Dangerous Desires

Chapter 27

27 Grateful

Luke.

I heard a beeping sound continuously as I struggled to open my eyes. My eyelid was heavy, and I felt my bones snapping into place. I tried to remember what had happened, but my mind was blank. I struggled to open my eyes, and I finally did There was light above me, and something stuck down my throat. I blinked a couple of times, and a woman wearing a nose mask in scrubs looked at me.

“Alpha Luke, Alpha Luke,” she said, and I tried to respond. She brought her hand down towards my face and towards my mouth, then pulled at the thing in my throat. She pulled it out, and it was a breathing tube.

I took a deep breath by reflex, and suddenly the event flashed in my memory. I tried to get up, but they held me down

“Tia, Tia”, I managed, and they held me down. “My... my wife?” I asked.

“Alpha Luke, You and your wife, sustained massive injuries in a car accident, and some silver was involved. Luckily both of you were still breathing when you got here,” the doctor explained, and I tried to move my legs. They weren’t fully healed yet. It hurt, but I needed to see my wife. “My wife?” I asked again.

“Relax, Alpha, she is receiving treatment,” The woman said to me, and I could not relax. The event that transpired played in my mind repeatedly until I passed out

I woke up in a hospital bed. My mind was still foggy, but it gradually came back to me. I got off the bed and figured I was fully healed. There were some joggers

and t-shirts made available by the hospital. 1

managed to put them on and exited my room. Finding

the front desk, the medical staff was shocked to see me. She was tongue-tied. I looked around and saw Tia’s mother.

“Mrs Lockwood,” I said, rushing to her. She was relieved to see me.

“Where is she?” I asked her. I knew I sounded desperate, but I could not help it.

“Follow mę,” she said calmly and led me to a room next to the one I woke up in. I rushed in. She was wrapped in bandages and hooked up to a machine. I went to her bedside and kissed the top of her head.

“The impact was on her side, Luke. She came here almost dead, but she held on to life long enough for us to get the silver bullets out of her.” She said, her voice cracking

“Silver bullets?” I asked, and she nodded.

“The assailants alighted their vehicle and shot several rounds at you and her, but her body was over yours, so she got the brunt of it. They were not able to

get close enough to aim for your heads. That was what saved the both of you,” She said with tears streaming down her eyes. I went to hold her.

“She is too young and innocent for this, Luke,” she said, breaking down in my embrace.

“She wanted a simple life before all this,” Amy said between sobs, and I felt responsible. What would 1 have done differently?

“How is she?” I asked, and she pulled away from the embrace and looked at me.

“She is getting better. She cannot heal as fast as you, but she should be awake soon.” She said, drying her tears.

“Luke, she is our only child. When your father forced us to give her to you, he promised she would be safe and cared for,” she said, crying.

“I am sorry, Amy. I really am,” I apologised to Tia‘s mother and held her.

We stayed with Tia, and she eventually left me in

Tia’s room. I sat on the couch and watched her on the bed.

My father walked in hours later.

“Luke,’ he said, and I did not know I had tears in my eyes until he entered the room. I wiped away my tears and stood up.

“Were you able to see them? The assholes that did this?” he asked me, sounding angry and scared. I

shook my head. I was confused, and he noticed, so he held my head with his hands to help me focus my attention on him.

“You have to be strong, Luke. This is part of the job. She is fine. She will pull through,” he said, assuring me, and I looked at Tia. I was more angry than scared. Angry that I couldn’t protect her, I let some assholes get the best of us. Why did I let my guard down?

“Did you have any altercations with anyone?” he asked me, and I told him about my meeting with Miles, my discoveries, the board’s decision and everything he told me. My father was angry but believed this was a well-planned attack, and Miles did not have the time to orchestrate something like this.

“When will I have peace, father?” I asked him, and he bowed his head, and I knew he did not have an answer.

“Was this what you went through with my mother? Was this what you went through with Stacy?” I asked him, and he reluctantly shook his head.

“Then why is mine different? I have never had peace for one second in my life, father. Why? What did I do to deserve this?” I asked, and he shook his head.

“This weight is too hard for me to carry, father. It is just too much. It was bearable when it was just me, but I cannot bear seeing Tia suffer like this. What if they had succeeded? We would both be dead by now,” I said, and he shook his head. I felt fear rise in him, and he was afraid too.

“I have launched an investigation,” he assured me, but

I shook my head because I had never seen my father solve a puzzle all my life.

