The drive to the gym was mercifully short, and it broke my heart to think about how close to O’Connell I’d been the whole time. Knowing my husband, he’d probably torn London apart looking for me. Frank double parked in the alley behind the gym. He blocked the other garages, but he wasn’t likely to get any bother at night. Most of the businesses around here were only open during the day. All the lights were out at Driscoll’s gym. Frank produced a set of keys, presumably swiped from my bag, and unlocked the back door that I never used because the alleyway was so creepy. The gym looked different in the dark, but the familiar smell felt like home. There was no time to reminisce, though. Frank was shoving me toward the office, knife in hand and he was in a hurry. When we got there, he turned on the desk lamp and pushed me roughly into the chair.
“Now, write this fucking thing, and let’s get out of here,” he ordered, slapping some paper and a pen down on the desk in front of me. I picked up the pen shakily and contemplated what to write. The dirt and dried blood on my hand left smears on the pristine white paper. I pressed the pen down when a noise from the gym had us both looking up. None of the lights went on, but a shuffling sound preceded the door opening and in walked Danny. I was devastated. There was no way that Frank would let Danny walk away from this. Danny took in the scene and spoke to me softly.
“All right there, sunshine. What’s happening here then?”
“Nothing much, Danny,” I answered softly, as I slowly stood. “Just catching up on some paperwork.”
Danny nodded, as though this was a perfectly reasonable explanation for what I was doing and the state that I was in. Frank’s gripped tightened painfully on my shoulder, but he let go when I stood.
“Haven’t seen you for a while. Why don’t you come over and give me a hug.”
I moved slowly, not looking anywhere but straight ahead.
“That’s enough, Emily. We won’t need the letter anymore.”
I turned around as Frank rushed toward us. He side stepped me and went for Danny. I stepped in front of him and raised my hands to push him away. Danny was the nearest thing I had to a dad, and there was no way that Frank was taking him from me.
“No!” Danny screamed. I stumbled and fell backwards onto the floor. Frank fell on top of me. As quickly as it happened, Frank muttered, “Fuck,” and staggered to his feet.
Shoving Danny hard, he ran out of the door. I couldn’t believe how fast he was, given the amount of blood he’d lost. It felt like I was bathed in it.
“You okay, Danny?” I asked.
“I’m fine, baby girl. How ‘bout yourself?”
“I’ve been better.” I chuckled, relieved beyond measure that Frank was gone and that Danny appeared to be unharmed.
“You just stay with me, darlin’. Con is on his way.”
He scrambled toward the desk, grabbed the phone, and dialled frantically.
“It’s Danny Driscoll. She’s at the gym. I need an ambulance here now and get someone to tell Cormac O’Connell,” he barked.
Slamming down the phone, he raced back to me. He couldn’t have been gone more than thirty seconds. I’d have waited a lot longer to hear the comfort of his voice.
“Be careful,” I warned Danny. “Frank’s lost a lot of blood. He can’t be far. He’s still dangerous.”
“It weren’t his blood, sunshine,” Danny told me grimly, his eyes wet with unshed tears. I followed his gaze downwards and saw the knife sticking out of my chest. He held my hand between his two, and I marvelled at how warm those weathered hands felt.
“Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me,” I told him.
“Not sure about that, darlin’. I don’t think you’d be lying here now if it weren’t for me.”
I tutted in admonishment. “Frank would have found me anyway. You gave me a family. I haven’t had that in a really long time.”
The cold had crept into every part of my body, but the pain seemed to be lessening.
“Me, either,” he admitted, crying proper tears now.
“Love you,” I whispered.
“I love you, too, sunshine,” he replied, squeezing my hand. As I drifted off into the darkness, it reminded me that I wasn’t alone.
THE INCESSANT BEEPING HURT MY EARS, and I wanted it to stop, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. The pain in my chest throbbed and everything felt like an effort, even the tiny action of opening my eyes. The room around me was silent but for the beeping. After a minute or two, I felt the drugs pulling me back under, though I could still feel Danny’s gentle hand, warm in mine.
THE SECOND TIME I CAME AROUND, things were much clearer, and the pain was much worse. O’Connell’s head rested on his arms beside me as he slept. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, and he was in desperate need of a good shave, but I was so glad to see him I could have wept. My hand felt heavy and sluggish, and raising it was like swimming through treacle. I did it anyway and ran my fingers slowly and comfortingly through his unkempt hair. After a few seconds, he woke, and looking up at me raised a smile.
“You’re awake,” he said in awe, and I nodded.
“Water,” I begged croakily.
With shaking hands, he poured me a glass of water from the jug beside my bed and raised the straw to my parched lips. The cool, clear liquid was a balm to my burning throat, and I laid back on my pillow after a few sips, exhausted from the effort.
“Danny?” I asked him, trying to talk as little as possible.
“He’s fine, baby. We’re all fine.”
He paused looking pained. Staring at my face, he looked desperately sad and as he started talking, I realised how much misplaced guilt he had been carrying while I was asleep.
“I’m sorry, Em. I’m so fucking sorry. I should never have sent you off on your own to wait for me. I should have stayed by your side and protected you. My only job is to make sure you’re happy and protected, and I fucked it up.”
It killed me to see him beat himself up like this, and in truth, I was in too much pain to say much.
“Not your fault or mine. Just Frank’s. He would have killed you as soon as he saw you. Where is he?”
“Police got him,” he said with contempt. “They’re remanding him in custody so they can add rape to the charges. He’s fucking lucky they got to him before I did.”