Page 88 of Hold Me Until Morning

“Good. Let him think we’re together. Let him think you’re mine.”

Oxygen left her lungs on a puff that I wanted to inhale. Blue eyes flicked all over my face.

“You want to provoke the devil?”

“What better way to get rid of the bastard than for him to think he’s competing with me?”

I went for light when I knew what was riding on this. The importance. This wasn’t some fucking game that I was playing.

She was worth it.

Worth it.

Uncertainty played through her features, and she was nibbling at that plump bottom lip the way she always did when she was unsure. A million secrets playing out that she struggled to keep concealed.

“I don’t think you understand who you’re dealing with.”

Reaching out, I brushed the pad of my thumb over that lip that drove me wild. This girl something that I couldn’t shake. “Doesn’t matter, Hailey. It doesn’t matter who he is or what he’s capable of. You’re worth it.”

We froze like that, so close that I was inhaling every panted breath that she released.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the back screen door clattered open then slammed shut as an excited screech came ringing out, “Mr. Cody! What are you doin’ here?”

I turned to find Hailey’s little girl come bounding our way, a mess of frizzy blonde curls framing her adorable face. Cheeks chubby and denting in these adorable dimples.

I glanced at Hailey, almost asking for permission, before I turned back to her daughter. “Ah, well, my hot water stopped working, so I asked your mom if it would be okay if I hung out here for a few days until I get it fixed.”

Seemed a viable excuse for the kid.

Maddie came right up to my side and took my hand. My chest tightened. God, she was cute.

“Well, I think that is a very good idea because we got to be neighborly, and when our neighbor has a big problem, we gotta help them with it.”

Warmth streaked. Different. This coil inside promising I would do whatever it took to protect them. To keep them safe.

I shifted to look at Hailey. At this woman who needled even deeper.

I knew better. I’d dug my grave a long time ago, and I’d been waiting for the day that I finally got dragged into it.

But maybe I had a chance to do something right. Stand for beauty when some monster was trying to rip it apart.

I squeezed her daughter’s hand, heart getting battered by the amount of emotion slamming into me.

I couldn’t look away from Hailey when I murmured, “That’s right, we have to help our neighbors when they have a big problem.”

And I’d be willing to give everything to solve hers.

EIGHTEEN

HAILEY

This was a disaster.

My thundering heart clobbered the base of my throat like a bass drum, my nerves so uncontrolled I could barely walk a straight line as I moved to the linen closet in the hall that was nestled next to the bathroom Maddie and Lolly shared.

I ripped open the door and frantically dug around for a blanket and pillow.

Flustered.

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