She was completely confused. Why wasn’t he yelling at her? Why wasn’t he demanding that she get out of his life and informing her of her termination from his newly acquired firm? “What’s going on here?” she finally asked cautiously.
He lifted her up and kissed her thoroughly, enjoying the relief of finally finding the woman he’d been searching for as well as finally understanding Sierra’s fears ever since he’d walked into her office that first day. It all made sense now! “My entire security team couldn’t find a trace of you. For months, I had them scouring the city and then widening their search for you.”
She blinked up at him in surprise, not sure she understood what he was telling her. “You wanted to find me?”
“Of course! You were there for me. The nurses said you saved my life!”
Her hands were gripping his shoulders but she still wasn’t sure why he wasn’t angry with her. “Only because my father tried to kill you.”
“And you saved me. If you hadn’t followed me that day, if you hadn’t called the paramedics, I would have been dead that day.” He laughed, throwing his head back with his relief. “In fact, I even remember your tears falling on my face that afternoon. It was a hot afternoon in Chicago and you cradled my head in your lap, your soft hands brushing my hair away from my head wounds and you constantly told me that I was going to be okay. When I groaned with the pain in my ribs or my legs, I’m not sure where anymore because I was pretty much in pain everywhere, you yelled at me to not give up. You told me in no uncertain terms that you would be very angry with me if I died on you.” He shouted out with his laughter. “I remember thinking that I didn’t want to incur your wrath so I fought pretty hard to stay alive and conscious until the paramedics arrived. And then you fought with them to ride along with me, holding my hand the whole time they were working on me.” He hugged her close. “I know they wouldn’t let you despite all your arguments but you were right there at the hospital with me, weren’t you? You’re the first person I remember when I regained consciousness. Your voice was what got me through those terrible days and nights.”
He leaned forward and kissed her through her sobbing. “You saved my life, Sierra. I owe you everything.”
“No,” she argued, turning her head away. She wasn’t even aware that her arms were holding him tightly. She was only aware of the incredible feel of his arms and the painful wrenching caused by his words. She hated the idea of him being in pain, wishing she could take all of it away. “If I could have traded places with you, I would have. I’m so sorry for what my father did. I will understand if you hate me.”
Drake squeezed her tightly, her face buried against his neck and he carried her over to the sofa, sitting down with her in his lap. She was shaking with the force of her tears now and he wished he could help her, to understand why she was so upset. “Hey, honey, I’m okay. Thanks to you, I survived.”
“Not thanks to me. My father was a bastard who did that to you. He had no conscience. He was a horrible, mean, terrible, evil-to-the-core man and I was always ashamed to be related to him.”
“And you think I should blame you for the crimes he committed?”
“Yes!” she was getting angry now herself. She was tired of waiting for him to realize that he should hate her. “Why are you holding me like this? You should be pushing me out the door.”
He pulled her hips closer. “You’re not going anywhere now that I’ve finally found you.” He looked at her curiously. “You paid all my medical bills, didn’t you?”
She blushed and looked away. “Well, actually, my father did but he didn’t know it. I charged as much as I could to the credit cards he gave me. When he realized what I’d done, he cut me off so I sold all the jewelry he gave me over the years. Anything not needed to cover your medical expenses, I donated to the local food pantry.”
He raised an eyebrow at that. “I’m guessing there’s a story about that?”
She smiled for the first time since waking up. “My father hated any kind of handouts. I believe in helping others. So giving the rest of his money to a food pantry was just my last zinger in his direction.” She let her hand fall onto his forearm, her fingers relishing the feel of his skin under her fingers. “So are you angry with me for lying to you all this time?”
He laughed, a loud, exuberant sound that vibrated warmly throughout her whole body. “I’m elated that I’ve finally found you. And we’re going to be married as soon as I can arrange it. We can wait only long enough for your sister to get here.”
He said it as if he’d already asked the question and she’d accepted. “We’re getting married?” she asked, her eyes wide with amazement at how things were happening so quickly.
Drake looked at her, all serious once again. “I have one thing that I need to tell you before you agree to marry me.”
She was suddenly alarmed because of the serious expression in his eyes. “I can’t think of why you’d want to marry me after everything I’ve told you, but go ahead.”
Drake held her hands closely. “First of all, I want to marry you because I love you. I’ve been infatuated with you since I saw you sleeping next to me in the hospital six years ago. But even before I knew who you were, I fell in love with you over the past few weeks because you’re one of the sexiest, kindest, most exasperating and amazing women I’ve ever met.”
“Exasperating? How?”
“Point made,” he growled before he bent and nipped at the tips of her fingers before folding them closed and clasping them in his larger ones. “But here’s the bigger issue. And brace yourself, because you might be angry with me once you hear this.” He waited, her body tense as he looked down at her. “I’m the reason your father was finally convicted and sent to prison.” He waited as she absorbed that information in silence. “I won’t accept responsibility for his death in the prison though. That was from one of the enemies he’d made before he was sent away.”
Her relief was intense and overwhelming. A small smile played at the edges of her mouth and she almost laughed at the relief she felt at hearing his words. “How did you do it?” she asked, her amazement growing by leaps and bounds. “How did you get the evidence against him after so many others had tried?”