“Lanie!” I rush in after Brad.
When I see my brother in a jam, I go to help. Zane is under Frank. They’re struggling for the knife. I grab Frank by the neck and pull him back, freeing my brother. We scuffle until he gets a footing. I hit him with all my might, knocking him onto his back, causing him to drop the knife. I lunge for it, but he beats me to it. The blade lands in my shoulder and I yell out.
Grabbing the knife, I pull it out and flip it around. With both hands, I drive it into Frank’s chest. “This is for Lanie, you sick bastard!” He gurgles and tries to grab it from me. I lift it up again and aim higher this time making sure the blade connects with his heart.
“Ugh!” He spurts blood when I twist it in further.
“Jax. That’s enough.” Brad calls from the bed. “Lanie needs you.”
I get up and turn to face the bed. Standing next to my brother, I look down at a Frank’s unresponsive body as the paramedics rush to tend to Lanie.
“Lanie.” I cry. She turns her head slowly and tries to open her eyes. She’s lying in a pool of her own blood. When she finally has them open, she looks between the two of us before closing them again, dropping her head in a lifeless manner.
“No Lanie!” I shout and run to her.
“No. Don’t!” My twin brother takes me from behind and restrains me.
“Let me go Zane!” I struggle until Brad stands between me and Lanie. “She can’t die!” I shout.
“She’s still alive. Let’s let the paramedics do their job, okay?” Brad takes my shoulders and with Zane behind me, they practically carry me out of the room.
“Any news?” Brad asks. He just got back from picking Sofie and Ben up at the airport.
“Nothing has changed. Her sister is in there now. She insisted on me showering.” Sofie walks up to me and holds me tight.
“You need to take care of yourself, Jaxon. Have you eaten anything?”
“Your sister is right, son. I don’t want to be burying another family member.”
“I stink, Dad. I’m not dead.” I shake my head at the old man. Sometime throughout this ordeal, Zane left to get Pops and brought him and Laura to the hospital. Now the waiting area is filled with my entire family and Lanie’s sister.
“You do know Lanie is going to shit when she sees you, right?” I ask Zane.
“You should have seen her sister when she first saw me. She was totally hitting on me like I was you.” My brother laughs. “The only thing that saved me was the extra tattoo I have that doesn’t match yours.”
“That’s because I wasn’t ready for a chest tattoo at the time.” I try to smile at the memory. Laura comes walking into the hallway with tears in her eyes. Zane stands to comfort her and I stand as well. She looks up at me and smiles.
“She wants to see you.” Those words are the best words I’ve heard in what seems like forever. Aside from Lanie’s confession of love, that is.
“She’s awake?” I don’t even bother waiting for an answer.
Lanie is staring out the window when I step in. She’s bandaged up from the waist down. She has stitches in her neck as well, but thankfully, Zane stopped him from causing damage.
“Hey beautiful.” She turns her head when she hears my voice and tears begin streaming down her cheeks. She raises a hand, so I sit next to her and take it. “Shhh. Don’t cry.”
“I’m so sorry.” She weeps.
“Don’t be. You did what you thought you had to do. It’s all over with now, Lanie. The nightmare is over.” I lean in and kiss her forehead.
“He’s dead?”
“Yeah, baby. He’s dead. I made sure of it.”
“Oh, thank God.” She releases a breath of air. I can see all the angst radiate from her body. “I love you, Jax.”
“I love you too, baby.” I take her hand and press my lips against it. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again. Do you understand?”
She shifts, moaning a little, takes her free hand and caresses my face. “I have no need to scare you again. I promise.”
“That’s a promise I’m going to make you keep.” She smiles shyly.
“Jaxon?”
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“I want to go home.”
“You are home.”
“No.” She argues. “I want to sell the house and go home. I want to be where you are. The city life is not for me. And now that this is over, I want my sister close to me too.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“As sure as I am about loving you.”
“Lanie, will you marry me?” The tears start to form, and she ends up crying in her hands. She gets out a nod though. “Is that a yes?” The vision of her begins to blur behind my own tears.
“Yes. I will marry you.” She sniffles.
“I think I would love to kiss you right now.” I don’t want to hurt her, so I think it’s best to ask for permission.
Her face softens and she becomes serious. “I think I would really like that.”