Page 94 of Hold Me Before You Go

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, rubbing his palms together slowly as he focused on Grayson’s black coffee table, a few auburn strays hanging down from his bun, his jaw moving underneath his beard. “My family, the one I was born into, weren’t good people—hell, they weren’t even decent people.”

I could relate to that.

“My father wasn’t a good man,” he confessed, finally looking at me. “He was a monster too.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, suddenly seeing him in a new light. I would’ve never guessed Jake came from a bad home with the way he carried himself. Some people were just better at hiding it, I supposed.

Jake waved it off. “I’m telling you all of that to say this: what you just did—shuttingthatdoor to your old life—was one of the bravest and strongest things I’ve ever seen anyone do, Carrie.”

My face softened, his words striking a chord within my soul.

“And I was fucking glad I got to witness it, because now I know…” He trailed off, looking behind me to where Grayson and Ash were standing in the kitchen, admiration lingering in his eyes.

“What?” I pressed. “What do you know?”

Jake’s eyes met mine again. “Now I know Grayson is going to be okay.”

I was taken aback, but before I could respond, Ash called out, “Yo, Jake! You ready to roll?”

Jake stood, gave me another smile, and whispered, “I’m proud of you.”

Then, they were both gone, leaving Grayson and me alone. Swallowing the fear that threatened to rock me back into the past, I looked out to the balcony again, and my shoulders sagged.

Ghost Robert was gone.

I guess he was done torturing me today.

I looked back to Grayson, wondering if he would think I was crazy if I told him my dead serial killer ex husband’s ghost had been following me around since I escaped that shitty motel room.

Slowly, with that thought in mind, I rose from my place on the couch and turned to the kitchen, watching my bounty hunter as he typed away on his laptop, a shadow hanging over his face, his jagged scar standing out in the cool, dim light. I took a step forward and heard Jake’s words ringing in my head.

Now I know that Grayson is going to be okay.

My eyes focused on my lover’s scar, remembering the story of him being tortured. Studying his profile, my eyes trailed down the length of damaged skin until it reached the collar of his shirtand then back up to focus on the way his mouth was set, the crease in his brow, and the anger in his eyes, illuminated by the computer screen.

Was Grayson not okay?

I remained where I was, watching him as he worked for some time, and with each passing second, the more worried I became. My voice was unsure when I finally called out for him. “Grayson?”

“Yeah, Sunshine?” he replied almost instantly, not taking his eyes off his screen.

I twisted my fingers together. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to find Brandon,” he answered simply.

This man. This dark, broken, gentle man, always working to keep me safe.

I made an attempt to clear my throat before stumbling over my next question. “I-is there a reason you haven’t looked at me since Jeremy left?”

He didn’t answer.

Then, after a few moments, those dark, haunting eyes landed on me, and just like the first time I’d met him, I couldn’t move. My lips parted as my hands fell away from each other, going back to my sides, my heart skipping a beat. Goosebumps scattered all over my skin as he held me in place with his stare, his chest rising and falling slowly.

The sun had begun to set, and the apartment was mostly covered in shadows, both of us lost within them.

“Grayson?”

He said nothing, staring at me from the shadows. I took a tentative step forward, heart thundering in my ears as my body hummed with need. He was looking at me like he had the night he kissed me for the first time—like he wanted to devour me. “You have no idea what you do to me,” he said, his voice laced with heat. He moved then, rounding the kitchen island, his workforgotten, those dark, endless eyes on me and me alone. “You also have no idea what you just did.”

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