Page 76 of Heart of Frost and Scars

He’s fine, woman. You can stop touching him.

“Thank you.” He opens his eyes, staring up at her with unsettling adoration.

“Just…be more careful next time.” Her bottom lip trembles, and she looks away, lowering her hand. “No more sneaking up on crazy people.”

“You’re not crazy.”

“Aren’t I?” She heaves a sigh. “Monty, I need to be honest with you.”

He gives her a single nod, his eyes sharp.

“If I find out you aren’t a danger to us,” she says, “I’ll feel really fucking shitty about the way things turned out.” She swallows. “I haven’t been kind. I’ve been too angry for too long, and you don’t deserve that.”

“Frankie…” He holds up a hand.

“Let me finish. If straying from our vows is your greatest sin, I’m a sinner, too.” She gestures at Leo and me, producing a snarl in my throat. “But…but…if you end up hurting us, then I’m a colossal, certified idiot for moving into your house and depending on you to help them. Do you see the position I’m in? You understand what I’m saying?”

Working his jaw, he inclines his head.

“Why are we here?” She glances around as if noticing her surroundings for the first time. “In this room?”

“We thought…” I rub the back of my neck. “If you went outside in the dark so soon after your panic attack, it might make it worse.”

“I see,” she whispers. “The thing is…I don’t have triggers. I mean, I didn’t. I wish I could remember what happened.”

The few times I had a similar episode, I was sleeping, stuck in a nightmare, and reliving traumatic events. I always remembered the details.

I wish I didn’t.

“It’s okay.” I crouch before her and take her hand. “Your mind is protecting you.”

“Why? Nothing has happened to me that hasn’t happened to you.”

“That’s not true. When you came to Hoss, you were trapped with four men twice your size, and we didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat. We were cruel to you. Kept you at a distance. We all went through hell, but I always had my brothers. Those first few months, you were completely alone.”

Her lips purse in a pensive frown. “Denver trapped me against his kitchen counter. I’m talking about the day he held a hypodermic needle to my neck, and Wolf…” Her hand twitches in the cradle of mine. “Wolf was there.”

“I remember.” I lift her fingers to my mouth, warming them with my breath.

“Maybe that’s why…” She nibbles on her cheek. “Maybe that’s what triggered me.”

I don’t have to wonder if she wrote about that day in her journal. One look at Monty confirms it. He stares at the floor, his eyes unblinking, scourged with the knowledge of what happened.

“I’m tired,” she admits, her voice softening. “Can I just rest for a while? By myself?”

“Of course.” Monty pushes to his feet, giving her space. “We’ll be within earshot if you need anything.”

Then, because she’s Frankie, she looks him dead in the eye and asks, “Are you the threat in Denver’s riddle?”

He holds her gaze, his fingers splaying open and his hands falling limply to his sides. “I don’t know.”

“How do you not know? You’re either going to hurt me, or you’re not.”

“I already hurt you. Maybe he believed I would hurt you again.” He rubs his temple. “That’s not my intention.”

“Are you hiding secrets from me?”

“I love you. More than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything. But you already know that.”

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