He studies me with narrowed eyes, waiting for an answer. For the words. They’re there—on the tip of my tongue. But saying them? That’s hard.Hopeis hard. And that’s what he’s offering.
I clear my throat and manage a nod. “Crystal.”
* * *
Dani
I unzip the sleeping bags so we can both stretch out on one and use the other as a blanket. Trevor winces as he sinks down beside me. Every time he looks at me, it’s like all he sees is the new scar on my cheek. I haven’t even tried to see it, but I spread some of the burn gel over it a few minutes ago, and it’s…not small.
Seconds after he sprawls out, he’s asleep, and though my heart aches and I want nothing more than to wake him up and ask him to talk to me, I know he’s exhausted. The first-hand reports from survivors of The Crypt were so horrible.
Extreme sleep deprivation, constant blinding lights, frigid cold, barely enough food and water to survive. Ryker pulled me aside before we got into the van and told me he’d seen the cell Ochoa had kept Trevor in. So small, he’d have been unable to straighten his legs. No wonder he couldn’t walk when the general brought him to me.
I don’t touch him when I lie down, but I stay close. I need him. Need to know he’s here with me. Even if only a piece of him.
“I love you, Trevor. I always will.”
* * *
Strong hands reachfor me in the darkness, and I mold my body to Trevor’s. He’s shaking, and as I wrap my arms around him, hot tears hit my shoulder. “Dani,” he whispers, his voice hoarse. “You’re really here?”
“Yes,mi amor. I’m really here.” I don’t know why I choose that particular phrase. I know Spanish like I know my own name, but I haven’t spoken it outside of Venezuela since Gil died. Still, it seems right in this moment. “You’re safe.”
“Why did you come for me?” His tone holds so much pain, I want to cry. “I’m not worth—“
“Stop that. Right now.” In the darkness, I frame his face with my hands and press my lips to his. I don’t pull away until his fingers comb through my hair and land on the back of my neck. “You are everything to me,” I whisper as I take his other hand and guide his fingers under my shirt to my tattoo. “You’re my true north, Trevor. My home. The only place I ever want to be.”
Trevor struggles to hold it all in, his entire body rigid.
“I know, Trev. I know.” It’s all I can offer him. “What was down on Sublevel Five. Wren found reports from two prisoners who’d spent time there. We saw the blueprints. The cells. The forced air system. I can put it all together,mi amor. You don’t have to tell me. Just let me love you.”
His quiet sobs break me, and I cry with him.
“I love you, Daniella,” he whispers.
Something deep inside me settles, and when Trevor kisses me, I know he’ll be okay. We’ll be okay. Eventually. It’ll take time, but we have each other.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Trevor
Home.The plane touched down at Logan half an hour ago. Ronan said his goodbyes before we hit Customs since he still maintains his Irish citizenship. He’s taking the T home, but Ford leans against a pillar just past the sliding doors, with Dax standing stiffly next to him. “Need a lift?” Ford asks as he pulls me in for a quick hug.
“Careful,” I say when he moves to embrace Dani. “She’s—“
“Fine.” Dani glares at me for a split second before rising up on her toes to wrap an arm around Ford.
She’s not. Though she tried to keep her voice down this morning, I overheard her telling Graham that her face hurt every time she moved. The bruises are so much worse today, and that damn burn on her cheek is going to pain her every day for weeks. Graham cleaned and treated it before we left, and when she came back to the little room we’d slept in, tears still shimmered in her eyes.
“Dax.”
He doesn’t like to be touched, so I’m not expecting him to move, but he claps his hand on my shoulder and leans in. “You need to talk about what you went through, you call me. Understood? I made the mistake of keeping all my shit locked up tight for years. Don’t do that to yourself or to Dani.”
“Understood,” I manage, though I don’t know how. The lump in my throat feels like it’s the size of a baseball.
“You ready to go home?” Ford says with a nod at the terminal’s sliding doors.
Dani answers for both of us. “Yes. Very.”
