When Day Breaks

CHAPTER 37

THE hours stretched, seemingly days. Each minute ticked by with agonizing slowness. Swanny was unable to sit. He paced the small confines of the surgery waiting room while Hancock and the rest of his team sat on the sofas and chairs, their expressions somber.

They didn’t even try to force Swanny to keep his cool or sit down and try to relax. They all knew how he felt about her. They also knew, despite the fact that he hadn’t verbalized it, that he held himself responsible for Eden’s kidnapping and torture.

At one point, as if no longer able to contain herself, Skylar rose and went over to Swanny. To his surprise, she hugged him fiercely, and he had to lean his head down toward her much shorter frame to hear what she whispered.

“Try not to worry so much, Swanny. I know you love her, but Eden is strong. She’ll recover from this. You’ve seen the worst in so many situations, but you’ve also seen the close calls with the other wives. KGI hasn’t failed in a mission yet, and we damn sure don’t intend to fail now. We’ve eliminated the threat for real this time. All Eden has to focus on is recovering and getting well, and I know you’ll see that that happens.”

Swanny managed a half smile and then hugged her back. “Thanks, Sky. I won’t lie. I’m one beat away from completely losing my shit like I did earlier, but it does Eden no good. I could have fucked up and not seen the necklace if I hadn’t calmed down and viewed the video objectively. And then she’d still be in that bitch’s grasp, likely dead by now. I can’t get that image out of my head no matter what I do. Bursting in and seeing Eden so bloody and defeated. I’m not sure I’ll ever get over that. Especially knowing it was my fault.”

An angry glint entered Skylar’s eyes. “The fuck it was your fault. Swanny, this was no one’s fault. We got bad intel and we acted on it. And because of you we were able to locate Eden before it was too late. Remember that and forget the rest.”

“Appreciate it,” he said in a choked voice.

He couldn’t say any more because he hadn’t lied to Skylar. He was precariously close to losing control. The longer they sat—or rather stood—waiting, the more fear and worry knotted his insides.

His thoughts were interrupted when Eddie, Raid and Ryker burst into the waiting room, Eddie’s eyes wild. He looked about ten years older. Exhaustion ringed his eyes and his hands were shaking.

“How is she? Where is she?” Eddie demanded. “I want to see her immediately.”

Hancock stood, placing himself between Eddie and his sons and Swanny and the rest of the team.

“This was my fault,” Hancock said in a low voice. “I took out the wrong man. The daughter you thought had died in cross fire survived. She’s the one who has been stalking Eden and trying to take her out.”

“That’s who was on the video?” Eddie asked hoarsely. “She didn’t say anything, though she sent a message afterward taunting me. Telling me that justice would finally be served, but I had no idea. I mean I thought maybe it was some crazy stalker who’d become obsessed with Eden. Goddamn it. I never even thought to focus on anyone except the son. Nothing else made sense!”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Hancock said. “We all share responsibility in not protecting Eden as well as we should have.”

“Where is she?” Raid asked bluntly.

At that Swanny stepped forward, no longer willing for Hancock to take the lead with Eden’s family.

“She’s in surgery,” Swanny explained. “A plastic surgeon—the best—was called in to repair the cuts to her face so there’ll be no permanent scarring. She had other injuries but nothing serious. They took X-rays and did a thorough exam. She took a beating but nothing is broken. The only issue is the cuts on her face, and the surgeon assured me that he could start the process of returning her face to its normal appearance.”

“And who the hell authorized all this?” Ryker demanded.

“I did,” Swanny said calmly, bracing himself for the fallout that would likely ensue.

Eddie and Raid gave him puzzled looks before Eddie finally found his voice again.

“Why was I not consulted? I’m her family. I should have at least been kept in the loop, and I damn sure should have been the person to grant permission for any treatment or surgery. What the hell do you even know about this surgeon? Did you research him?”

Swanny held up a hand, his harsh expression stopping the tirade in its tracks.

“I love your daughter, Mr. Sinclair.”

He included Eden’s brothers in his gaze as it swept over Eden’s family.

“And she loves me.”

