He pulls me toward his room, away from the others.Away from watching eyes.
When we're alone, he takes both my hands and holds them between us.
"It's done," he says quietly."Declan can't hurt you anymore."
The words take a second to process.Then they hit.
It's done.
Declan can't hurt me.
Which means...
"Devin."My voice comes out strangled."What did you do?"
He holds my gaze.Steady.Unflinching."What I had to."
The implication lands like a physical blow.
Declan's dead.
Devin killed him.
For me.
Everything inside me unravels at once.Years of terror.Years of looking over my shoulder.Years of being scared.It all comes flooding out in one massive wave.
I sob.Hard.Ugly.I can't breathe properly.Can't stand properly.I collapse against Devin and let it all out.
"I'm sorry," I gasp between sobs."I'm so sorry.This is my fault.You did this because of me.You killed someone because of me and I'm sorry.I'm so sorry?—"
"Hey."He cups my face and forces me to look at him."Stop.You don't apologize for surviving.You don't apologize for me choosing to protect you."
"But you?—"
"I did what needed to be done.To keep you safe.To keep Warren safe.And I'd do it again."
The certainty in his voice.The lack of regret.It should scare me.
Instead, it makes me feel safer than I've felt in years.
"Are you okay?"I ask."After doing that?Are you..."
He's quiet for a moment.Then: "I'll live.And I don't regret it.Not for a second."
"I'm relieved," I whisper.The admission feels wrong and twisted."I'm relieved he's dead.Does that make me like him?"
"No."Devin's voice is fierce."It makes you human.It makes you someone who's been terrorized for years finally feeling safe.You're nothing like him.Nothing."
I press my face back against his chest and just breathe him in.Leather and smoke and something uniquely Devin that grounds me.
"I thought I'd lose you tonight," I admit, my voice muffled."And I realized I care about you more than I should.More than makes sense after such a short time."
He goes very still.Then his arms tighten around me.
"I'm not going anywhere," he says softly.
I lift my head.Our foreheads touch.His breath mingles with mine.This close, I can see every bruise.Every mark.Every sign of what he did for me.
