CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“WHO WOULD YOU LIKE to see first?” Dr. Hayes asked as he led me from my room and into the recovery wing Sunday afternoon. I’d just been discharged and was anxious to see my father and Dante, to make sure they were both okay. My brain refused to fully believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. “Mr. Luciano is still sedated due to the extent of the injuries he suffered. It will probably be a few days before we’ll start stepping down his pain meds.”
“And my father?”
“Senator Crenshaw is awake. He’s weak and a bit groggy, but he’s awake.”
As much as I hated the thought of being away from Dante any longer than necessary, I needed to see my father. I’d made a promise to myself that I’d never let a day pass where I didn’t demonstrate how much I cared for him. He needed me right now. And I needed him, too. I needed to make up for all the years we had ripped away from us, and that started today.
“Then I’d like to see him first.”
“Of course.” Dr. Hayes led me around a corner, and I immediately knew which room my father was in based on the two men in dark suits standing outside. When they saw us approach, they nodded a greeting and stepped away from the door, allowing us to enter.
The beeping of a heart rate monitor met me the instant I crossed the threshold. I immediately stopped in my tracks. Mila sat in a chair beside the bed, James Harrison standing just beyond her, both of them watching over my father. Never in a million years would I have expected to see Mila voluntarily in the same room as James Harrison and Francis Crenshaw.
“Ellie,” she said when she noticed me. She jumped up from the chair, heading toward me. She placed her hands on my biceps, seemingly analyzing my appearance.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my brow furrowed.
She smiled and grabbed my hand in hers, pulling me toward the bed. “Keeping your father company,” she explained, then looked toward James. “We both were.”
“Ellie?” A tired voice cracked as I approached the bed, wires and tubes attached to his body monitoring him.
My chin quivered as I met his brilliant blue eyes. I didn’t think I’d ever see those eyes again, hear his voice again. I didn’t know what I’d done to have such a wonderful guardian angel watching over not just Dante and me, but also my father. I’d never believed more in the power of fate than I did at that very moment. Dante was right. It wasn’t his time yet. And it wasn’t my father’s, either.
“Hey, Dad.” I took his hand in mine, relishing in the warmth of his skin.
“Hey, sweet pea.”
I choked out a sob at the term of endearment he’d called me all those years ago, the one I’d heard him call me in my dreams.
James cleared his throat. “We’ll give you two some privacy.”
My father tore his eyes from mine, offering James a smile. “Thanks, brother. For everything.”
I looked between the two men, wondering how deep James’ involvement in this went. As much as I wanted those answers, I couldn’t think about any of it right now. I just wanted to focus on being with my father, on making up for all the time we’d lost over the years when we’d allowed Marjorie’s animosity to tear us apart. We’d been blessed with a new start, and I wasn’t going to waste it.
“Anytime.” James squeezed my father’s arm, then retreated from the bed. Mila planted a kiss on my temple and followed him, leaving my father and me alone.
“You’re okay.” He brought my hand up to his mouth, kissing it. His eyes shimmered with unshed tears as he scanned my appearance. “I was so scared when I saw you in that place. I thought—”
“I’m okay,” I assured him, trying to push back the new wave of tears welling in my eyes as I recalled everything I’d endured the past several days. “Just like new.” I smiled, knowing nothing could be further from the truth. The depravity and brutality I’d witnessed would always stay with me.
My father exhaled a sigh of relief, the tension seeming to roll off his body. “I’m so sorry, Ellie. I should have told you the truth from the very beginning.”
“It’s okay, Dad. I know why you didn’t. I lived under that woman’s thumb for years, too. I knew how impossible it was to stand up to her.”
“It wasn’t just her, sweet pea. When I’d learned Merriweather was the one who took you from Lauren, I knew there was little I could do. That man… His evil was unmatched.” He shook his head as he closed his eyes, struggling to reel in his emotions. “He went to extreme lengths in order to retain his influence over some of the most powerful politicians out there…including me.”
“Is he…?” I trailed off, lifting a brow.
My father swallowed hard. “The night of the election, after my victory speech, I realized who I’d been married to for the past several decades. I walked into my home office and found Merriweather with a bullet in the head. I have a feeling she was trying to set me up for his murder, too.” He tore his eyes from mine and looked straight ahead, a lifetime of regrets seeming to torment him.
I squeezed his hand, leaning down to place a soft kiss on his forehead. “It’s okay, Dad. It’s all over now. You can finally live the life you want to live. We both can.”
“Yes, we can,” he breathed, his eyelids growing heavy. “Although I’m going to miss you.”
“What do you mean?”
“When you move to Italy.”
I shook my head, unsure what to say. Before all this happened, I had every intention of leaving this place and never looking back. Now, I didn’t know what to do.
“You know it’s the right path for you.”
“But I don’t want to abandon you,” I struggled to say through the thickness in my throat.
“You won’t.” His eyes lit up. “Lauren always wanted to see Rome. This gives me an excuse to take her.” There was a devious glint in his gaze before his expression fell.
“Do you know where—”
He sighed. “Steven sent some agents to the house. It was abandoned, but there was no sign of a struggle. She’s a smart girl, so she must have known something was going on when the news of your disappearance made headlines. She’s probably just waiting for a few days. Then she’ll be back.” He inhaled a quivering breath. I could sense his own trepidation about where Lauren could be, whether she was safe. Images of her bound and strung from the ceiling in the same position as Dante had been flashing in my mind. I tried to bury them, praying Marjorie hadn’t been one step ahead of us and figured out where Lauren was hiding.
“She’s okay,” I assured him. “She has to be.”
“I hope so, sweet pea,” he said in a drowsy voice, his eyelids fluttering closed. “After everything you’ve been through, you deserve to finally have a family who loves you.”
I squeezed his hand, then leaned down, kissing his forehead. “I’ve always had a family who loves me, Dad. I’ve always had you.”