Uncovering You 10: The Finale (21 page)

I feel like, once I open my eyes, everything I knew under Esteban’s care will come roaring back.

I take a deep breath. In through my nose, out past my lips. The moment I do, sounds of motion come to life around me.

Somebody takes my hand. No, not “somebody”. Jeremy.
My
Jeremy.

Jeremy takes my hand. I know that it’s him. I can feel our special connection flowing through the grip.

I’d know if it were someone else.

This is definitely Jeremy. And I am most definitely
not
hallucinating.

My eyes flutter open. Pleasant images greet me: The warm interior of some type of vehicular cabin. I don’t know what it is right away. More importantly, I don’t
have
to know. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters so long as Jeremy is right there. I know this is real. I know this is all so very, very real.

A glorious sort of happiness blooms in my chest. I blink once, twice, languidly, and then mentally check in.

There’s a familiar face looking down at me. Jeremy’s. Only—wait, what? He’s not smiling. I don’t see love and concern in his eyes, but a clinical sort of focus. He’s wearing glasses.
Reading
glasses. I know for a fact Jeremy’s vision is perfect. And his hair…Why is his hair so short…?

Then that grip on my hand tightens, once, in a loving squeeze. I blink and raise my head—and see Jeremy number two.

Alarm crashes into me. But it doesn’t take hold. Before it can, the short-haired Jeremy speaks.

“Hello, Lilly,” he says. His voice is oh-so-slightly-off. “My name is Atticus Telfair. We’ve met each other before. It’s only now that I can introduce myself properly.”

I look from him, down to the man holding my hand. To
my
Jeremy. He gives me a loving smile. “You’re safe now,” he tells me. “My brother has been monitoring you. He wants to speak to you, first, before giving us time alone.”

I move my eyes back to the man hovering over me. “Dr. Telfair?” I repeat. I pull my hand out of Jeremy’s grip, regretfully. I need it to push myself up.

At that moment, I recognize that I’m in the back of a small helicopter. We’re flying high over an endless, bright blue sea. The sun is shining in full overhead.

“Where are we?” I ask.

“In the Mediterranean,” Jeremy says. “I’m taking you to my estate in Rome. You’ll love it there. I promise, Lilly. It will only be me and you. But for now…” He nods toward his brother. “The doctor needs to speak to you.”

I nod in agreement, but I still feel awfully disoriented. “The Mediterranean,” I mumble. “So Esteban didn’t lie…”

A sudden shock wave of alarm hits me. I jerk fully upright.

“Esteban,” I say. “Hugh. Rose. You, Jeremy—
you
, and the collar. Two collars! What happened? Tell me what you did!”

“She’s panicking,” Dr. Telfair says to Jeremy. “I told you it was too soon…”

“No,” Jeremy cuts him off with a savage growl. He takes my hand again. “Lilly. Look at me. It’s absolutely vital that you stay calm. Do you understand me? I’ll explain everything. But first, I need you to speak to my brother.”

I look from Jeremy to the doctor. I realize that I’m taking short, rapid breaths. I’m close to hyperventilating. That acknowledgment makes me gasp…which makes my sudden anxiety worse, with makes…

“Lilly!” Jeremy nearly yells my name. “Stay with me. Calm. I need you to remain calm. Look at me! I’m right here. You’re here with me. We’re both safe. I brought you back. You survived.”

“Yes” I say. I nod. Once, twice, three times… over and over again. I nod because the sensation of not having my hair fall around my shoulders assures me that I’m still bald, and that, yes, this is all real.

“Deep breaths now,” the doctor reminds me. “Nice, slow, and easy. Deep breaths, Lilly,”

It takes almost more will power than I can muster, but I do it. I slow my breathing consciously. I release the tension building in my neck and arms. I sag back, easing into my seat, finding comfort, not fear, in the small, constricting cabin…

Dr. Telfair speaks. “You’ve been through an enormous amount of stress, Lilly. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. You have a long road to recovery ahead of you.”

“Which you will make in full,” Jeremy interrupts.

