he did. Protecting his face, Murphy grabbed the other man’s wrist and pushed. Hugh attacked again, and then somehow, they were falling. Murphy landed on his back, his head smashing into the tile floor, and Hugh landed on top of him. The breath was knocked out of Murphy, and his head ached something fierce, but he wasn’t sure where the knife had gone. Everything had moved so fast, and the adrenaline pumped through his system so quickly he didn’t even know if he was hurt.
Blood pooled around them, and Murphy heard Tessa scream.
And yet, neither Hugh nor Murphy moved.
It was over.
Forever.
“Are you sure the doctor said you were okay?” Liz asked, cupping Murphy’s face. She still wore her wedding gown with Owen’s jacket over her shoulders.
“I’m fine,” he mumbled, not feeling fine but not physically hurt either.
Tessa’s scream had been loud enough that others had come running into the house right after Murphy had fallen. They’d kept the children away, but the rest of his family had shown up to see what had happened.
Liz’s dress still had streaks of blood on it from taking care of Tessa. She’d been the only one with medical training in attendance and hadn’t thought twice about ruining her dress.
Everything had happened quickly after that with the police and emergency crew filling the house within ten minutes. They had whisked Tessa off in an ambulance along with her mother since Murphy had needed to be checked out on his own and there hadn’t been any time for any other decisions.
Once the paramedics had assured Murphy that he wasn’t in danger of a concussion, they’d sent him to the emergency room anyway because of his history.
Hugh had been pronounced dead at the scene.
It seemed that when they’d hit the ground, Hugh had somehow fallen on his own knife. It had hit him right in the side, probably slicing through his liver. He’d died quickly. Murphy’s hand had still been on Hugh’s wrist when the police had arrived, but after a quick statement and one look at the scene, they’d known it was self-defense.
All of that, however, had happened in a fog. Murphy could only think of Tessa and the fact that she was in surgery. The knife had gone deep into her forearm, and they needed to ensure that there would be minimal nerve damage. She’d have to go through physical therapy and would probably end up with some loss of function in her arm and hand, but she was alive.
Hugh, or Andy, or whatever the fuck the psycho had called himself, could have hurt her worse.
And Murphy wouldn’t have been able to stop it.
“How could I not have seen it?” he mumbled to himself, but the others in the waiting room didn’t hear. Though Maya and Border were back at their house with Rowan and Noah, the rest of his family, and Tessa’s parents were in the waiting room with him. Everyone was still in his or her wedding gear, but it all looked rumpled, bloody—like the scene of a crime.
“You weren’t with him long,” Jake said softly. “You hadn’t seen him in years, and when you meet up with a childhood friend, no one goes into it thinking that they’re meeting up with a stalker or killer. It’s not your fault, Murphy.”
“He went by another name. There was no way that you’d think he was the same guy who had been with Tessa in the past. And didn’t you say that she never actually told you her ex’s name?” Graham added.
“I knew Hugh was a different man than he was back in the day, but I thought it was because we’d grown up, grown apart, and liked different things.” Murphy rubbed his face, exhausted but needing to see Tessa. “There was so much blood…” He swallowed hard. “What if she lost too much?”
Liz sank into the chair next to him, resting her hand on her belly. “She did lose a lot of blood, but she has some of the best surgeons in the state working on her right now. I know these people, and Tessa does, too. They’re going to make sure she gets the best care available. She should be out of surgery soon, and then you can go visit her.” She gestured toward Grace and Chris. “Along with her parents.”
Grace held her husband’s hand, though neither of them had cried. It was as if they were in shock, but there was also a determination in their gazes as if they were willing their baby girl to be okay.
Murphy stood up then and passed his family to kneel in front of the Stones. “I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”
Grace shook her head and cupped his face while Chris gripped his shoulder. “You saved our baby girl. I don’t even want to think about what might have happened if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”
Chris let out a huffed breath. “And I know that one cut could have hurt you, son. I know you risked everything for her. So I’d better not hear you blame yourself anymore. Do you hear me? My girl is going to need you to be strong and whole when she comes out of this. Don’t make her worry about you, too.”
“Listen to them,” Owen put in, his voice low. “She’s not going to blame you, Murph. She loves you.”
Murphy let out a breath. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to fully forgive himself for not seeing Hugh for whom he was, but he’d try for Tessa. First, however, he needed to see her, needed to make sure she was truly okay.
He ended up sitting next to Grace and held her other hand while his family talked around them. He didn’t know what he’d do without them and was thankful that he didn’t have to find out anytime soon. The Gallaghers never gave up, never walked away. And for that, he would always be grateful.
And when the doctors came in to tell him that Tessa was out of surgery and resting, he buried his face in his hands and finally let the tears come.
The love of his life was alive, and she would be okay. Thank God.
I won’t take this for granted, he told himself. He wouldn’t take her health or his for granted again.
They were both alive, and that meant he would do everything in his power so they could live.
When they finally let him back to see her, her arm was wrapped up past her elbow, and she looked pale in her hospital bed, but he’d never seen anyone look so beautiful. Before he’d even stepped fully into the room, she fluttered open her eyes and gave him a small smile.
“Murphy,” she rasped.
He quickly went to her side and gently touched her free hand. “Tessa.” He squeezed his eyes shut, overcome with everything that had happened and trying to keep calm.
“Love you,” she said with a sappy smile. He knew she was on some good pain meds, and he was just grateful they’d let him come back to see her at all.
“Love you, too, baby.” He shuddered out a breath. “I’m so damn sorry.”
Her eyes filled but she blinked them back. “Thank you for saving me.”
He shook his head. “I’ll always be there for you, just like I know you’ll be there for me. Always.”
She sighed, her eyes closing, and he knew he should go and let her sleep. “Stay,” she whispered. “Stay.”
So he sat down on the chair next to her bed and gripped her hand, watching her sleep as she healed.
He’d known he loved Tessa Stone, but it wasn’t until then that he realized the depth of that emotion.
Tessa Stone was his for now and forever, and he’d spend the rest of his days proving that.
No matter what.