Chapter 13 - THE GHOST BLEEDS
Sadie caught him before his head hit the pavement.
"Roman!"
Blood spread across her hands.
"No."
Roman tried to speak.
"Sadie."
"Don't talk."
"Bossy."
"Shut up."
His mouth almost curved.
Then his eyes closed.
"ROMAN!"
The ambulance arrived in minutes.
To Sadie, it felt like hours.
Surgery lasted three hours and forty-seven minutes.
Sadie sat beside Eleanor.
Helen sat beside her.
Three women connected by two men and twenty-seven years of secrets.
Finally, the surgeon appeared.
"The bullet missed his heart."
Sadie stopped breathing.
"He lost a lot of blood."
"But?"
"He'll recover."
Sadie covered her face.
Eleanor held her.
For the first time since the mall, Sadie cried.
Not because Trevor had kicked her.
Not because Grant had threatened her.
Not because her childhood had been built around secrets.
She cried because the man she loved was alive.
Roman woke the next morning.
Sadie sat beside him.
His eyes opened.
"Hi."
She laughed and cried simultaneously.
"Hi?"
"What should I say?"
"You got shot."
"I noticed."
"You almost died."
Roman looked at her.
"I'm sorry."
Sadie stared.
"You're apologizing for being shot?"
"For scaring you."
She lowered her forehead onto his hand.
"Idiot."
Roman touched her hair.
"Your idiot."
"Unfortunately."
Silence settled.
Then Roman asked.
"Grant?"
"Federal custody."
"Trevor?"
"Also."
"My mother?"
"Safe."
"Your mother?"
"Safe."
"The ledger?"
"Safe."
Roman exhaled.
"Good."
Sadie looked at him.
"There's one more thing."
"What?"
"The trust."
Evelyn had calculated it.
Thomas Vale had invested the original money decades earlier.
It had grown.
Considerably.
Sadie told Roman the number.
He blinked.
"That's a lot of handbags."
Sadie laughed.
"I don't even like handbags."
"I know."
"Roman?"
"Yes?"
"I don't want the money."
He frowned.
"It belongs to you."
"No."
She looked toward the window.
"It belongs to what my father tried to do."
Roman understood.
"What are you thinking?"
Sadie smiled.
"A foundation."
"For?"
"Women starting over."
Roman's expression softened.
"Women leaving men like Trevor."
"Housing."
"Legal help."
"Jobs."
"Emergency money."
Roman squeezed her hand.
"Do it."
Sadie smiled.
"I will."
But the story wasn't finished.
Two weeks later, Evelyn arrived with a sealed document.
"What now?"
Sadie asked.
Evelyn sat.
"Trevor made a deal."
Roman's face hardened.
"What kind?"
"He gave prosecutors everything on Grant."
Sadie frowned.
"In exchange for?"
"Reduced charges."
Roman sat up despite the pain.
"How reduced?"
Evelyn hesitated.
May you like
Sadie immediately knew she wouldn't like the answer.
"Trevor could be free in eighteen months."
