"You said something. 'But he didn't have' what?"
"What? Sorry, the drugs are making me loopy."
"I'll, uh," Lexie says as she stands, "go tell your police friends you're awake. Give you two lovebirds some time alone."
As she's about to step out, I call, "Lexie?" She stops to look at me. I give her a reverent nod. "Thank you."
"Thank you." My friend nods back and steps out.
Just the two of us now.
"Can-Can I get you anything?" he asks.
"Can you just hold me?" With a content, sweet smile, the man I love nods. I turn over on my good side as he climbs onto the small bed, spooning me. I hug the arm he drapes over me. The entire process hurts, but is so worth it. I relax for the first time in weeks. It's over. It is really, truly over. And here's my prize. "Are you alright?"
"Far better now," he whispers.
"Are you really retiring from the superhero racket?"
"I think for awhile at least. Why? Would you love me any less if I did?"
"Oh, absolutely. No question. I love the cape, not the man."
"Well, I do still have the cape. Perhaps we can get you one too."
"No, thank you Dr. Ambrose. I've faced two supervillains. I've met my quota for life. I'll do my life saving from behind Doris or through charity work from here on in." I squeeze his hand. "Besides, I promised you a million nights. And I always keep my word."
The love of my life remains silent for a moment, then kisses the back of my neck. "You saved my life, Joanna Fallon. In every conceivable way." He pauses. "You're my hero."
"I'm no hero, Jem. I'm just the woman who loves you."
"As I said…" His lips curl into a smile against my neck. "My hero."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Breaking Dawn
"My goodness, you look like hell."
"Sensitive and considerate as always, Ryder. Thank you."
I sit curled up in our new comfy black leather lounge chair. Our first purchase together. I told him if I was staying at his apartment for the foreseeable future, I'd need one piece of furniture not rock hard or worth a fortune. The matching sofa arrives in two days. The laptop linked to Doris rests on his coffee table with Ryder's face filling the screen. Jem's out picking up our dinner, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to make my obligatory call. A promise is a promise.
"Seriously, Joanna. You look dreadful."
"Well, you should see the other guy. He's in pieces at the bottom of the ocean."
"My my."
"Yep. I finally met a man more twisted and depraved than you, Jimmy. Jealous?"
"I assume we're discussing Emperor Cain. I saw the news. Quite the ordeal you endured."
The official story is Cain found out my affiliation with his sworn enemies, threatened my life, then killed my friend in retaliation. That was when I discovered the connection between Nightingale and Cain and decided not only to finally involve the police but to force the hero from town. It was also when I started fighting with Jem so Cain wouldn't make him a target as he had Brendan. The day of the boat, I received word Jem was injured and contacted the police, but Cain still grabbed me to lure the Triumvirate in. Nightingale and Tempest arrived first and while they were battling Cain, Liberty rescued me, then went to help her friends. Cain blew the boat with all inside. A tragedy. V even interviewed Lexie for confirmation. She claimed we had a falling out after I informed her why her husband was murdered. Still, she rushed to my side after the event. There were people who swore they saw her in Independence when the boat blew then boarding a plane with records to back up her story. I love it when a plan comes together.
"You don't know the half of it, Ryder."
"Called to gloat?"
"No. To say thank you."
"Thank you? Why?"
Oh, just tell him, Jo. You know you want to. And who is he going to tell? "You're really going to like this. Actually, you're the only one who can really appreciate it. It all goes back to something you said during our second conversation. 'Don't play the cards, play the player.' But first you need to know your opponent. Cain realized this first. When he broke into my house it wasn't for the computer, it was to plant cameras and microphones. He hid them all over my house. You said it yourself, you wanted eyes and ears in the mansion yet couldn't get in. He found a way. Now, my first instinct was to use this fact to feed him false information. Act as if I didn't know about them and misdirect him."
"Simple but smart."
"Nope. Stupid. Because he was listening to our conversation. He knew you planted the idea in my head about surveillance. He thought I was stupid, not a total moron. He also knew his brother and I were in love. I was on borrowed time regardless. He was going to kill me as soon as I lost my usefulness to him, if not sooner. So I knew I had to do something, not only to keep myself and Liberty alive but draw him out.