Page 76 of Tainted Love

I tilt my head up to find both of them grinning across the table at him. “What?” I ask, my voice quivering.

Lilah pushes out of her chair and rushes around the table to throw her arms around Dante’s thick shoulders. “That was beautiful,” she says.

Elijah’s chair drags out and he runs around the other side to add his own hug to their embrace.

“Ahh, jeez…” Dante lowers his head, slinking away from them. “Does this mean you two are staying?”

“Oh, hell no,” Elijah answers.

“No, we’re heading toward Denver today,” Lilah says as they stand up tall. “We’re just happy you’re not.”

I laugh with awkward confusion, drawing their eyes toward me.

Elijah pats my shoulder. “I’ll get you another dose, Lucy,” he says.

Lilah wraps her arms around my shoulders, careful not to jerk me too much. “It’s about time there was another woman around here. These guys can be such a pain in my ass…”

“Leave her alone,” Dante says playfully.

“It’s okay…” I laugh again.

I look around me, overwhelmed with fresh emotions — ones I’ve never felt before. My own family fell apart a long time ago. I never had siblings to help bear that weight. The Harts may be a family of killers, but they’ve accepted me as their own.

In the end, maybe it’s better to have a killer’s protection than a saint’s approval.

Elijah withdrawals a new needle from his kit to inject me with. “This is the last of it,” he says to me. “You’ll have to manage the pain yourself from here on out the old-fashioned way.”

“I can handle it,” I say, completely forgetting about my fear of needles.

He looks at Dante. “Do not let her walk on it. At least for the first few weeks. Then, you guys can play it by ear.”

“I’ll take care of her,” Dante answers.

“I know you will.” Elijah shoots him a wink before leaning over to concentrate on my knee.

Lilah slides her laptop into her bag. “We hate to eat and run but we have daylight to burn and a hacker to track down. I’ll keep you updated.”

Dante nods and stands to hug his sister goodbye. “Good luck.”

“I always need it.”

“And be careful.”

“I never am,” she jokes, planting a kiss on his cheek. She pulls away from him and Elijah stands up to take her place.

I look down, realizing that Elijah’s already injected me with those magic hands of his. Warmth glides through my leg, tingling my nerves until they go numb.

“Take care of my big brother, Lucy,” Lilah tells me. “He can be quite the nuisance...”

“I’ve noticed,” I say.

Dante glares down at me, his eyes full of amusement and love.

Love.

It sinks in slowly, curling around my heart like a snake’s endless tail.

Dante Hart loves me. He said as much at this very table, dancing around the words, but the intention was obvious.

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