“How are you feeling?” he asks softly, moving closer to the bed.
“Like I’ve been shot,” I reply.
He chuckles, grabbing one of the empty chairs and sliding it closer to my bed before sitting down. I watch as he rests his elbows on the edge of the bed and folds his hands. I want him to touch me. Even though I’m confused about what all happened the day before, I feel cold in this bright room. He’s so close to me, but feels so far away.
“Do you remember what happened?” he asks after a few minutes of silence.
I shrug, but the motion hurts. I try to keep the pain off of my face but it’s no use. Dallas immediately reaches out and smoothes my hair off of my forehead. The feel of his warm hands against my skin makes the pain disappear.
“I remember bits and pieces. Paige and Kennedy told me a little bit,” I tell him, turning my face into his palm and sighing.
“You saw the ME’s report at the police station and immediately put two and two together from the particle traces on Richard’s clothing. I would have never caught that,” he admits. “Stephanie’s herbalist, Melinda, was afraid of Richard telling everyone about her and Stephanie’s relationship, so she killed him.”
“What about Richard and Miles having a relationship? Was any of that true?” I ask.
“Just rumors. Supposedly, Stephanie didn’t know anything about Melinda taking matters into her own hands, but that’s still under investigation.”
I nod and a heavy silence fills the room.
Dallas clears his throat and bites his lip with nervousness. “I know I said this yesterday, but I want to make sure this part is absolutely clear. I’m sorry about what you overheard at the police station. I swear to you, I didn’t mean a damn word of it. You’re better at this fucking job than I am. You have natural instincts that can’t be taught. The only reason I would even think about saying you can’t do this job on your own is because it kills me to think of something like this happening to you again,” Dallas admits. “When you slammed into me at Stephanie’s house and knocked me to the ground, all I could think about was how amazing you are.”
I remember watching Melinda aim the gun in Dallas’s direction and not even thinking about what I was going to do.
“I knew she was going to shoot you. All I could think about was getting you out of the way,” I tell him.
“Jesus, when you told me I was bleeding and I looked down and saw the bullet hole in your shoulder, I couldn’t breathe.”
He takes his hand off of my face and runs it through his hair. The short strands stand up in a mess and I realize he must have been doing that a lot recently.
“You kept closing your eyes and all I could do was sit there next to you, helpless, holding my hand to your shoulder. Promise me you’ll never throw yourself in front of another bullet again. I don’t know if my heart could take it.”
Speaking of his heart . . .
“Did you really tell me you love me, or did I imagine that?” I whisper.
He smiles, reaching over and grabbing the hand of my arm that isn’t bandaged and bringing it up to his mouth. He closes his eyes and kisses my hand.
He moves my palm to the side of his face and holds it in place before opening his eyes again and smiling at me. “You didn’t imagine it. I love you.”
I smile back at him and instinctively know he’s telling the truth. About everything—his conversation with Ted and how he feels about me.
“Did you really mean it when you told me you loved me back, or was it just because of the blood loss?”
Hearing the wariness in his voice surprises me. Dallas has always been such a force of nature, so strong and sure of himself. Seeing him vulnerable like this tugs on my heart.
“Don’t worry; the blood loss only gave me the courage to say it out loud,” I tell him with a smile.
He gets up from the chair and leans forward, pressing his lips to mine.
“You did it, baby. You solved a murder,” he tells me happily as he pulls away and looks at me.
I did, didn’t I? It feels good to know I made the right decision with my life for once. I took a gamble and it paid off. Sure, I got shot in the process, but I found Richard’s killer and fell in love all at the same time.
“Oh, your mom stopped by earlier. She apologized again for being a bitch to me at dinner. What is going on with her? She seems like a completely different person. It’s a little scary,” Dallas says.
The nurse walks in the room then and sticks a needle into my IV, letting me know the pain I’m feeling will be gone in seconds and to call her if I need anything.
“My mother is going through a phase,” I tell him with a smile as the nurse leaves the room, remembering the words my mother said to me about my hair at dinner.
“I think it’s more than a phase. She asked me if I had any cute single friends.” Dallas laughs with a shake of his head.
I feel the medicine coursing through my veins and a pleasant, numb feeling takes over my body. My head feels heavy and my eyes start to droop. All in all, getting shot was worth it.
“Sleep, baby. I’ll be here when you wake up. I love you,” Dallas whispers.
Letting my eyes close, I feel his lips against my cheek and I allow the pain medication to pull me under.
Before I doze off, I hear the faint sound of Dallas’s voice one more time.
“Don’t be mad, but I’m never letting you out of my sight, ever again,” he whispers.