I just needed Winder’s arms wrapped around me to hold together all my broken pieces.
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
WINDER
It was a strange contradiction, to have everything you’d ever wanted within reach, yet be terrified of it being ripped away at any given moment.
Two thoughts kept cycling in my head, a mantra I wanted to erase. One, I kept expecting Blaire to realize who I really was, and to run away without a goodbye. Two, I was petrified Conrad was going to storm in and demand what was owed to him.
Blaire still snored beside me, and I shifted her slightly so I could roll her off my arm. I touched her shoulder.
“Baby, we have to get up. I have some people we need to meet with.”
She blinked up at me, still drifting in a dream world. Hopefully they had been good dreams, considering she hadn’t stirred beside me all night. At least, I hoped she hadn’t.
“Where are we going?” she murmured.
“I spoke with a couple people who might know where we can find Conrad. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather find him before he finds us.” I rolled off the bed, kicking through the piles of clothes on the floor. I needed to tidy at some point, but my brain had been a bit preoccupied.
Blaire sat up, red hair spilling over her shoulder, shining in the early sun streaming in through the window. “I’m not going to lie and say I’m not scared, because I am. But I think I’d rather deal with it head on instead of living the rest of my life in fear. If we meet him first, maybe we can use the element of surprise to our advantage.”
I grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her off the bed. “That’s my girl.”
She stood, looking down at a T-shirt of mine she wore. “I think I’m going to need some different clothes.”
“As much as I love having you in my clothes, and Iloveseeing you in my clothes, I agree.” I ran my gaze over her smooth skin, lingering where my shirt stopped.
“No short dresses.” Blaire’s smile was infectious this morning.
Maybe she felt it, too. The feeling that change was in the air. Or maybe I was just delusional from sleeping next to her all night.
“No short dresses,” I agreed. “Luckily, I grabbed you some things when I was out yesterday. I was a little too distracted by everything to tell you.”
I found the shopping bag I had dropped the day before, tossing it to her. Blaire rummaged through the clothes.
“I had to guess your size.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “And I’m sure they aren’t what you would normally wear, but I thought you’d be kind of sick of wearing my stuff by now.”
“They’re perfect.” She smiled up at me, and tugged off my shirt.
It was too much to look at her perfect body in front of me, the smooth lines of her curves, and the way her hip had the cutest little dimple I wanted to press my lips to. I needed to look away before I was caught in her trap forever.
Instead of admiring Blaire’s body like I so desperately wanted to, I stuffed my hands in my pockets and looked out the window.
“Where are we going today?” Her voice was muffled as I pictured her pulling the shirt over her head.
“We’re going to meet an old friend of mine, Adam. He’s still in Conrad’s inner circle. If anyone knows where Conrad is, he will.” My eyes wanted to watch Blaire getting dressed so badly it was almost unbearable.
“I’m ready.”
I whipped around. The jeans and sweater I’d chosen weren’t the best, but they fit her better than my oversized shirts she’d been wearing for days. “You’re beautiful.”
Blaire gave me a crooked smile. “I’m really not sure what you see in me, but I’ll take it.”
“One day, I will go into exact detail about what I see in you. Unfortunately, right now, we don’t have the time I would need.” I reached for her hand, pulling her beside me. “But I promise you, I will.”
I heard from my sources that Adam was going to be down by the river today, meeting with someone I didn’t know, and didn’t care about. I just needed to make sure we got there before he disappeared into thin air, a talent only he had. He was nearly impossible to track down. His fear of the government meant he didn’t trust them not to bug his phone, and he switched up burner phones on a regular basis. I wasn’t even sure where he lived.
