I was cuddled securely in Andy’s arms when the sound of a gunshot echoed from the distance, which was followed by this dreadful silence descending upon us. I knew instantly that James had shot Herbert Weston dead, and without a doubt, I felt relief. I knew it was inappropriate to have this sort of feeling when a man’s life was taken from this earth, despite the fact that man had caused so much pain, but I couldn’t help it.

Herbert Weston was dead, after all. The man who had tormented us was gone forever. He could no longer hunt us down and hurt us, and God, I felt that was a blessing.

I clung to Andy tighter as he, too, tightened his arms around me. I felt we were comforting each other after all we had been through together. Of course, I didn’t know how Andy felt about Herbert finally being dead.

Is he feeling this same sense of relief?

He was free from this dark evilness that kept chasing after him no matter where he went.

I didn’t know, and I raised my gaze to his. When I saw the expression of sadness mixed with relief displayed on his face and tears in his eyes, I too felt tears brewing in mine.

He rested his forehead against mine and said softly, “He’s gone, Mia. He’s gone, and he won’t hurt us anymore.”

I nodded in agreement as he hugged me tightly.

It was a bit later when I saw James and Matt come out of the building. I saw them not as a pair of dark billionaires who ran Vegas and ruled the underground world with an iron fist, not as the head honchos who fought and killed without mercy, but as heroes who had saved my life.

When they came toward me and Andy, I felt my heart melting for them, especially James, my savior, my lover. My hero.

James opened the door of the car, and I scrabbled out of Andy’s arms and over to the man I loved.

“James.” I said his name softly as he reached out for me. Without care of my own tender wounds that were still aching all over my body, I threw myself into his opened arms, so desperately wanting to be close to him.

I buried my face against his warm, massive, comforting chest, my body shaking in the aftereffects of all that had happened.

“Everything is fine now, sweetheart,” he said, his arms tight around me and his lips kissing me on the forehead, his words soothing my fear.

I nodded as tears flowed down my cheeks. God, I didn’t know what to say. I was safe now. James had come for me, and he didn’t look like he was repulsed at my ugly appearance, bruises and all.

Gently moving his arms about me, I ended up being carried princess style by James. Then he got me out of the car and took me toward the other one.

He said to Matt, “I’m taking Mia to the hospital.”

Matt nodded while Andy said, “I’m coming, too.”

My brother was about to come after us when Matt appeared and blocked Andy’s escape. “No, you’re not. We’re going to a hotel, and you’re going to catch up on your sleep. You look like shit.”

“But—” Andy began.

“No buts,” Matt said. “James will take good care of Mia. Besides, she needs time to heal.”

I saw Andy reluctantly nod his head as he retreated back into the car.

I was snuggling my face against James’s neck when I saw Matt get into the car as well. I noted him saying something to Andy as he cupped Andy’s face in his hands. I smiled when Matt kissed Andy passionately on the lips. I didn’t miss the fact that Eric, who was standing by the car, was rolling his eyes while Scott was chuckling away in amusement.

In the car, I cuddled in James’s arms the whole way to the hospital while Scott drove us. Once at the hospital, I was immediately taken into the emergency department, where I was checked for broken bones and internal injuries. Of course, I had a lot of pain throughout my body, so pinpointing any internal injuries was almost impossible. It’d take time, and I needed to go through X-rays and various scans.

Of course, I didn’t remember much of the process as I kept fading in and out of consciousness, and it wasn’t long before I completely gave up and closed my eyes, so in pain and tired I was.

When next I woke, I found I was lying in bed and the pain was dully throbbing all over my body, though I had to admit it wasn’t as bad as it had previously been.

I raised my head slightly and scanned my dimly lit surroundings. I realized then that I was in a hospital room, what with all the monitoring equipment stationed not too far away from the bed as well as the small basin and sink on the other side of the room. And yes, this was a rather large and luxurious hospital room, and I suddenly wondered if this was one of the private suites made specifically for rich and famous clients. If I could stay in this room, it was probably because of James’s power and connections.

I rested my head back against the soft pillows and stared up at the ceiling. I licked my lips as I suddenly found myself feeling rather thirsty and hungry. If I remembered rightly, I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since Herbert…

I shut my eyes as this overwhelming feeling of anxiety came over me. The panic seized me tight around the throat as my whole body tensed. I felt a whimper escaped my lips as tears brewed in my eyes.

Oh God!

And then it came back to me in huge waves. The image of Herbert beating me. His angry, red face chasing after me. Him unzipping his pants, intending to rape me. Him slapping me and threatening me.

Oh God! Those unwanted memories and images were bombarding me and pushing me into a corner. Lord, I just wanted to crawl into a small, dark space and hide from it all, from everything.

Another whimper escaped my lips, and I couldn’t help myself and started crying out in agony and pain. Tears flooded my eyes and started rolling down my cheeks as I called out the names of the only two people I wanted close to me.

“James,” I cried out like a small, frightened child lost in the darkness of the woods. “James. Andy, where are you?” I raised my hands to wipe my tears as my body shook uncontrollably.

God, I was scared. Even though I knew Herbert was dead, I was still afraid, and I had no idea why.

“James…” I cried out again. “James? Where are you?”

Suddenly, I felt large, warm hands touching my face and head. “Shh…” came the deep timbre, soothing and calm. “I’m here, sweetheart. Everything is going to be fine. Shh…”

I cried even harder now as I stared up at James’s face looming close to me. I couldn’t help myself and reached out to him, wrapping my arms around his muscular neck. I wanted to feel him near me, close to me, against me. I wanted to know for sure that he was real, that I wasn’t imagining things.

“James…” I said. “You’re really here.”

He nodded. “Yes, sweetheart. I’m here. Everything is fine now.”

I felt his lips against my forehead, and it gave me a sense of relief that he was kissing me, that I felt his warm flesh against mine.

“Don’t leave me,” I said between sobs. “I’m scared, James. I’m scared.”

“Shh…” James said. “I won’t leave you. Don’t be afraid.”

I didn’t know how long I clung to him and cried in his arms. When I finally stopped, I was exhausted and fell back asleep, James by my side.