Page 60 of Brick

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured.

Liv walked backward a few steps, her shining eyes, wide. “Are you kidding? You saved me.” She tilted her head back, held her arms open, and breathed in deeply. Her eyes glittered as she brought her chin down. “I don’t know if you’re trying to convince me or yourself this thing between us is wrong. It doesn’t matter. You need to stop. Because this—” She gestured to the space between them. “This thing between us? I’m not walking away, and neither are you.”

He didn’t want to walk away. Every time he had her in his arms, it got harder to let her go.

“You’re doing it right now. Stop thinking.”

The breeze blew her hair behind her shoulders. He reached out and rubbed a lock between his fingers. So soft. “I can’t stop thinking, Livie. If I let down my guard, you could end up dead, or worse. Believe me, there are worse things.”

She ran her fingertips over his outstretched arm. “I believe you. So instead of thinking about how you can keep me safe by staying away, think about how you can keep me safe by being in my life.”

“Are you sure you want this? You want me?” His heart pounded. “This is my life. I deal with people like Tre and Sucre every day. They’ll use you to get to me.”

“So, don’t let them.”

She made it sound so simple.

He groaned and took an involuntary step closer. “Don’t you think I want to say fuck it all and just have you? To finally have one perfect fucking thing that’s mine?”

“I’m not perfect.” She met him halfway. “But I am yours. All you have to do is say yes.”

Her earnest declaration was the last straw. No more fighting his feelings, denying himself.

“Yes,” he breathed.

Liv was on him before he finished forming the word. She vaulted into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, the same way she had the rainy night weeks ago in her apartment. Her smile shined radiant as they held each other a long moment.

In the peace surrounding them, his mind finally registered something she’d said. He set her down and pulled back to look at her face. “You said you had nightmares when you were in the hospital.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and tensed her jaw.

“Will said you’d been sick.”

“I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma almost two years ago,” she said tightly.

“Cancer.”

“Yes. But they caught it early. My dad had it, so when I noticed I had an enlarged lymph node, I went to the doctor right away.” She raked her fingers through her hair. “I did chemo and I’m in remission now. The doctors say I’m okay. I didn’t want to tell you, because I didn’t want to change the way you look at me.” Her lip quivered. “I love the way you look at me.”

He swept her back into his arms. “Nothing is going to change the way I look at you. Hell, I’ve got nothing but respect for you fighting death and winning.” He rubbed her back. “You’ve got another fight on your hands with Tre. But you won’t have to fight it alone. We’re going to take it on together.”

She nodded against him.

“Do you have someone you can stay with tonight? Your sister, maybe?”

“Sure, but why can’t I go home?” Her fingers slid from his shoulders, down his arms, to grasp his hands.

“We don’t know if Tre ID’d your car. He could’ve found your address on your registration. Which brings me to my next question. Do you have someone who can pick up your car for you? It needs to be a man, and one who can handle himself if he needs to.”

Liv nodded. “Yeah. Take me to my sister’s gym. I know exactly who to ask.”

***

Olivia’s self-defense instructor said he would be more than happy to go pick up her car after she explained the risk to her safety. She didn’t go into the details, but the guy didn’t push. So, he was all-fucking-right in Brick’s book. When someone was willing to help him with no questions asked—no—he didn’t know anyone willing to do such a thing.

They found Liv’s sister at the gym too. Even without formal introductions, he couldn’t miss the family resemblance. He stayed quiet as Olivia asked if she could sleep over and then promised to come right back after she walked him to his truck.

“What comes next? How will I know when it’s safe to go home?” She shivered against the unseasonably cool night.

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