“And the gun?”
“Rafe and Adriane left us with one just in case any of the bad guys managed to track us down in our nice and safe hotel room.”
“You are both so brave. I couldn’t have done that,” Rachel said, feeling small and useless as she lay in the hospital bed.
“Don’t you dare say that!” Lia said. “I heard you tell that miserable man to take your life. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for Adriane. That’s about as heroic as it gets. Stupid! But heroic.”
Rachel squirmed, uncomfortable with her sister’s praise. “Was it hard to shoot him?” Rachel honestly didn’t know whether she would have been able to pull the trigger.
“I didn’t think — I just shot. I never thought I could kill a person, never imagined pointing a gun and pulling the trigger. They say that if faced with a life-and-death situation, you can do anything. I guess they, whoever they are, are right. That man shot Shane and he was planning on shooting you next. There was no hesitation on my part.”
“Do you regret it? Will it haunt you?” Rachel asked.
“I would do it all over again,” Lia said, lifting her head and looking at her sister with pure love.
“I adore you, Lia,” Rachel told her.
“That goes the same for me, little sister.”
Lia and Ari scooted closer on either side of Rachel’s bed and grasped her hands. Then there was no more talking. They were all thinking of Shane.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
RACHEL LOOKED UP to find Rafe and Adriane standing in her room with identical looks of worry on their faces.
“How was the interrogation?” Rachel’s eyes widened as the words popped out of her mouth. How could she make even the slightest of jokes right now?
“Unpleasant,” both Rafe and Adriane said with a grimace.
“Well, they must have realized you weren’t the bad guys,” Lia said as she sat up straighter.
“As a head of state, I have immunity under international law. Rafe, on the other hand, had to do a bit more of a song and dance to get the local cops to believe he really was who he said he was. It didn’t help that he lost his wallet somewhere,” Adriane said.
“Yeah, that was great,” Rafe said, a slight smile coming to his lips.
“Have you heard anything yet?” Lia asked, her eyes shadowed with worry.
Rafe walked over and scooped Ari into his arms, then sat down and held her close. He was furious with her for risking her life, but proud of her, too. Both she and Lia had been so brave. How could he have doubted their ability to help? Before he was able to say something to her, the doctor entered the hospital room. All eyes focused on him as they waited with bated breath for whatever he had to say.
“Mr. Grayson has made it through surgery successfully. The bullet entered his rib cage, cracking a rib, but missing all vital organs. Unless there are major complications, he will pull through this just fine. He’s asking for his wife.”
Lia didn’t hesitate. She jumped from the chair and rushed from the room. The rest of them breathed much easier. Everyone was going to be OK, and this nightmare looked as if it would finally have a happy ending.
“I’ve been so worried about you,” Rafe said as he looked over to his sister and held out a hand, gripping hers tightly in his. Adriane gave me the scare of my life when he said you’d been kidnapped by his power-hungry brother.”
“Thanks to all of you, I’m going to be just fine, Rafe. It seems you’ve been rescuing me in one way or another my whole life.”
“That’s what big brothers do, and apparently big sisters and best friends, too. We protect the people we love.”
“Well, you have done a damn fine job of it. Thank you both,” she said as she looked from Rafe to Ari.
“We’re family. Next time, you get to rescue me,” Ari said with a chuckle.
“Sounds like a deal,” Rachel said.
“Ari and I will go check up on Shane and let you and Adriane have a few minutes together,” Rafe said, then squeezed her hand. He nodded at Adriane before standing up with Ari in his arms and moving toward the door.
“I do have a wheelchair in here,” Ari said with a laugh.
“Ah, woman, don’t you know that I look for any excuse I can find to hold you tight?” he replied, their voices fading as they moved down the hallway.
Silence had fallen again as Adriane neared Rachel’s bed. Sitting on the edge, he took her hand and brought it to his lips, tenderly kissing her palm.
“I’ve been such a fool, Rachel — such a stubborn fool,” he said, his voice so quiet, she almost couldn’t hear him.
“You saved my life,” she said, unsure what else to say.
“Actually, your sister saved you. She is one very tough woman,” he said with a chuckle. “I was the one who put you in jeopardy.”
“Please don’t think that, Adriane. You can’t be held accountable for the actions of your brother. He was a very sick man, and I know he was guilty of evil in his lifetime, but I’m sorry you lost him today.”
Adriane stared at her in shock as she squeezed his hand. But all Rachel knew was that no matter what Rafe or Lia ever did, she would love them, and to lose one of them, no matter the circumstances, would rip a piece of her soul away. Adriane had to be hurting for his loss.
“It’s strange, because there’s a part of me mourning him. I had hoped one day to reunite with him, one day to have the brother back whom I used to love so much.”
“It’s OK for you to mourn him, Adriane. He’s your family, no matter what he did,” she reassured him.
“I’m just glad you are safe now, so very glad.”
“Our babies are healthy, too,” she said, and his shoulders visibly slumped as if he’d been afraid to ask.
“I’m so grateful to hear that.” His free hand stretched down and rubbed along the top of her stomach.
She was silent as she worried about what to say. Did she tell him how much she loved him — how she was ready to take him on whatever conditions he imposed? Nearly losing her life had made her realize she didn’t want to be away from him, even if she didn’t have his heart.
Wasn’t it better for their family to be together?
“Please forgive me, Rachel, forgive me for everything I’ve put you through. Forgive me for trying to force you into a marriage for the sake of our children. That was so wrong of me,” he whispered, and her heart thundered.