Page 29 of Unbroken

“Who—who was it?” Josh asked.

Blakely sucked in a shaky breath, and I could see her energy depleting before our eyes. I knew she wouldn’t last much longer, and it was on the tip of my tongue to stop it all. But she powered on, fisting her trembling fingers in her lap.

FOURTEEN

Devon

“His name is Nick Hammond,”Blakely said. “He was working with Valerie, and he, umm…he was supposed to be keeping an eye on me and on Shelly. He took his job very seriously. They finally connected him to the treatment center where Shelly was, and he confessed. I couldn’t believe it, but they arrested him recently, and that’s why I…”

“…came back here,” Amanda finished for her.

“Yes,” Blakely clarified. “Until they found him, I didn’t know if it was the best idea to come back. I didn’t think he’d follow me, but I also didn’t want to risk it. I had a lot of other stuff to work through anyway.”

“You know Valerie’s dead, right?” Josh asked, and Blakely nodded. He didn’t add that he was the one who had shot her—in self-defense, of course—but we all knew. The sympathy in Blake’s eyes told me she knew, too.

“It took them how long? A year? A year and a half to find him? To arrest him?”

My mind had begun to wander again, and I missed whoasked the question. But I didn’t miss the way Blakely flinched. On instinct, my entire body tensed. I straightened and stepped forward.

“They didn’t have much to go on. I wasn’t very much help since I never saw his face. I barely even recognized his voice the first time they had me listen to a recording. They probably would have found him quicker if I had been any sort of help. But I just couldn’t do it. I—uh—I?—”

“Let’s take a break,” I managed to say between Blakely’s stammered response. All at once, everyone turned to look at me, like they’d all forgotten I was there. It was normal for me to stand back and observe, to watch events unfold and only interrupt when necessary. And I couldn’t let Blakely struggle for another second.

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I only watched Blake. The tears I’d seen minutes before were gathering in her eyes once again. The deep gray bored into mine as her shoulders slowly sagged in relief. The slightest hint of a smile tugged at the edges of her lips, but it didn’t fully appear. Even though, in my head, I was willing it into existence.

“We all need a break,” I said again as Luke helped Hazel to her feet.

“Good idea. This baby is dancing on my bladder right now.” Although she cringed when she stood, her comment did bring some much-needed levity to the moment.

“I should probably go anyway,” Blakely announced, standing from her seat and running her palms down her thighs.

“Wait, but you just got here,” Amanda said. She urgently looked toward the rest of us, hoping that someone else would jump in and keep Blakely from leaving. But no one else spoke up. It looked like Hazel might say something and like Josh wanted to argue, but neither of them tried.

“I know, but it wasn’t my intention to ruin your entire New Year’s Day. I just knew that if I didn’t do this now, when I finally found the courage to, I never would.”

Part of me wanted to block the door to keep her from leaving. Like if she walked back out that door, I would never see her again. Her reappearance was a gift none of us expected, and half of me wanted to do anything to make sure we never lost her again.

But the other half understood. She’d been there only a little over half an hour, yet she looked like she’d run a marathon with little sleep and with no prior training. Exhaustion contorted her features, and she appeared much less steady on her feet than when she arrived.

“But you’re back, right?” Amanda asked, still obviously not ready to let her best friend go.

“Yes, I’m back in Austin. Full time.”

“Okay, good, good,” Amanda murmured. “I’ll walk you out.”

Blakely’s almost smile was back as she followed Amanda around the living room and toward the front door. Hazel waved before she slipped into the bathroom, but the rest of us maintained our stunned silence.

Blake stared diligently at the floor as she walked but lifted her eyes for a moment when she passed me. Her steps faltered, and I stopped breathing.

Fuck, she was real, and she was so close. My arms were crossed over my chest, and I clenched my fists to keep from doing the unthinkable—reaching out and feeling for myself just how real she was.

She tucked a stray strand of black hair behind her ear, and her mouth popped open like she was about to say something. I tensed, preparing for her words and watching her tongue run thoughtfully over her lower lip.

But she didn’t say anything.

Her eyes lingered on me until she forced her gaze away, glancing toward the kitchen, where everyone was congregating once again.

She sighed, and it wasn’t hard to miss the longing in herexpression when she heard the low rumble of voices picking up and the sounds of our friends moving about in the kitchen.

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