He smirks at my growing blush, then chuckles. “Among other things.”
Pressing his forehead to mine for a second, he rubs my lower back, then walks into the building. Knox brushes his hand along mine and nods to me once, like a promise that we’re fine. Thateverythingwill be fine.
Dimitri ignores me, walks past me like I’m not there. He doesn’t even hold the door, but he doesn’t jerk it shut either.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath.Just focus on work. Not Gauge, not Dimitri. Just work.
Because trying to focus on anything else will kill me.
Still, in those moments between rounds of treatment, my mind wanders. But I try to keep myself in check and not let myself drown. Never again.
My appointment with Jax helps, since he’s all sweetness and warmth, all gentle reassurances and flirting only he can get away with considering how naughty it is.
“What are we going to do? They found the cabin, it’s only a matter of—”
He cups my cheeks in his hands and kisses my forehead, then between my eyebrows, and finally my lips. I shudder and remember how perfect he felt inside me. Thick, big,good.
“I promised you’ll always be safe. I mean it, Hope. You’ve done enough and been through enough,” he whispers and walks out of my office.
But it doesn’t feel like I’m safe. Maybe physically. But the weight of knowing that Knox is ready to throw himself to my defense and take the blame is too heavy for me to shoulder. I have to remind myself that the police don’t have the answers that would bring them to our front door.
Yet.
“Delivery for you, Hope,” Coach Carpenter says as he opens the door. He looks at me and nods. “If you need more time or anything—”
“No. Really. Work is keeping me from going a little crazy,” I say with the best smile I can manage.
“I’m glad it’s not more on the stress pile,” he answers with a shrug before offering me a box.
Once he walks away, I lock the door, not knowing who the package is from. There’s no return address. My brow furrows, but I open it slowly, using the pocketknife Jax got me.
I almost drop the box when I see what’s inside. I bite my tongue to muffle my scream and stumble back, tripping over my feet and landing on my ass, still able to see what’s in the box.
My father’s hand, wedding band still there, and a bullet casing.
My eyes water, twisting the decomposing hand into something alive and every blink makes it move, like it’s trying to crawl out of the box to strangle me or shove the bullet into my mouth so I choke on it.
Jax… Knox…
I want any of my guys, but since Dimitri’s taken himself out of the game, I feel like I only have two options at the moment. I force myself to close the box and shove it in my bottom drawer, locking it. I can’t let anyone else see this.
They can’t take it in for evidence. They’ll find him.
And I need to find someone to give me sanity.
My stomach twists and I press my lips tightly together as I hurry out of my office. I try to stay calm as my eyes scan forKnox. I don’t know where he is, why he isn’t here with the rest of his team. Jaxon’s missing too.
“Ben! Where are Knox and Jaxon?” I ask.
“Um… I think Coach Carpenter is talking to Jaxon about plays. Knox… honestly, I’m just trying to stay out of his way,” Ben says.
My eyes flick around the room again and again as I bounce from foot to foot, probably confusing plenty of the people around me, but anxiety requires an outlet and screaming isn’t an option.
Then my eyes land on Dimitri, who’s watching me between sets of squat presses.
DIMITRI
Hope’s terrified, anxious, and about to burst. I recognize the signs. But I also recognize that she was looking for Jaxon or Knox first. Because she always wants them. She always chooses them, goes to them. She makes me into the pitiful tagalong fighting for scraps her of attention.
