Page 68 of Hold Me Until Morning

Cody stood facing away, a giant in the night, eyes on the ground and his shoulders heaving in spastic quakes.

I took a couple tentative steps toward him. My voice was barely a whisper when I spoke. “Are you okay?”

The shake of his head was harsh, and I could almost see the aggression still lining his muscles. All the easygoing casualness he normally wore had gone completely missing and in its place was a frisson of volatility.

“It’s not me I’m worried about, Hailey.”

“I’m completely fine, Cody. You didn’t need to do that.”

He peered back at me.

Golden eyes flashed beneath the dingy light that hung from the side of the building. “You don’t think I’m going to stand aside and let someone I care about get hurt, do you? I never should have let you go to begin with.”

My chest panged.

I never should have let you go.

But he would. He’d already made it clear. And standing there right then made me sure him walking away would break me.

Still, I pushed out the jagged words. “It was just some jerk who had too much to drink. He barely caught my chin. I’m completely fine. It’s you he attacked, though I doubt very much he anticipated the retaliation you inflicted.”

Sighing, Cody scrubbed one of those big palms over his face. “I lost it, and I’m sorry for that. I just…”

He trailed off like he didn’t know what to say. Or maybe he was scared to admit it.

“I ruined the night,” he settled on.

“You didn’t ruin it. It’s one of the best nights I’ve had in a long, long time.”

“Until the end.”

“It’s not over yet.” I attempted to play it a tease, but it came out all wrong, and I knew immediately where his mind had gone. That unflinching gaze flamed, and my stomach twisted, and God, this was getting complicated.

“I think I’m ready to go home, if you are?” I managed.

A rough chuckle skated up his throat. “I doubt much I’m welcome in Mack’s right about now. I’m lucky Ezra was here.”

“He knows you were protecting me.”

“He also knows I can be a bit of a hothead.” He looked away for a beat before he returned his attention to me. “But I won’t regret standing up for you. It’s just the way I am, Hailey. I protect those I care about. I take care of them. Whatever the cost.”

A warning was woven in the words, and I knew this man went much deeper than the careless smiles and smirks. I thought if I looked close enough, I might be able to see the ghosts that gathered around him, phantoms that played in the night.

I was worried every single one of them might be a partner to mine.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I murmured.

“It is if you knew the lengths I’d go.”

That warning had gone dark.

I wanted to press him. Push him to open up. But the door clattered open behind me, and I shifted to look at a group of people who came stumbling out, laughing and breaking the moment.

When I turned back, Cody had stretched out his hand. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

Tentatively, I walked toward him, taking one step, then two.

The power of his presence grew the closer I came.

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