Page 66 of You Belong With Me

He reaches out for my hand, threading his fingers through mine. “I thought you hated me.”

I just can’t get over the fact that he’s lying here, in front of me, alive. For a second there, I was convinced he would die. I couldn’t imagine anyone surviving a knife to the chest. And in that moment, when I thought he was lost to me forever, I forgave him.

For everything.

“I thought I hated you, too,” I say with a shallow smile. “But then you had theaudacityto throw yourself at a lunatic for me, so…” I shrug. “...I guess I hate you a little less now.”

He laughs, which quickly dissolves into a cough. He lifts his other hand and holds it lightly against his chest. “Oh, shit, that hurts. Don’t make me laugh.”

I start to pull away. “Should I get the nurse?”

He tightens his fingers around mine and pulls me back. “No, no.” He holds my hand against his lips, his eyes fluttering closed, like just having me close is everything. “Stay. Please, Wyn. You’re all I need.”

I squeeze his hand. “I’m not going anywhere, baby.”

Opening his eyes, he lifts a brow. “Oh, I’m yourbaby,” he says with a groggy, sexy-as-fuck smile. He’s so loopy, I wonder if he’s going to remember any of this later.

“I didn’t say that,” I say, pulling my hand away, so I can grab a chair and pull it next to his bed.

“Oh, you said it,” he teases. “I heard it. You can’t deny it now.”

I sink into the chair, and he reaches out to me again. It’s like he doesn’t want to be separated, even for a second. We sit like that for a few minutes, holding hands, listening to the beeping machines, and just…I don’t know, absorbing each other.

Finally, his eyes meet mine. “Christian told me that Gabriel didn’t make it.”

I nod, swallowing, remembering the moment that knife was pulled across Gabriel’s throat. “Yeah,” I say, glancing down, so he doesn’t see the tears gathering in my eyes. I blink a few times, then look back up at him. “Who are Shadow and Ash?”

What’s truly terrifying is that those monsters are still out there somewhere. What will they do when they find out Lucas survived? Will they come back to finish what they started?

Lucas looks away, and I can tell he doesn’t want to tell me.

“Lucas, you have to be open with me,” I say, practically pleading with him. “Whatever’s happening, involves me, too. I have to know what’s going on.”

He squeezes my hand, and I can see the hesitation on his face.

“Fine,” I say abruptly. “Just tell me one thing—do you think they’ll be back?”

He sits up a little and leans toward me, wincing at the pain moving causes him. He looks into my eyes, and my heart jolts in response. “Gwendolyn Barker, I love you more than anything, and I’d rather die than let anyone hurt you.”

Now I know that’s true. He just showed me how far he’s willing to go to protect me. But that’s the problem…

I sit back in my chair, holding his gaze. “See that’s what you’re not getting, Lucas…” I pause, so I can swallow back the tears that are threatening to break free. “Watching you die issomething I never want to do again, because…” I pull in a deep breath. “I love you, too.”

There’s a long stretch of silence as he stares at me, his handsome face blank, like he can’t comprehend what I’m saying. “So, what does this mean?” he finally asks. “For us?”

“No idea. I mean, you’re arrogant, controlling, toxicas fuck, a little murder-y…” I sigh and shake my head. “But when I saw that knife—” I cut myself off before the sob escapes my throat. I swallow it back. “—it felt like something was being ripped out of me. It felt like…” My eyes flick up to meet his. “...something inside me was dying with you.”

With a groan, he sits up, reaches over, and pulls me awkwardly onto the oversized bed with him, which fucks with his spider web of tubes. A few alarms start going off as I curl against his warm body, careful not to touch his injury. My head rests on the pillow next to his, and when he turns his head, our lips meet.

A team of nurses skids into the room, ready to respond to the alarms. Lucas holds his hand up. “I’ll pay you each triple your salary if you give ustenminutes.”

They glance at each other and shrug, and two of them leave the room. The third nurse comes over to silence the machines. “You’re lucky these aren’t critical.” As she turns to leave, she points at Lucas. “Fiveminutes. And if you say anything to anyone, I’ll deny everything.”

“Deal,” he mutters, brushing his lips across my forehead. When she leaves, he kisses me—but there’s something different about this kiss. It’s soft, filled with emotion, and with the promise of a new beginning…

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The Ghost - Five weeks later

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