“Once we are out of here, I will lunch my investigation, “I told him, and I knew the best person to use for this very purpose. He looked at me with feat.

LLLL

“If I find out that Stacy did this, father, I will kill her,” I told him point–blank, “At this point, both of us cannot exist together,” I said, and my father shook his head.

“Don’t jump to conclusions, son,” my father said, and I could not care less.

“I won’t jump to conclusions, father, but if I find out that she was involved with this. I will live up to the name that she wickedly carved out for me and kill her. If it comes down to her and me, I choose me. I cannot sacrifice myself and my wife so your mate can be happy. If you think she is involved, you should take her far from me, father or I will take her out of this world,” I threatened with rage, and I knew he could see it. He knew what I was capable of, and I wasn’t bluffing.

We stood in silence for a bit, and he finally left. A few hours later, the staff came to disconnect Tia from the machines. They said she was fully healed, and I should wait for the sedatives to wear off. I sat on the couch patiently until she finally opened her eyes.

I went to her and kissed her forehead. I watched her blink a few times. I knew she was trying to recollect, so I remained silent until she stopped blinking and

settled her eyes on me.

“Hey,” I said gently and kissed her forehead again. She blinked a bit more and then smiled at me.

“We didn’t die?” she said with humour, and it was amazing how she always made light of terrible situations. I laughed a bit and shook my head.

“Shall we go home?” I asked her, and she smiled at me. She got off the bed and wore the joggers the hospital provided her. I wanted to carry her, but she insisted on walking out of the hospital.

To be safe, we walked out of the hospital to the road and flagged a cab to take us home.

Even though she tried to make light of the situation, her body and mind remembered the accident. We made the cab driver drive through the gates into the estate. The security at the gates was surprised to see it was us. We alighted at the entrance, and I asked the staff outside to pay the cab and tip him.

I carried Tia to our room and laid her on the bed. The idea that someone was bold enough to try to kill us in the open baffled me, and I had yet to wrap my head around it.

There was a knock on the door, and I knew who it was. I went to open the door, and Caleb walked in. He glanced towards the room, and I knew he wanted to know how she was.

“Go ahead,” I told him, and he thanked me and went to

see her

“Tia,” He said, and I heard the crack in his voice. I knew he was scared for her.

“Are you better?” he asked her. I did not enter the room to give him time I glanced in their direction, and he hugged her too tightly for me to be comfortable. I cleared my throat to break it up. He pulled away respectfully, and I walked into the bedroom

I told Caleb everything our father had said to me about the attacks, except my mother’s poisoning. He was shocked at the magnitude of information our father had kept from us but glad I shared it with him.

“I need you to help me investigate the attack quietly, Caleb. They will expect me to investigate, but they will not see you coming,” I told him, and he nodded.

“Do you think my mother is behind this?” he asked me. I knew he did not like his mother either; she had ruined our lives. If it weren‘t for her, Tia might have been his, and many things would have happened differently. I knew he was yet to forgive her about Tia and Kimberly, and I knew he had other misgivings that he kept to himself.

“For father’s sake, I hope she did not do this. Gone are the days when I was silent and would let things go. They tried to kill my wife. I am unwilling to let that go, ” I said, and he nodded gradually, understanding my position but looking a bit worried about my resolve. I did not want to deceive him. It was best he knew what

to expect when the culprit was found

“I understand, Luke, but I doubt she is capable of this. This attack is bigger than just you and Tia. If all father said is true, then all of us are in trouble,” he said, expressing his view of the situation Not that I was in agreement with him, but I wanted to ease his mind so he could carry out the investigation fearlessly. Caleb left eventually, and I went to sit near Tia

“I believe Stacy is behind this,” I told my wife, and she asked me why

“With you and me out of the way, her son gets to keep everything whether my father likes it or not,” I said, and she looked at me, shocked.

“What about Elisabeth‘s baby?” Tia asked, and I laughed.

“She will be an easy kill. I doubt she will even let her give birth to the child. If you were like Stacy, Elisabeth would have suffered a miscarriage by now. Stacy knows no bounds and has no conscience, Tia. She is a monster, and I am not just saying it because she is my stepmother. I am saying it out of the experience.” I said, and she hugged me tightly. “We are alive, Luke. Whoever tried to kill us failed,” she said, and I hugged her.

“We have to move about with security and protection henceforth, Tia until we solve this matter,” I said, and she agreed. I knew she was still tired, so I got into bed with her so we could sleep.