My heart clenched. I squeezed her hand tighter.
"Becks, that doesn't make you broken. It just means you need time. If Jacob's worth it, and I think he is; he'll wait. The guy will prove it every damn day if he has to."
She let out a slight laugh.
"He is handsome, but he is also an assassin, like Atlas."
I shrugged. A small smile crept across my face.
"I had the same issue in the beginning, but they don't hurt good people, Beck. You ought to know that from the shit we just went through." My lips lifted into a devilish grin. "Besides, he will protect you at all costs. You would always be safe with him."
"I guess you're right," she said. "If killers like them didn't exist, we'd have been sold separately and living with some sick, demented pervert right now."
I smiled, still holding her hand. "That's right. We'd be fucking toast, so don't let what he does for a living stand in the way of something that could flourish into a great love story."
She let out a shaky laugh. "But what if he tires of waiting? What if I never….get there?"
"Then he's an idiot, and I'll personally kick his ass," I said firmly, a little grin tugging at my lips. "But honestly, all jokes aside? I don't think he'll get tired. Have you seen the way he looks at you? Like you're the only thing in the room that matters."
Her cheeks flushed, a hint of color spreading across her face. "You really think so, Kit?"
"I know so, and it's not pity. Jacob, like Atlas, doesn't do pity. He wants you. All of you. The good, the bad andthe splintered, but until you're ready, he'll settle for just being there for you. And that's okay."
Becca sighed, leaning back against the headboard.
"Sometimes I wonder if I even know what ready means anymore." I curled up beside her, my head lounging on her arm. "You'll know. When it feels like you're breathing again instead of choking. Until then? You've got me, Atlas, Jacob and Layla."
She flinched at the mention of Layla's name.
"Now that we're out of that living hell, I feel so much shame for what I did with Layla."
She looked at me; tears threatening to fall.
"I know Atlas and Jacob saw the footage of everything that went on in that shithole, and I feel so humiliated."
I turned my head to look at her.
"Don't you dare feel embarrassed about anything that happened. All of us did things we aren't proud of, but we were forced into those degrading situations, Beck. There is no shame in that, and don't you ever think badly of yourself."
Beck shrugged, looking straight ahead deep in thought.
"I know Kit. It's just hard to push it from my mind sometimes. That's all."
I tried to lighten the mood a little bit.
"Don't feel alone, Beck. Look what happened between me and Layla. She went down on me, sending me over the edge multiple times, and I sucked a fucking dick for some turkey and potatoes! That's pretty bad."
I wasn't making light of what we went through, but when I thought about it, the whole thing was absolutely crazy.
My words made Becca laugh, really laugh, the sound fragile but real. She nudged me with her shoulder.
"You're fucking impossible, you know that?"
"Yeah," I said, smiling against the warmth of her. "But you love me anyway."
"I do." She said and then whispered, "Thank you for not giving up on me, Kit."
I closed my eyes, holding onto the moment.