Dr. Telfair gives him an impatient glance. Jeremy raises a hand in apology and motions for him to continue.

“You’ve been through a lot,” Dr. Telfair repeats, “half of which we’re not even fully aware of. Right now, the most important thing for you to understand is what happened to you last when you were conscious.”

“What happened to me last?” I ask.

Dr. Telfair clears his throat in evident distaste. “My brother…showed me the device he had fitted on you when he first took you captive.”

I open my mouth to protest, but Jeremy interjects. “I told him everything, Lilly,” he says. “Everything that I’ve done to you, from the very start. He knows I gave you freedom to leave. He knows you made your own choice.”

I look back at the doctor who is starting to look disgruntled.

“I know the ‘what’, but not the ‘why’,” he tells me. He shakes his head. “It is not my place to question your decisions, Lilly. I am here now for you and your future health.”

“What happened to me last?” I repeat.

“You suffered an intensive electrical shock. The voltage was enough to stop your heart. You were, for a time, clinically dead.”

“I died?” I ask.

“
Clinically
,” Dr. Telfair stresses. “My brother got to you. He performed the necessary CPR procedure. He brought you back.”

“I told you I would,” Jeremy says. He squeezes my knee. “I love you.”

My heart swells with overpowering joy at the pronouncement.

“It was a necessity,” Dr. Telfair hedges, “but an evil one. You see, Lilly, all the damage that you suffered before, through the smaller micro-electrical shocks? All of those were worsened by the latest episode.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you are alive today, Lilly. But you need to be closely monitored. Your recovery cannot be taken for granted. It has to be an active process.”

“My brother left his post at Cedar Hills to care for you,” Jeremy says. “He’s staying with us in Rome. You will be his only patient.”

I screw my face up at Jeremy. I feel suddenly cold. “I thought you said it would just be me and you.”

“It will,” Jeremy assures me. “I’ve left Stonehart Industries behind…”

“You
what
?” I yelp. I shoot back up. “You didn’t give in to Esteban’s demands, did you? You didn’t hand your company over to your father because of me…”

“No,” Jeremy cuts me off, softly, but firmly. “No, Lilly, I did not. I would have. I want you to know, if it meant I could have gotten you back. But I could not negotiate, nor place trust, in a true madman. The rescue mission was the only way I could be assured I would get you out.”

“What happened?” I ask again. “Jeremy, you have to tell me. What do you mean, you left Stonehart Industries behind? How could you? You dedicated your life to it…”

“And now, I dedicate my life to you,” he says. “I am yours, Lilly Ryder, until my last breath. There is nothing that will come between us, ever again. Our lives—the rest of our lives—will be spent in each other’s’ arms. You are all I have, all I want, or need.”

Dr. Telfair clears his throat. Jeremy stops. I look at him.

“Your full recovery is my number one priority,” the doctor assures me. “But for that to be possible—for me to provide the care you need, and to be able to diagnose your symptoms properly—I need your unwavering trust. And ‘trust’ is the most difficult thing for you to give, I’d imagine, considering the situations you have been put into. But for this to work—for you to heal— I have to know everything. I understand these are painful subjects for you, and memories you do not want to go back to. Nobody would. But Jeremy assures me you have the strength necessary to do that. Trust will be the most vital part of our doctor-patient relationship. I want to see you better, Lilly. Selfishly, for me, you are a fascinating case. I believe, I truly believe, that I can help you recover. But I need you to be willing to give me your full confidence. Even things that you might not be comfortable telling him,” He glances at his brother. “You have to be willing to tell me. That is the only way this will work. If you grant me that, then yes, I will leave my post at Cedar Hills. I will help you recover. But my brother spoke prematurely. I have not committed yet. To do so, I need your full compliance. If you can give me that, then I will.”

I take a deep breath. “That’s quite the speech,” I mutter.

“Lilly,” Jeremy speaks. “It’s essential that Atticus has your trust. It’s true: I did speak early. But I know you want to heal. I know how strong you are. How determined. I know all that, Lilly. So I know that you will be unafraid. Give my brother everything he requires. He is, in full earnest truth, the best doctor money can buy. But you taught me, Lilly, that the best things in life are not bought. They are earned.”