At that, shock registered in her family’s eyes. Eddie’s lips parted as though he were about to say something, but Swanny ruthlessly continued on. He wanted to draw the line in the sand right here and now just in case Eddie got any ideas of taking over and leaving Swanny out. Like hell that was going to happen.

“I made the decisions. I told the staff I was her husband. I may not be right now, but I certainly plan to be if Eden will have me.”

He fingered his scar, purposely drawing attention to it, something he would have never done in the past.

“You see this? Is this what you really want for your daughter? Your sister? There is no way in hell I’ll ever put her through having her face permanently carved up and scarred. Her career is important to her, and I’d never do anything to take her choices away. It’ll be up to her what she wants to do afterward but by God, she’ll have choices.”

There was grudging acceptance in Eddie’s and his sons’ eyes.

“How long has she been in, and do you know when she’ll be out?” Ryker interjected.

Swanny sighed, frustrated because it had already been hours. And there was still yet another issue he had to address.

“They came out half an hour ago and said she was still in surgery but doing well. The surgeon is taking his time and being extremely careful to ensure there will be no permanent scarring. After she’s taken to recovery, someone can go back to see her. And just so you know, that person’s going to be me.”

He stared down Eden’s family unflinchingly, as if he dared them to argue.

“When she’s moved to a room you’ll all be able to see her,” he said.

Eddie looked like he wanted to argue. There was obvious conflict in his eyes as he weighed the matter and decided whether he wanted to protest.

Then he looked up at Swanny. “You love my daughter? And she loves you?”

“Yes, sir,” Swanny said without hesitation.

Eddie’s shoulders sagged a bit as if all the air escaped him at once.

“All right. I won’t object to you going into recovery. But I’ll want to see her as soon as possible.”

“There’s another thing you should know,” Swanny said as Eddie took a seat in one of the chairs. “Eden knows everything. I told her the night her vehicle was attacked. I needed her to understand the magnitude of the danger to her, and she deserved to know what the hell was going on when her car was blown up, killing the driver.”

Eddie buried his face in his hands, emotion overcoming him. His voice was thick with tears.

“God, this is my fault. All of it. I swore nothing would ever touch my children. And now Eden is paying for my past sins. I don’t know how she’ll be able to ever look at me now.”

Swanny softened at the older man’s obvious grief.

“Sir, there is one thing I’ve learned about your daughter in a very short time. She has the biggest, most tender, forgiving heart in the world. Yes, she was upset and shocked at the time. But I have no doubt she will not be angry with you, nor will she refuse to see you. She loves you, her entire family, too much. And that’s not who Eden is. She isn’t one to hate. To harbor resentment.”

“You do indeed know my daughter well,” Eddie said quietly.

Swanny jerked around, forgetting all about Eden’s family and the other occupants of the room when his name was called by a nurse who’d just entered the waiting room. He rushed toward her, hoping for news about Eden.

He was greeted by a broad smile.

“Miss Sinclair is out of surgery and in recovery. She’s awake but still a bit groggy and confused. You can come back to see her now. She’ll remain in recovery for forty-five more minutes before we transfer her to the floor. We just want to make sure her pain is under control and she suffers no nausea from the anesthesia.”

“But she’s okay?” Swanny asked, holding his breath until he was light-headed.

The nurse smiled again. “Yes, she’s just fine. Come now. I’ll take you back to see her.”

Without a backward glance at the others, Swanny hurried after the nurse, eager to see Eden for himself. To reassure himself she was okay and awake. Because then he had to address the subject of whether she could ever forgive him for allowing this to happen to her.

The nurse showed him into recovery and motioned toward Eden, who was being monitored by a nurse at her bedside.

Swanny slowly approached the bed, his stomach clenched as he took in all the bandages covering her face.

“Is she awake?” Swanny whispered to the nurse at her bedside.

The nurse smiled and nodded and then gestured for him to take the seat on the other side of her bed.

“Eden? Eden, honey, can you hear me?” Swanny asked in a low voice.

Slowly, Eden turned in his direction, her eyes instantly going warm as she registered his presence.

“I knew you’d come,” she whispered hoarsely. “It was the only thing that kept me sane. I knew you’d come. I was so scared I’d never see you again.”

Tears clogged Swanny’s eyes, and the nurse attending Eden’s vitals discreetly stepped away.

