Page 119 of Hold Me Before You Go

“You wanna come in? Fine,” he began, his smooth voice firm, cold. “You wanna start shit? You can stay the fuck out here and freeze. We clear on that?”

They all looked to me, and I lifted my hand, giving them a small wave. “Hi.”

I expected Sarah to be the one to fold first, but to everyone’s surprise, it was Margo. Her tough mask melted away as her face crumbled. “Cardinal,” she croaked, lunging for me. The weight of her rocked me, and instantly, I felt Grayson’s hands on my waist, steadying me. I wrapped my arms around my friend as she sobbed into my shoulder. “You scared me,” she whispered.

My eyes burned with tears then, finding Sarah’s. Her skin was pale, making the bags under eyes look so much worse than they were. I mouthed, “I love you.”

She wrapped her arms around herself, a tear sliding down her cheek, giving me a nod.

“Margo, let’s step inside, yeah?” Grayson suggested quietly, moving away from me. She nodded against me, letting me go.

Once everyone was inside, Grayson shut the front door and leaned his shoulder against it, watching everyone in the living room like a hawk as I faced them. Michael said nothing, walking over the kitchen to lean against the wall. Rossy stood by the windows while Margo and Sarah stood before me.

“Are you okay?” Sarah finally asked, breaking the silence. Her voice was raspy, like she’d been screaming.

My eyes held her stunning brown ones. “I’m okay,” I confirmed.

Another stretch of silence drifted between all of us, everyone unsure of what to say—well, everyone aside from Grayson. He was on guard, his jaw tight and shoulders tense.

Rossy cleared his throat. “We’re so glad, darling.” I turned my head to face him, seeing pain swirling in his eyes. “So glad,” he repeated, softer this time.

My feet moved before my brain knew what was happening. Seconds later, I was in his arms, my face in his sweater vest. “Hi, Rossy,” I pushed out, my voice thick.

I felt his hand on the back of my head, stroking over my curls. “Hi, my darling,” he replied, his voice just above a whisper. “Our sweet girl.”

My shoulders moved in time with my cries, and behind me, I heard a sobbing, “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Then, Margo was hugging both of us on the right, and on the left, I felt Sarah. I turned my head to face her, the steady beat of Rossy’s heart in my ear. Tears were running down her face as it twisted in anguish. Rossy held the three of us against him for some time.

No more words were said.

The only thing that could be heard through the living room of Blue Beauty were our sobs and sniffles.

Eventually, I turned my head, finding Grayson’s eyes already on me. He gave me a pained smile, one half of his mouth tilting up, saying more than words ever could.

At least when he was gone, I wouldn’t be totally alone.

Chapter Thirty

Carrie

“Where’s grumpy?” Margo asked from across the kitchen table, looking around.

“Who?” I returned, confused.

Everyone had been here for over four hours. After the very emotional group hug that I’d shared with my co-workers, they demanded answers, and rightfully so. Grayson and I had discussed this. He was giving me the choice to tell them the truth; however, I held on to half of it.

I wasn’t ready to share that with them yet, not with Michael lurking in the corner with his badge on. I also wasn’t going to ask him to take it off for me—or for Grayson. I told them about Monica and Brandon—leaving out some of the horrible things. No one needed that image, not even me. Too bad I was stuck with it for the rest of my life.

During my testimony, no one interrupted or asked questions.

When I told them how I escaped, Rossy rose from the couch and went to stand by the window, keeping his eyes on the snow outside while listening to my winter adventure at Hallow Ranch. Sarah shed more tears, and Margo looked like she was going to be sick most of the time.

Michael said nothing, not a single word.

He hardly even looked at me, mainly focusing on his wife.

Once it was done, I told them to stay for dinner, to which Margo replied, “We aren’t leaving for awhile, Cardinal. Trust me.”

So, they stayed.

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