I’m thinking that I’ve missed him and that I understand why he did what he did.
I’m thinking I would have done whatever I had to in order to protect him back then.
And maybe I’m thinking that might still be true even after all this time.
“Baby,” he murmurs and I jump again.
My eyes go to the door. “I need to tell them what I know.”
“You told us enough for now,” he says. “Pascal needs time to work, and you need some space to recover.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you?”
There’s something about his tone that lifts the hairs on my nape and I back up slowly, putting the couch between us. “Yes.”
“Hmm.” He moves to the door, fiddles with the handle.
“What are you doing?” I ask as he walks by me.
“Checking the locks.” Then he does the same with the balcony doors.
But it’s when he turns back toward me that my lungs seize.
Because the look in his eyes?—
“So…do you still hate me?”
TWENTY-FIVE
BROOKS
She’s so fucking cute,I want to kiss her.
But I need to know her answer to my question.
She lifts a hand and though part of me despises that it’s trembling, I don’t take my question back.
I just walk toward her.
And stay silent.
She nibbles at the corner of her mouth and looks away.
Which…pours icy cold water on the desire rippling through me, on my plans to kiss her senseless, to pin her against the wall and fuck her mouth with my tongue…to fuck other parts.
But her reply comes even as that frost is skating down my spine.
“No,” she murmurs. “No.” Her head comes up, eyes connecting with mine. “I tried to—so damned hard. And I hated what you did. Hated what you made me feel. Hated what you took away.” She sighs, her gaze skating away. “But no, I don’t think I ever truly hated you.”
I exhale.
“And now—” She shakes her head.
“Now what?”
She’s quiet for a long time, but I don’t move, don’t push. “Now, I guess…I understand. What it’s like to be under that pressure, the way the fear grips you, how you never feel safe because the moment you let your guard down or think you’ve figured out a way to get clear of it…they’ll make it obvious they’re in charge. That they can get you anywhere.”
