"I love you," she whispers.
"I love you too."
"Don't ever scare me like that again."
"I'll try not to."
"That's not good enough."
"It's all I have." I press a kiss to her hair. "But I'll always fight to come back to you. That I can promise."
She's quiet for a moment. "I'll hold you to that."
"I'm counting on it."
We lie there together, tangled up in each other, listening to the beep of the monitors and the distant sounds of the clubhouse.
And for the first time since I woke up, I feel at peace.
CHAPTER TEN
Ingrid
Two weeks.
It's been two weeks since Gunnar almost died on that steel table.
Two weeks of watching him heal, slowly but steadily.
Two weeks of sleeping beside him every night in his too-small bed at the clubhouse, careful not to bump his injured side.
Two weeks of being his ol’ lady.
And I still haven't gotten my stuff from Trisha's house.
I've been putting it off.
Making excuses.
Too busy taking care of Gunnar.
Too tired from work.
Too focused on looking at rental listings online.
But the truth is simpler than that.
I'm dreading it.
Dreading seeing Trisha and Angela again.
Dreading whatever poison they're going to spit at me.
Dreading the confrontation I know is coming.
But I can't avoid it forever.
My clothes are there.
