Part 22 (1/2)

Luke nodded. The pain appeared to be more than he wanted to admit. He gave Sydney a brave smile and tried to lighten the mood when he noticed her concern. ”Chicks dig scars, I hear.”

”You're okay?” The words came out as a strangled whisper. ”I thought you were dead.”

”He's fine. He was wearing a vest. If she'd have shot him in the chest, he wouldn't have had a mark on him,” Wade said thumping Luke in the chest for good measure.

”Next time you need help, you go cause the diversion and I'll save the beautiful woman.”

Wade offered Luke his hand with a genuine smile on his face and the two shook hands. ”Agreed.”

Luke stepped out of the house and Wade returned to her side, inspecting her other injuries. All the while he worked on her, blood ran down his arms from the gashes Charles had inflicted. His wounds dripped blood onto the floor at his feet, but he didn't seem to notice the pain he had to be feeling. His entire focus was on Sydney.

”You're bleeding, and your eye is swelling shut. You need a doctor, Wade.”

He kissed her forehead. ”I'm fine.”

”No, you're not! Those cuts...there are so many of them and blood's everywhere. You could have a concussion-” Her hysterical rant was cut off by his ma.s.sive arms wrapping tightly around her.

”I'm fine.”

”She said she shot you like she shot Luke.” Sydney shuddered against his chest.

”She lied.”

”How'd you get into the house?”

”Secret pa.s.sage way.”

Sydney sat back in surprise. ”Seriously?”

”Yes,” Wade said with a grin. He wiped the blood from her face with such tenderness, it melted her heart. But it wasn't over yet. And they still had to find Faith.

”Faith.” Her daughter's name flew out in a rush. Her heart rate speeding up as the panic returned. ”W-We have to find her. I-I can't find my baby. I looked everywhere, Wade.” Sydney broke down into hysterics, the emotions she had kept hidden overwhelming her. The pain, the fear, and the desperation were too much to contain. Her past had caught up with her and there was enough death and destruction in Agnes' house to prove it. Every awful thing she ever imagined happening paled in comparison to the truth as she looked around at the blood stained kitchen.

However, in Wade's arms, she knew it was finally safe to let it all go. So she cried, and screamed, and wailed until she nearly hyperventilated, and he held her through it all.

With a gentle strength, he held onto her as tightly as he could, rocking her back and forth like a child, telling her she was safe. He knew where Faith was hidden and he promised her that her daughter was fine. But even his rea.s.surance couldn't ease the tears.

”I was so scared for you,” Wade admitted when Sydney's sobs had finally run their course. ”George had built a bolt hole, but the door wouldn't give.” He shuddered. ”I was afraid I'd make noise prying it open so I had Luke start banging on the door to distract Amanda and cover up any sounds you might hear. I didn't know if I'd get to you in time. I d.a.m.n near ripped the door off its anchors, but the moment it opened, I ran all the way here.” Sydney glanced down at his hands and saw his b.l.o.o.d.y fingers were horribly swollen and bruised. Proof of how hard he tried to reach her.

”I love you.” The words had been at the forefront of her mind since the moment he rushed into Agnes' bedroom to save her. Now they slipped effortlessly from her lips, without regret or hesitation. In that moment, the wide smile that crossed Wade's face a.s.sured her that everything would be all right. They would be all right.

”I love you, too.”

”Oh, Wade,” she gasped, caught off guard for a moment by his admission. Then Sydney kissed him, her head still spinning with the knowledge that he loved her too. It wasn't the trauma of the evening or the fear she had felt, it was the knowledge that he was someone she could count on, in any situation for the rest of her life. He'd seen her at her worst and stood by her side. And loved her. How did she get so lucky?

”When I thought something happened to you...” Her voice trailed off, unable to find the words to express the fear and anguish she felt. A hollow feeling filled her at the mere thought, but then Wade cradled her face in his hands and kissed the pain away.

”Nothing on this Earth could ever keep me from you. I'll always come back to you, Sydney.” The sincerity and strength behind his words left no doubt in her mind: he was the one. There would never be anyone else. They were going to make a wonderful life together, with Faith.

But first they had to end this ugliness and face whatever legal issues stood in their way. As if reading her mind and sensing her worry, Wade offered her a smile.

”It's over.”

Was it really? Amanda Was.h.i.+ngton was dead along with Charles and Marcy. Wade had killed them and now the police were going to be involved. It was only a matter of time before the truth of it all came out. It was only a matter of time before there was a chance Sydney could lose Faith. For good.

”I need Faith.” With a wince, Sydney pushed herself to her feet, the edge in her voice not going unnoticed by Wade.

