Zane’s hold on me tightened. “I guess I deserved that.” He sighed heavily. “I’m sorry I made today even worse for you after all you’ve been through.”
I raked my fingernails down his back and back up again. “A wise man once told me the only easy day was yesterday.”
He chuckled. “Wise, huh?”
“Besides, you saved me, and now, you’ve admitted you love me. Today can’t get any better.”
“Oh yes, it can.”
My core clenched, picking up his meaning.
“And now that I have you, I’m not letting you go.”
“Promises, promises.”
A pan clanked in the kitchen. “I’ll have dinner ready in an hour. Will that be enough time for you two lovebirds to make up?”
He whispered in my hair, “I have an idea of how we can make today better.”
I yelped when Zane swept me up into his arms.
“Make it an hour and a half,” he said toward the kitchen as he carried me off.
CHAPTER 44
Zane
The next morning,before leaving my room, I read the text Lucas had sent me before I’d woken.
LUCAS: FYI Suspect is in critical condition. Survival unsure. He’s been identified as Evan Halligan of Cambridge, Mass.
LUCAS: Need you in the office first thing.
The strangler now had a name, one that would join Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy in infamy. I replied to his message before pocketing the phone.
ME: I’ll be in.
After dressing, I strolled into the kitchen.
Mom was at the stove.
“Good morning, Ruppie.”
“Something smells good,” I replied.
Peyton closed the fridge and held up a pitcher. “O-J?”
“Sure.”
She poured a glass. “How’d you sleep?” That was the question I’d be expecting every day for quite a while now.
“Fine, Angel. How about you?”
She set the pitcher down and sauntered toward me. “I missed you.”
I opened my arms to greet my perky ray of sunshine. I’d insisted she couldn’t wake me, or even enter my bedroom until I woke up and came out. Pulling my woman lightly into my arms, I kissed her quickly. I didn’t want to hurt the cuts on her stomach. She felt perfect against me. She was a mix of warm and soft, a perfect way to start the morning.
She looked up and tilted her head. “Any?”
