The Belial Stone(101)

“I guess it’s my turn to speak with the police. Will you stay with her?”

“Of course.” Jake stepped into the room and pulled a chair to the other side of the bed. He leaned over and took Laney’s hand. He looked like a drowning man grabbing onto the last life preserver.

Patrick needed to leave him with some glimmer of hope. He paused in the doorway. “Jake, did you know Laney’s full name is Delaney? Her mother, my sister, wanted her to have the family name.”

Jake looked over his shoulder with a small smile. “Delaney. It suits her.”

“More than you know. Delaney is an old Celtic name that means ‘descendant of warriors’. That’s who Laney is. That’s who she comes from. If anyone can come back from this, it’s her.”

Jake nodded and Patrick walked out of the room, hoping he was right. He walked through the electric doors that separated the intensive care unit from the rest of the hospital. The police were in a conference room down the hall to the right. He turned left. He needed a minute.

He walked the halls of the hospital, glancing into the rooms as he passed. Some patients sat watching TV alone, others had family or friends keeping them company. They all seemed secure, comforted.

Patrick had none of that. There was no comfort for him. He felt an icy coldness to his very bones. What if she died? What if after all of this, he lost her? He had comforted people in mourning. But this felt different. She was part of him.

He only made it to the end of the hall before he collapsed in a chair, his legs too weak to keep him upright. He bent his head to his hands and prayed.





CHAPTER 94



When Patrick left, Jake turned back to the bed. He leaned over to whisper into Laney’s ear. “Come on, Laney. Open your eyes, sweetheart.”

Her eyes stayed stubbornly closed. He gripped her hand tighter. She’d faced attacks by men with superhuman abilities, gun fights, and even capture in that hellhole.

And she’d stood up to all of it. She hadn’t backed down. She’d fought. She’d won. This couldn’t be how it ended. This was just one last challenge for her to overcome.

She hadn’t made it through so much to die at the hands of someone like Arthur Priddle. She would make it through. She had to.

“Please, Laney. I know how strong you are. You can beat this. We need you here. Your uncle, Kati, Max, Henry, Yoni. They all need you… And me, too, Laney. I need you, too.”

And he realized it was true. Somewhere along the way, he'd fallen for her, and the idea of her not being in his world was too painful to contemplate. “Come back to me.”

He lowered his head to the bed and felt a small pressure on his hand. His eyes flew to her face. “Laney?”

Another squeeze on his hand and a small smile appeared on her face.

Jake squeezed her hand back and returned the smile, tears stinging his eyes. “Thank God.”