”I know this is taking a while, but I don't want Faith to be scared when she sees you. She's a smart kid and is going to know something's up. You are cut and bruised from head to toe, Syd. I don't want to scare her so let's get you cleaned up a little more before we see her. I swear on my life, she's safe.”

Wade asked Sam to go look around the house for a clean s.h.i.+rt for Sydney. Luke happened to have a spare sweats.h.i.+rt in his car and brought that in for Wade so he could get rid of his shredded T-s.h.i.+rt.

Numb, Sydney sat in a chair and drank a large gla.s.s of water while Wade tended to the rest of her cuts as best he could. The paramedics quickly wrapped the worst of her injuries but agreed to let Wade transport her to the hospital as soon as she saw Faith. She had a number of visible cuts and sc.r.a.pes that they wouldn't be able to hide from Faith, but at least the bleeding had let up and she wasn't as dizzy anymore.

”When we see Faith, we'll tell her there was an accident and we're fine but you need to spend the night in the hospital, okay?” Wade watched her reaction closely, making sure she felt like composed enough to see Faith without terrifying her. ”Are you ready?”

”Absolutely,” she murmured, lacing her fingers in his outstretched hand.

She tried not to wince as she moved. Now that the adrenaline was gone, her injuries seemed to hurt a lot more than they had earlier. He led her out of the kitchen and toward the guest bedroom where Charles had found the safe room. Sydney shook her head vehemently. ”She's not in there. Earlier C-Charles found the room but they weren't there.”

”Actually, they were. She just didn't look closely enough.” Wade led her inside the safe room and pulled back the door all the way, exposing the small five by five room. He ran his finger along a nearly invisible seam in the concrete. Finding what he was looking for, he smiled and pressed a tiny black b.u.t.ton.

”Middlemist Red, Agnes. Middlemist Red.” There was such relief in his voice as he pulled Sydney against his chest and kissed the top of her head. He wasn't the least bit surprised when the concrete moved to the side and he found Agnes standing at the top of a narrow staircase, with a shotgun aimed directly at his chest.

”Better safe than sorry,” she said with a shrug as she lowered her weapon. ”Jesus, you two look like h.e.l.l. But I'm d.a.m.n glad to see you.”

They followed her into a huge underground bunker that probably took up half the yard beside her house. It was enormous, stocked with enough food to last a few years from Sydney's guess. It had all the amenities of home as well as a full a.r.s.enal of weapons locked up somewhere, she heard Agnes explaining to Wade. Just then she saw Faith curled up in a beanbag chair watching a movie on the tiny television in the corner. The headphones on her head kept her from even noticing they had walked into the bunker.

”Is the woman dead?” Agnes asked, startling Sydney. She motioned to the tiny monitor that showed not only the guest room but the safe room as well. ”I saw her drag you in there, but I knew she'd never find the door to the bunker.” She beamed with pride. ”My George was one h.e.l.l of a construction man.”

”He was at that,” Wade said ruefully as he held out his bloodied hands. ”I had a heck of a time breaking into the bolt hole he put in the garage.”

”The old coot told you about the tunnel, too? Sonofab.i.t.c.h, that man couldn't keep a secret for anything.” With a teary laugh Agnes pulled them both into a hug. ”I was so scared for the two of you. And if you tell anyone I said that, I'll smack you both.”

”I cannot ever thank you enough for what you did for Faith today, Agnes. She's my whole world. I hope you know that, and remember that even after you f-find out what I did to bring all this upon us.”

Agnes touched her face gently, careful to avoid her many cuts and bruises. ”I don't care what you did. There's nothing that's going to change how I feel about you. We're family. Now and forever.”

They embraced and shared a more tears until Faith finally noticed they were in the room. She yanked off the headphones and ran over, stopping a few feet short.

”Mommy! Wade! What happened to you?” Her blue eyes were wide with worry as she looked at their injuries.

With careful movements, Wade crouched down in front of her and smiled. ”Hi, doll. We were in a bit of an accident. I want to take your mom to the hospital to see if she needs any st.i.tches. Would that be okay?”

Faith's beautiful eyes looked back and forth between them, trying to process the cuts on her mother's face and Wade's hands. Sydney knew if she looked half as bad as Wade, Faith was probably terrified, but to her credit, she didn't act like it.

”Are you okay, Mommy?” She took a few steps closer, nervously chewing on her lower lip.

”Yes, baby. I'm good, but I could really use a hug.” When she opened her arms the little girl smiled and gingerly wrapped her arms around Sydney's waist. ”I love you, Faith, don't ever forget that.”

”I love you too, Mommy. Forever and always.”