Blindfold

The ride to the hospital and the rush that followed became like a dream. The doctors pulled me away from him and led me to seats to wait. Time lost all meaning as I waited. Nurses and doctors walked past, ignoring me as much as I did them. The only one I wanted to listen to was the one who'd tell me that Cade would be okay.

It was late evening, however, before that one came out.

“Are you here with Cade Shepard?” An older man walked towards me.

I nodded and stood, adrenaline flooding through me. “Is he okay?”

The doctor nodded and the relief that washed over me nearly made my legs buckle.

“He's resting now,” the doctor said. “You can sit with him.”

“Thank you,” I said. I followed as the doctor led me back through the doors. “What happened?”

The doctor gave me a sideways glance. “Are you family?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. And as far as Cade was concerned, that was true. He didn't have anyone else.

Something about the way I answered must've convinced the doctor not to inquire any further. “There was a high quantity of narcotics in his system.”

“What?”

“Along with some alcohol. Not a lot, but still a dangerous combination.” He opened a door and motioned for me to enter. “And,” he hesitated, then continued, “the other young man had the same in his system.”

“You think they were partying,” I said with a scowl.

“It's not my place to say,” he said. “But you should know that the police will probably want to investigate.”

“That's good,” I said. “Because there's no way Cade did this to himself.” I walked towards the bed, my eyes fixed on Cade's pale face. “When will he wake up?”

“I don't know,” the doctor said. “But I'll let the nurses know that you can stay here as long as you want.”

“Thank you,” I said. I glanced up at him, curious. “Why?”

He gave me a partial smile. “Because I saw you sitting out there, waiting for him, and I think he needs you to be here when he wakes up.”

I thanked him and turned my attention back to Cade. When I heard the door close, I put my head down, resting my forehead on the edge of his bed and finally let myself go. The tears poured out of me and my shoulders shook. This wasn't some delicate, romantic crying. This was full-on ugly crying and I didn't care. I'd almost lost him. Someone had tried to take Cade from me and if that had happened, I wasn't sure what I would've done. I'd known I loved him and I'd know how scared I'd been of him walking out of my life, but the idea of him being gone completely was almost more than I could bear.

I cried until I'd released everything and was left with that empty feeling that came only after something intensely emotional had passed. I pressed my lips against the back of his hand. “I'm here, my Cade. I'll be here when you wake up.” My fingers tightened. “Just wake up, baby. Please.”

Chapter 8

There was a crick in my neck. The first thought I had as I started to climb my way towards wakefulness didn't make any sense. Why did my neck hurt? Then I realized I was slumped over. My back bent and my head down, like I'd fallen asleep sitting up. Why would I have done that?

Even as I thought the question, everything came back in one excruciating rush. Cade telling me he loved me. Waking up with a note saying he'd be back. The hours of worrying. Arriving at the loft. Seeing the torn pictures. Then Cade on the bed with a man next to him. Realizing Cade wasn't breathing. Performing CPR. The ride to the hospital.

I was in the hospital, sitting next to a bed. I must've fallen asleep at some point while I'd been waiting for Cade to wake up.

Then I felt fingers tighten around mine and my heart stuttered. Cade.

I opened my eyes and looked up to find a pair of dark gray ones staring at me. Relief rushed through me so sharply that tears formed in my eyes. I grasped his hand tightly.

“Hey there, Sleeping Beauty.” His voice was weak, but it was there and that's what was important.

I threw myself at him, heedless of the wires and tubes co

“I'm okay,” he whispered as he stroked my hair.

I didn't cry. Not really. A couple tears escaped, but that was all. I'd spent everything last night. Now, I was just exhausted. The little sleep I'd gotten was only enough to keep me from passing out, and this weariness wasn't just physical. Between everything that had happened the night before and then today, my emotions had taken me on a roller coaster ride like nothing I'd ever experienced before.

“Don't ever scare me like that again.” My voice was muffled against his chest.

“I won't,” Cade said. “Believe me.”

I let myself relax against him for a few more minutes, not wanting to break the silence with the questions I was trying to avoid. No need to create more drama. We'd had enough to last quite a while. I just wanted to listen to the steady beating of his heart, echoed by the beeping from the monitor. I couldn't even find the sound a

“There are some things I need to tell you,” he said softly.

I sighed. Apparently my questions were going to be answered whether I wanted them to be or not. I could only hope that I could survive what he told me. I sat up and then back in my chair. Until I knew how this was going to go, I didn't trust myself to be touching him.

“But first I need to know what happened. How I got here.”

“Didn't the doctors tell you?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I haven't seen any. I woke up about ten minutes before you did.”

“And you didn't call anyone in here?”

“I didn't want to wake you.”

I managed a weak smile that I knew didn't reach my eyes. I gave him the short version of what had happened, starting with me being worried when he didn't answer my calls. My voice hitched when I got to the part where I'd realized he wasn't breathing, and he reached for my hand. I let him take it, needing the comfort more than I needed the distance.

“I'm so sorry, Aubree.” He pressed his lips against the back of my hand.

“What happened, Cade?” I couldn't stop myself from asking the question. “Who was...” My voice trailed off.

“The man you found with me is named Samuel Lehane. Sammy.”

The familiarity in the way Cade said the name made my stomach turn to ice. I forced myself to keep my hand in his. I'd trusted him this far. I would hear him out before I acted.

“I told you before about how a woman I'd worked for propositioned me and that was how I got started as an escort,” he said.

I nodded. I remembered. A flare of anger went through me at the thought of the people who had taken advantage of a hurting young man.

“That was true...to an extent.” His fingers tightened around mine. “There was a time between me ru

I could see the struggle on his face. He didn't want to share this, and it wasn't because he wanted to hide things from me. He was in pain. “It's okay,” I said. “You don't have to tell me.”

“Yes,” he countered. “I do. You deserve to know.”

Maybe that was true, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

“I was on the streets for weeks after I ran, trying to find ways to eat, to survive, and I was losing. And then I met Sammy. He was the first friend I had. When he realized that I was working odd jobs for barely enough money to keep me alive, he told me I should do what he did. Turn tricks. I kept telling him no, but he persisted and, finally, when I was hungry enough, I agreed.”