Jeremy looks at his brother. “Dr. Telfair is living proof of that sentiment. He would not accept any amount of money from me. His only condition for taking you on was that he have your unwavering loyalty.”

“You said I would give him that?” I ask.

“I did,” Jeremy confirms. “Because I know you. I know your strength. It is as clear as you are beautiful…”

“Please,” I say, looking away, unexpectedly embarrassed. “Don’t. You don’t think me beautiful. Not when I look…” I run a hand over my shaven scalp, “…like this.”

“You are more beautiful to me today than any day I’ve seen you in the past.” Jeremy tells me, firm in his conviction. “Do you know why? Today represents your safe return to my life. Today is the start of a beautiful beginning for the two of us. Together, Lilly, me and you.”

I look at Dr. Telfair. “It’s trust you want. Is it?” I ask. I laugh a little. “Funny. That is exactly the same thing Jeremy was after.”

“I can give you time to consider,” Dr. Telfair says.

“No.” I shake my head. “If you say that you can help me, I believe you. Jeremy does, and he’s an impeccable judge of character. You want to know what was done to me?” I exhale. “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you all of it. On one condition.”

Jeremy starts in concern. I ignore him. Dr. Telfair narrows his eyes. “And that is?”

“That Jeremy gets to stay at my side the entire time.”

Speaking of the cruelties I was put through does not come as easy as I think.

But in the end, I tell it all. From the moment of my kidnapping in downtown San Jose to everything that happened up to the rescue.

We touch down on an enormous, ancient estate that looks like a vineyard. Immediately, I fall in love.

“Now it’s your turn, Jeremy,” I say, after Dr. Telfair leaves us. “What the hell happened? How did you manage the coup? What happened to Esteban, Hugh, and Rose? What did you mean when you said you left Stonehart Industries behind? It wasn’t because of me, was it?”

“Everything I do is because of you, my love,” he tells me, holding me close and kissing my forehead. We walk into an empty bedroom. “Thank you for sharing all that with my brother,” he confides. “In truth, I did not think you could be ready to do it so soon. Neither of us did. He took a month-long sabbatical to come here with me, but beyond that…?” Jeremy trails off. “We just didn’t know how much time you’d need.”

“You brought him here
before
the meeting Esteban arranged or after?”
I ask. Reality is starting to sink in. I’m actually here. I’ve been rescued. I have Jeremy beside me. As it’s starting to sink in, and I’m coming down from the high of finally being safe, I find myself becoming, increasingly anxious. “Jeremy.” I look around the room. “How is this possible? How did you stage all of this? How did you rescue me?”

He sits on the bed. He pats the spot beside him. But when he tries to put his arm around me, I inadvertently shy away.

A flicker of surprise, coupled with a tiny frown, mars his face.

“I’m sorry,” I say quickly. ‘I just—I just don’t want to be touched. Not yet.”

He nods and gives me space. “I understand. You’ve shown incredible strength, Lilly. I am so angry—and I’m so sorry—that you had to go through what you did. It’s only because of me.”

“Don’t be angry,” I say. “You couldn’t have—”

“I
could
,” he interrupts. “Whatever it is you were going to say, I could have. I let you be taken from right under my nose. You don’t understand how I worried, Lilly. How desperate I became with each passing day. I poured all my resources—literally, everything I had—into finding you. And I could not do it sooner. That is my regret. That I let you suffer, so, so much…” He moves to touch my cheek, then remembering my request, stops himself.

“I’m sorry,” he finishes in a whisper.

I bite my lip and take his hand. “You saved me,” I say. “I still can’t believe that this is real. I’m afraid I’ll go to sleep…” I gasp. “The counteragent! Do you have more? Do I need more? You know what they did. They poisoned me. Now I’m ruined, broken…” Despair starts to well up. “…unstable, damaged, insane, just like Paul, just like my father. Only now I know what’s happening. Now I know…”