Page 149 of Hold Me Until Morning

It was so much and so soon, and I knew he wanted to be there for us, but I didn’t think he had the first clue of what that really was going to mean.

Hell, neither did I. There was no certainty of what we’d be facing.

I’d been hoping that Pruitt was here to play the victim. Going to my father and acting the good guy when he was nothing but a villain.

Deranged.

Drunk on power and money.

But I couldn’t rest in the hope of that any longer.

And I didn’t know how to fix it. Where to go from here. I’d been set on facing this head-on, but I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough.

Brave enough.

I wanted to be.

I wanted to stand like Cody and claim the one thing that my heart was aching for.

Because I did feel it. I’d felt the power that had pulled between us since the first time I’d turned to find him standing in the moving truck. Had felt it all those years ago, even though I’d buried it in a grave of sorrow and shame and remorse.

I pulled my hand away from where he had it pinned to the raging at his chest, and I started dabbing at the wounds on his face again, gently cleaning the blood away, my heart cracking further when I forced myself to whisper, “I’m wondering if maybe I should take Maddie away from here. Someplace where Pruitt is not.”

I might as well have been dragging a dull blade across my flesh as I said it.

Tormented at the thought of walking away from here.

Walking away from him.

Cody had me pinned against the wall so fast I didn’t even realize what had happened.

A raging fortress that towered over me.

Eclipsing reason and sight.

Big hands gripped me by both sides of the face, and he leaned down, his voice near to a growl. “You want to run, Hailey? Then I’ll run with you. You want to fight? Then I’ll fight for you. But what I’m not willing to do is let you go. Not when you’re doing it out of fear.”

“I’ve been afraid for years, Cody. For years. And now?—”

“And now you have me.”

He swooped down and captured my mouth, stealing the terror from my lungs. Swallowing it as he kissed me deeper, those hands on my face holding me firm and sure.

His tongue stroked over mine.

A demand.

An oath.

Lightheadedness swept through my head, and my knees went weak.

I was overwhelmed.

Taken.

Destitute.

Found.

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