"Will you stay? Please?"
He answered "Sure," just as the doctor responded at the same time.
"No. I'll be as gentle as I can, but I have found it is less stressful for victims when just a nurse and patient advocate stay in the room. It could take up to an hour or so," the doctor said.
Dylan smiled a reassuring smile. "You heard the man. I promise I won't go far, and I'll be back in as soon as I can. Okay?"
She looked too emotional to answer with words, finally nodding slightly. Still, it took her a while to release the vice-like grip on his hand. Leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead, he tried to calm her. "Why don't I go get an update on how Mia and Lucy are doing?"
What an idiot he was. New tears formed in her eyes. "Oh God, I'd almost forgotten. It's all my fault. They wouldn't have met Jake Davenport if it wasn't for me."
"You can't blame yourself for any of this, Hannah. You're the victim. Don't forget that. I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise."
He hated leaving her, but he wanted an update on whether they had tracked down Davenport. He knew without asking that the answer was 'no' when he caught sight of Lukus and Z having a heated discussion not far from Hannah's room.
"Hey."
The men turned concerned eyes on him. "How is she doing?"
"As well as can be expected, you know? I can't believe we sent her in there. The doctor is doing a fucking rape kit on her. I shouldn't have let this happen."
Lukus looked sympathetic, but his words were tough. "You need to remember that we didn't introduce them. She'd met the asshole before we hit town. She chose to date him. She chose to steal the journal. We played the hand of cards we were dealt."
"Yeah, well you keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night. I know the truth. I could have had her halfway back to Chicago in a car by now," Dylan said.
"And then what? You think Davenport was just going to let her sail off into the sunset with evidence that could put him away forever? We just got an update from Cameron. He broke the code in the journal. A lot of very powerful people are about to have their lives royally fucked up."
Dylan felt relief that at least something good was coming together. He'd been hoping for enough evidence that might save Hannah from having to testify. "Yeah, well I guess they should have thought about that before they decided to play God with people's lives." He changed the subject. "Any word on how the sisters are doing? I promised Hannah I'd get an update."
It couldn't be good news if Z looked like shit answering. "The younger one was pretty fucked up. They'd drugged her and she'd been used pretty hard. Unfortunately, her best friend Mia was shot in the cross fire during the raid. They took her into surgery. The doc gave her good odds of making it through, though."
"Fuck. Hannah is going to be so upset. She blames herself."
"I get that, but there is only one person to blame, and I can't believe the bastard is still in the wind." Z's angry voice boomed in the hall.
Dylan looked around before asking, "Where is Derek? Still back at the warehouse?"
Dylan didn't miss the two men looking at each other before avoiding his gaze. "What? Did something happen to Derek?" Alarm that his brother might be hurt got his pulse racing.
Lukus finally stared him down before answering, his voice full of authority. "Nothing like that. I just made the decision that, with Davenport still out there, we needed to tighten security. I didn't want him swinging by Hannah's and picking up her kid, so I sent Derek to pick up Mama Rosa and Connor and fly them to Chicago, to hole up in the loft with the girls and Markus. They'll be safer there."
Dylan's gut reaction was anger that Lukus would make a decision like that without his or Hannah's input, but his gratitude that Connor was safe with Derek won out. "That was a good idea. Thanks."
What went unsaid was how happy he was that this meant he'd get to take Hannah home to Chicago with him. California held bad memories for her. Maybe... just maybe... she might want to move to Chicago…
"Mr. Parker?" He looked up to see the doctor coming from Hannah's room.
"Yes."
"Ms. Martine is asking for you. You can go in now."
He hadn't taken another step yet before he heard Hannah screaming his name. Dylan broke out into a run. He rushed into her room to find the police captain and another uniformed officer leaning in close, trying to calm her.
"Get the hell away from her!"
The men listened, letting Dylan in close. "Hey, hey, hey... what's all this? You're safe. I'm right here."
Her eyes were frantic, glancing around the room, but not really seeing. Her breaths were coming fast, as if she was having a panic attack. It didn't make sense. She was safe.
"Hannah? Honey?" Dylan asked.
She finally locked eyes with him, fear seeping from every pore. "He got away? He's gonna go for Connor. He told me so." She tried to push him aside to get out of bed, but she was too weak. He easily held her back.
"Honey, it's okay. Derek and Lukus already thought of that. Connor is with Derek now. My brother picked him and Mama Rosa up and they're on the way to the airport. Derek is going to get them out of town and back to Chicago, where he can keep them safe until this is all settled."
"Chicago?" Confusion flickered in her frantic eyes.
"Yes. It's where we're all from. Lukus has a place that he can lock down. His fiancée, her best friend, and my sister-in-law are already there under armed guard. Derek will join them with Connor and they'll all be safe."
"Safe?" She was
