She rolls those stunning baby blues. “It wasn’t on purpose. I didn’t follow him there or anything. Although he accused me of that after the fact.” She huffs. “That’s beside the point.”
“You’re gonna need to be far more specific.”
“Don’t worry, okay? I was very safe and smart. Lance was at a bar in Acklyn—”
“What were you doing way out there?”
Sutton presses a finger to my lips. “Shh, let me finish. I needed out of Silo Springs for a night. A little space from the shadowed stares and forced condolences. Bumping into Lance was a total accident. He was the last person I ever wanted to see. But it turned out to be a seriously crazy amazing coincidence. He blabbed his entire diabolical plan, from start to finish. I heard the entire thing.”
I swallow the bellow clawing up my windpipe and focus on the good. “I want to hear everything, beautiful. Keep talking to me. Your voice is a choir of singing angels. This is like walking through the gates of heaven.”
She giggles. “I think you’re delusional.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me.” I stroke a thumb across her damp cheek. “Tell me all of it.”
And she does. Sutton pours out every disturbing detail. I do my best to tame the rage roaring inside of me while she recounts his purge. She finishes with a massive exhale, as if the weight has vanished off her chest. I know the feeling well.
I press my lips to her forehead. “Damn. Where is he now?”
She shrugs into me. “Hell if I care. Chief Wilson assured me Lance would no longer be a concern. He’s supposed to call you later.”
“Me?”
“Yup. Clear the air and all that.”
I scrub the back of my neck. “Wow, that’s heavy.”
Sutton nuzzles against my throat. “You were wrongfully accused, Gray. The city has some apologizing to do.”
“It’s not their fault Lance is insane.”
“True, but they hired him.”
“Speaking of, how’d that fly?”
“Turns out Lance’s parents have been hiding his illness for over a decade. He’s very mentally unstable. The records are sealed tight and buried deep. That’s why he had no trouble becoming a cop. He appeared squeaky clean.”
Another load of kindling doused in gasoline gets thrown on the fire in my gut. “What a rat.”
She nods. “The worst kind.”
I cool the flames in my blood with a quick drink off her lips. “I’m so thankful for you, Sutt.”
She blinks up at me. “So, you’re not upset?”
I lift a brow. “How could I be?”
“Maybe I stepped a tad out of bounds?”
That earns her a chuckle, the first genuine one in almost two weeks. “I love you so damn much, Sutt.”
Her sigh says it all. “Love you, Gray. I can’t even describe how much. It’s beyond reason.”
“Marry me,” I blurt. The question has been on my mind, but I didn’t plan to ask in this moment. Maybe it was meant to happen here, releasing inhibitions and setting my intention free. Nothing has ever felt so... us.
Sutton’s blue gaze snaps wide open. “W-what?”
I kiss her parted mouth and smile against my greatest gift. My words are shared between us. “I just survived ten days in the bowels of hell. That place is meant to break a man. But I’m looking forward, at you and us and everything we’re meant for. We’re destined for only good so long as we’re one.”
