Fade to Red

She was covered with bruises and cuts and blood. One side of her face looked normal, but the other side was puffy and shades of blue, purple, green, and pink. The pictures of her with Ian seemed even more strategic now that he saw her. She’d been photographed on her good side.

He’d never wanted to kill anyone, but the thought crossed his mind that he didn’t care whether Coco lived or died, just as long as she didn’t get away with this.

The day stretched on, endless, and late that evening, Roxie was moved to a different room. The nurses allowed Beckham and Roxie’s parents to stay with her. Beckham was grateful—he couldn’t stand the thought of leaving her. Daniel left around midnight so he could be with Leo and Chloe the next morning, but her mom stayed. They were hoping the staff would let Leo visit Roxie. Her levels had been good for a few hours. They encouraged them to keep talking to her.

Beckham did just that, pouring his heart out to Roxie, and in the process, her mother, Rachel, also got an earful.

“I hope you can hear me. I want to start over, not forgetting what we’ve been through, but having a clear slate from here on. I’ve made so many mistakes, and you’ve paid for a lot of them. Some that you don’t know yet, but I’ll tell you everything, I promise. I don’t want any secrets.”

He looked at her mom. “I know you heard about the paternity test. If I’d just trusted Roxie when she told me the truth, it would have saved us both a lot of pain. I just wanted him to be mine so badly. That kid is …” Beckham smiled faintly, “something special. Like his mom.” He looked at Roxie, lying there so helpless, and felt his heart break. “I want both of them more than anything. My life felt complete for that brief amount of time when she let me in.” His voice broke. “Please wake up, Roxie. Come back to me. I’ll get it right this time. You’re the only one for me.” He leaned his forehead on the side of her bed. “I will live every day trying to deserve you,” he said quietly. “Let me show you how much I love you.”

Rachel blew her nose and cleared her throat. Beckham looked up at her, startled from his heart-to-heart.

“If you say half the things you’ve said to her when she’s awake, I don’t see how she can refuse.” She smiled and dabbed her eyes.

A nurse brought in a few extra pillows for them and Rachel eventually fell asleep. Beckham kept talking and faded with the sunrise.

She hadn’t been this angry in a long time.

Three years.

This might even surpass that anger … in fact, she was sure it did. Loving Beckham had cost her something. It had not been easy. She’d made sacrifices, lost years of her life, and the people she loved … she’d risked everything to have him.

She shook the chain and felt it cutting into her skin. Tears rolled down her face.

Her parents tried to stop her.

When they realized she wasn’t going to let anyone stand in her way of getting Beckham Woods, they threatened to put her away, lock her up.

“You can’t stop me,” she screamed.

Her parents had forced her to kill them. She’d lost part of herself that day. It hurt. The rage nearly sunk her. It wasn’t fair. They’d been decent parents—older and reclusive. She still missed them every day. They were ‘building wells in Africa’ and other exciting things in remote destinations. She periodically went through their email and had ‘them’ touch base.

She should be able to have whoever she wanted and still have her parents around to enjoy it with her. In a way they were. They weren’t far.

It felt like poetic justice somehow.

One day, when he moved in with her, it would be complete.

But this was the worst—two people who had everything, everything handed to them, and they still stood in her way. Ian had a successful career, a beautiful wife and daughter. Roxie could have a dancing career anywhere in the world and she had a perfect little boy. And they couldn’t let her have Beckham?

She screamed and cried and twisted and shook until she felt the chain begin to loosen. One hand got free. She shut her mouth and focused in earnest then to escape.

Melissa, Ian’s nurse, came in the room and smiled. “You ready to break out of this joint?”

Sparrow roused out of her place on the couch and sat up.

Ian gri

“Dr. Michaels is on his way to tell you when, but like he said earlier, your scan looked fine.” Melissa took his temperature. “You’ll be sore for a while, I expect, but we’ll send some meds home with you. Temp is normal.” She wrote on her chart. “The police are wanting to speak with you again. You up for that?”

“Sure,” he said. “You’ll be glad to see me go. Grand Central can slow down.”

He looked over at Sparrow and Journey. When Sparrow wasn’t checking on Roxie, she’d been in the crowded room with him for hours, along with a revolving door of other people. He’d talked to Dion and several guys from his team, three police officers, doctors, nurses. Between answering questions and having tests run, he felt he’d hardly gotten to talk to Sparrow.

She’d been quiet and looked exhausted. Journey had finally settled down after a long stretch of being restless.

“I’ll be back shortly with a prescription list,” Melissa said.

Ian turned to Sparrow. “Have you gotten any sleep at all since … everything?” he asked.

“No.” She laughed lightly. “I’m a mess.”

“You’ve always been a thousand kinds of beautiful,” he said. “Inside and out. My Little Bird of a thousand and one faces.”

Her eyes filled.

“I made it out of there—I’m fine.” He lowered his head but kept his eyes on her. “I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you, not knowing where I was. I was going crazy not being able to get to you.”

Her tears spilled over. “Right before you called, we’d gotten word that your car was found in the ocean. The thought of you being in that water…” She shook her head. “I don’t think it’s all hit me yet, everything that’s happened. I’ve imagined every worst-case scenario since you didn’t make it home for our a

He groaned and picked up her hand, kissing her knuckles. “Happy A

Sparrow looked down at her hands. “I need to ask you about something.”

There was a long pause. “Okay…”

“Beckham and I got texts of you and … Roxie…” She looked up at him then.

He stared back at her, his heart pounding. “You saw those?” He sat up higher and winced. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Sparrow leaned forward but didn’t come as close as he wanted, so he shifted his legs off the bed and pulled her closer.

“Baby, come here. Coco is sick in the head. Sick.” He shuddered. “You’ve seen how awful Roxie looks. I’m guessing that didn’t show in the pictures? And Beckham saw that too?” He made a face and leaned back against the pillows. “I’m sorry you saw that. I … really hoped you wouldn’t. That crazy bitch forced us into those poses.”

“Beckham didn’t believe it was real. He talked sense into me,” Sparrow said.

“So you believed it?” He couldn’t hide the hurt he felt over that.

“No. For a moment, I was … uncertain. It did look real. But I knew I could trust you.”

Ian’s shoulders sagged as he exhaled. “You can. Always.”

Someone knocked and a police officer leaned in. “Mind if we ask you a few more questions?”