Page 62 of Not Your Hero

“Well, I am. And he isn’t at home anymore. I wasn’t tracking him but from the looks of things, he packed up and left. No signs of anyone ever being there,” he reports.

“What about bodies?”

“Nothing. There’s nothing.”

“Fuck!” I roar into the line. A few seconds later, Emerson walks into the room and watches me.

“I need people looking, Ren. Not you. I don’t want your family involved in this,” I tell him.

“I’m already involved, Nix. Get the fuck over it.”

“You didn’t want to be.”

“I still don’t, but I am. I’m going to get some guys looking, and I’ll let you know what we come up with,” he says as I sigh.

“I don’t want this to come back on you, Ren.”

“It won’t. I’ll be careful.”

“Fine. Let me know what you find out,” I say.

“How is she doing? Things working out?”

“Yeah. Everything here is as it should be.” Now my eyes find Emerson, who gives me a soft smile. My heart cracks in half. Is she happy here with me?

“Good. I’ll get back to you.” I pull the phone away from my ear and press the end key. When I motion for Em to come to me, she doesn’t hesitate at all before walking my way. I grab her and pull her down into my lap, pressing a kiss to her neck.

“Everything okay?” she asks. I sigh and press my face into her neck, inhaling her scent.

“No.”

“Can I do anything?”

“Stay with me,” I tell her truthfully. She wiggles in my lap before settling in.

“I don’t think there’s anywhere left for me to go, Gannix.”

“I don’t think I was going to let you even if there was.”

“So it was never an option,” she mumbles.

“Do you want it to be?” I ask her. Em lays her head back on my shoulder, and I wrap my arms tightly around her, holding her closer.

“I don’t think so. As crazy as all of this has been, I feel safe with you,” she admits, and my heart swells.

“You do?”

“Yeah. And if I’m being honest, I don’t feel so depressed here.”

“I don’t want you to feel that way, Em. I never want you to feel that way,” I add.

“It’s not something I can control, and for so long, I was stuck in such a dark place, but I didn’t let anyone see it. I kept on doing what I was doing and masked it all.”

“And now you don’t have to hide it. I want to see your pain, Emerson. I want to see your sadness and make it all go away.”

“What if you can’t?”

“I think I can if you just give me that chance,” I tell her.

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