“How can you even look at me, knowing that I failed you,” he choked out. “It’s my fault you were taken. I never should have left you alone. I don’t know that I can ever live with myself.”

Weakly she lifted a hand to his cheek and gently caressed his face with cold fingertips.

“Not your fault. I was too trusting. I should have known but it was too late by the time it dawned on me she shouldn’t be there. You taught me better and I didn’t listen.”

Swanny reached up for her hand, pressing her palm to his lips as tears slid soundlessly down his cheeks.

“I brought you here and insisted on the best plastic surgeon Paris had to offer. I couldn’t allow you to live with constant reminders of what happened to you. I know how important your career is to you. So I made the decision to have the cuts to your face repaired. The surgeon said that in a few months, and with additional procedures, you’ll look good as new again.”

She smiled up at him, so much love in her eyes that it took his breath away. God, she still loved him. Had told him as her last conscious thought when he’d taken her away from the horror she’d endured.

“I don’t care about my face or career, Swanny. I only care about you,” she said, sincerity ringing clear in her voice. “As long as I have you, as long as you love me, nothing else matters.”

He had to take a long moment to compose himself. To try to rid himself of the tears and the emotion knotting his throat so tightly he couldn’t speak—or breathe—around it.

“I love you,” he said brokenly. “I love you so much, Eden. You’re a miracle. My miracle. A gift I never dreamed of receiving. I’m so damn grateful for it. You’ll never know how much you mean to me, but I can tell you every day for the rest of our lives just how much I love you.”

Her eyes widened and her hand slid from his grasp as she stared up at him.

Clearing his throat and understanding why she was staring at him in shock, he made an attempt to repair his completely botched effort of proposing.

“Marry me, Eden,” he said in a husky, tear-laced voice. “Be with me. Stay with me forever. I know we have a lot to work out with our respective careers and I want you to know that I’ll always support your decisions. I’ll never stand in the way of your career. I just want you.”

This time it was Eden who teared up, her eyes going glossy and bright. But there was such a joyous smile on her face that seemed incongruous with their surroundings. She was in recovery just coming out of surgery. She had to be in pain and groggy and yet she lit up the room like sunshine in July over Kentucky Lake.

“I’ll marry you, Swanny. I love you so much. And you’re right. We’ll work it out in time. But for now, all I want is to go home with you. Spend a few months recovering and regrouping. Then we can tackle our careers and make compromises. That’s what love is all about.”

He leaned over and gently kissed her lips, one of the few places she didn’t have a bandage covering her face.

“I don’t have a ring—yet. But you can be damn sure when you leave this hospital you’ll be wearing my ring. And then I’m taking you home to Tennessee. I’ll buy you the perfect house on the lake and you can sit out on the deck and enjoy the water and do nothing more than rest and recover while I wait on you hand and foot.”

Her smile broadened and she slipped her hand into his, squeezing.

“My dad will want to give me away and my brothers will want to be there. But otherwise I don’t want a big fuss. No paparazzi, no public announcement of our engagement or marriage and certainly no damn pictures of the event plastered all over magazines. It will be our day and I want to keep it that way. Intimate and private.”

“Speaking of your family, they’re all here. They arrived just a short while ago and they’re worried sick about you. When you get moved to your room I’ll let them know it’s okay to see you. But for now? I don’t mind being selfish and keeping you all to myself until they move you.”

Her eyes sparkled despite the grogginess from the anesthesia and the pain he knew she had to be feeling.

“I’m on board with your selfishness, because trust me when I say I’m going to be very possessive of you and spending time with you, just the two of us. I can’t think of a better way to recover than to spend it with you, in our home, with someone I love more than I ever imagined loving another person.”

Swanny’s heart filled to bursting. He didn’t even mind the tears that once again crowded his eyes. This woman lying in a hospital recovery room was so strong and yet infinitely gentle and so very loving and giving.

He whispered a thanks to God for seeing her safely back to him. Where she belonged.

And he was already envisioning the perfect house on the lake. With a perfect deck and a dock overlooking the water, not far from the KGI compound, but he had no desire to sequester himself and Eden behind the walls of the compound. He wanted a special place of their own. Their sanctuary where they could focus on each other and a future that was brighter than the sun.