I shoved the door of the vehicle closed behind me, about to make my way toward him, but he was faster.
He came straight for me.
29
Roman
Shewasanidiot.
Palmer was supposed to stay where it was safe.
Instead, she stood right in front of me, staring at me like I was the most important thing she’d ever seen in her life.
It was thrilling and terrifying, like a knife twisting in my gut.
I stopped a few feet short of the SUV. “What are you doing here?”
I couldn’t believe she’d come back.
Her bandaged fingertips tugged nervously at the sleeves of her cardigan. She didn’t answer right away, eyes lowered like she was bracing for a scolding.
My jaw tightened. “Palmer.”
Still nothing.
She wouldn’t look at me.
I closed the distance between us in two strides and slid my fingers beneath her chin. I tipped her face up toward mine.
My mouth went dry.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her until she was gone.
“Why did you come back?” I asked, quieter this time.
Her lips pressed together before she finally spoke.
“Because I couldn’t stay away,” she said softly. “I want to be by your side, Roman, even if you don’t want me anymore.”
The words hit me square in the chest. She had only been here a few weeks, and yet it was like she’d bore into me, into places I hadn’t allowed anyone to touch in years. The issue wasn’t that I didn’t want her…it was that I did.
I was furious she’d come, and relieved she was here.
Did she understand the kind of danger circling us now?
I should’ve sent her right back to the safe house, where she was protected.
But when I looked at her, I didn’t see recklessness. I saw loyalty hard as steel behind her eyes.
My grip on her chin softened. My thumb brushed along her jaw before I let my hand drop.
“Come on.” I stepped closer so my body shielded hers from the cold. “Let’s get you inside. You’ve got to be tired.”
Her shoulders relaxed.
I couldn’t take her hand with her palms wrapped in white gauze. Instead, I held her wrist carefully, like she might splinter if I was too rough.
Shoving down the rising panic, I led her past my brothers, who lingered on the porch. They followed as I pulled Palmer inside the house, but stayed in the foyer as we continued up the stairs.
