Page 79 of Catch Me When I Fall

He would be the only man to ever touch me again.

“Please touch me,” I pleaded as another tear fell onto my cheek. “I need—I need…” I trailed off, yanking on the zip-ties, looking up to where Leo bound me. I felt something cover my lower half, and then, a second later, the bed dipped, and Grayson’s upper body loomed over me, his jaw tight as he flicked open a pocketknife.

“Stay still,” he murmured, his eyes on my wrists. “Don’t wanna cut you.”

I stared up at him, a comforting warmth spreading over my body, despite still being dizzy. My body was fighting to stay in the present.

I was okay.

I would be okay.

Grayson was here now.

Everything was okay.

He positioned the knife and yanked up, freeing me. Gently, he pulled the plastic from my skin and the headboard, tossing it aside. “Come here,” he ordered softly, guiding me to sit up. When we were finally face-to-face, his hands dropped to my chest, pulling my blouse closed, taking his time buttoning it up, holding my eyes.

“Thank you,” I murmured, my words slurred slightly. I blinked again, trying to shake off the heavy feeling.

“Don’t,” Grayson whispered, his voice rough.

Before I could respond, he was standing back up, walking around the bed, his eyes on the body. I peeled my eyes from him to find that he’d covered my lower half with the throw blanket that was usually on the window seat. My throat closed, emotions I’d never felt welling inside my chest.

I returned my attention to Grayson, watching him pull out his phone, and put it to his ear.

“White snake,” he clipped into the phone. My eyes dropped to his hand, focusing on his tattoo, widening as I realized what it was.

The head of a white snake.

I felt my lips part as he ended the call, putting the phone back into the pocket of his black cargo pants.

“Grayson?” I called tentatively.

His head turned to me, and my heart stopped at the agony etched into his features. “Yeah, baby?”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

Everything went black.

Chapter 21

Grayson

“Fuck,” I rumbled, forgetting the body of the man who tried to rape my woman, walking around to her side of the bed. Gently, I pushed her head back onto the pillow and checked her temp. Her cheeks were burning up.

The bastard drugged her, and I needed to find out with what.

Carrie’s blonde curls were splayed out around her head, the moonlight making them brighter, like a sun in the night. My sunshine. Grinding my molars, I gently lifted her wrist and checked her pulse, my eyes on her faint scars.

My cell vibrated in my pocket, and I didn’t need to look at the screen to know who it was.

Without taking my eyes from her, I pulled it and put the device to my ear.

“Grayson,” I answered as calmly as I could, my voice shaking with an anger I’d never felt.

“What the fuck happened?” Hayes demanded, his voice hard. “Dominic just put out code: White Snake to the team. Fuck, do we have to hide another body?”

“I need someone here in five hours,” I replied, brushing my knuckle over Carrie’s cheek before turning away and heading to the body.

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