Shadow was already by the door and rubbed his body against Hector’s legs. I didn’t know if he could sense that I needed comforting or what, but for the first time ever, he came over to me and brushed against my leg in a hello. If I weren’t already an emotional mess, that tiny action would have done me in.
Hector witnessed the entire thing and shot a smile my way before quickly going to disarm the alarm. I watched him punch in the PIN.
Zero-seven-one-two.
Four little numbers that I still didn’t know the meaning of. Hector tried to pull me into the living room, but I stayed in place.
He turned back to me with a questioning gaze.
“What does it mean?”
Hector looked even more confused by the sudden question.
“The PIN: zero-seven-one-two. What does it mean?” I clarified.
Hector blushed, clearly flustered. It wasthe same reaction as when I’d asked the first time, and he gave me a bullshit answer.
I hadn’t pushed then, but right now I needed something. It didn’t have to bethisin particular, but I needed a fact to ground me. Something that was his, that proved that we really were home and safe and okay. And the PIN was the first thing that we came across.
“It’s, um…” Hector rubbed the back of his neck. His brow twitched, which caused his scar to wiggle as well. “July twelve. The day you first told me you liked me,” he answered quietly.
I didn’t know what answer I’d expected, but surely it wasn’t that. And that must be the explanation for the sudden tears that I couldn’t stop.
“Hey, hey, love.” Hector was quick to cup my face to try to wipe the tears away.
My hands covered his, needing to just touch him, and I looked at him.
Really looked at him.
This man, who found me, a complete stranger, crying in his diner, and comforted me just because he could. This man, who remembered some insignificant day that I’d long forgotten about, all because of something I’d said. This man, who hid his soft side from the world but bared it all for me to see. This man, who made me feel so loved that I never once doubted his feelings for me.
Fear still rocked through me at the thought of losing him.
“I…I thought something had happened to you,” I sobbed. “The note implied he had you. I thought he had you. I thought he’d hurt you or even worse. And it would have all been my fault.Iwas the one who told you he wasn’t dangerous.Iwas the one who came up with this stupid plan and put everyone in danger. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost you.”
My words were jumbled, and I didn’t know if Hector could even understand me through my tears. His callused thumb continued stroking my cheek to catch the stray tears. The roughness of his finger was another reassurance that he was alive and right in front of me.
“I’m okay, love,” Hector murmured softly. “I’m right here. We’re safe. We captured the bad guy and caught everything on video: his trying to hurt you, trying to kidnap you, and threatening to kill me. They’re going to put him away for a long time. We’re safe.”
One last sob tore through me. This one was more like an emptying of self, like exuding all these terrible emotions until I could focus on the one thing that really mattered.
Hector.
In front of me. Brown hair speckled with gray, tossed in every direction. Light pink scar through his left brow and temple. Kind brown eyes that were currently filled with worry but also life.
In them, I saw myself and our future. A happy one. One that I was determined to have with him.
“I love you,” I said. It was really all that needed to be said right now.
Hector’s eyes softened, and he brought his lips to mine in a kiss that breathed life back into me. I gasped as every single cell inside my body called to him. The tears stopped, and the only thing that existed was Hector’s mouth on mine.
“Need you. Need to feel you.” I pressed the words onto his lips.
Hector’s hands found my ass as he lifted me from the ground. I was surprised by the sudden show of power, but I wasn’t complaining. I wrapped my legs around his waist and let him carry me wherever the hell he wanted. My eyes were closed, and my sole task was to fill all my senses with him.
When Hector set me down, I found myself in the bathroom.
“He touched you,” he said hoarsely. His hand slid down my neck, where the fucker had licked me. His touch had only made my skin crawl, but Hector’s brought it back to life.
