Part 23 (1/2)

He bent his head to my hand and pressed his lips to my fingers, sprinkling me with the warm tears still falling from his eyes.

”You rescued me, Porter,” I freed my hand and placed it on his cheek, ”You saved my life.”

”If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have needed rescuing in the first place.”

”Porter,” frustration had strengthened my voice, ”I love you. I would do it all again for you in a heartbeat. It took the prospect of not being able to tell you for me to accept it, but it's true. I love you.”

His mouth hung open and he stared at me like I had just done some kind of magic trick.

The nurse chose that moment to come through the door and smiled at me warmly when she realized I was lucid.

”Is that arm bothering you?” she asked as she checked the bags near my head and adjusted a few unseen k.n.o.bs.

”A little bit but it's tolerable.”

”Well, that's the joy of modern medicine. You don't even need to tolerate pain anymore,” she flipped through the chart at the foot of my bed and made a quick note, ”I've gone ahead and given you another dose of painkillers. Give it a couple of minutes to kick in and just give us a call when you're ready to eat.”

”Thanks,” I said with a half-a.s.sed smile.

She nodded curtly and smiled before leaving the room to continue her rounds.

The delicate brush of Porter's thumb over my hand drew my attention back to him.

”I love you, too, Holly. I'm sorry it took almost losing you for me to tell you. Even Parker and Preston tried to tell me, but I just couldn't see it. It wasn't until I saw you in that warehouse, bound and broken, that I knew I would do anything to keep you safe. Never in my life have I ever considered myself capable of killing someone but, given the chance, I would have snapped her neck, Holly. I would kill for you. I'd die for you, Holly Nash. Do you understand that?”

I smiled at him as my head began to swim from the drugs pumping into my veins through the IV in my arm.

”I do, Porter. I really do.” I had to fight to keep my eyes open, ”Don't leave me. I think I'm falling asleep.”

”You're stuck with me, Holly. I'm not going anywhere.”

I felt the soft press of his lips to the back of my hand once more.

The last thing I heard before I gave into the pull of the medication was a whispered promise; ”I'll keep you safe as long as there's breath in my body.”

After two more days in the hospital, Holly was finally allowed to go home. Becks and Mitch had packed up all of her stuff and all the get-well flowers and cards that had covered every inch of every flat surface in her room. They were walking behind us, chattering on as usual while I pushed Holly down the hall in the wheelchair the hospital insisted we use.

I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, ”You excited to be out of here?”