Page 79 of The Lies We Believe

“No problem. We’ll make sure they don’t get within a hundred feet of him.” He slapped me on the back before marching down the corridor to the security office. My brain churned with a plan to make sure we caught them trying to clear up the mess they left behind.

My heart thundered in my chest, and my blood zinged through my veins. The end to all this shit was within touching distance. There was just one more loose end to tie up, then I’d be able to give the beautiful broke boy who owned my heart the happily ever after he deserved.

CHAPTER 32

RIVER

Iwoke up with a silent scream clawing its way up my throat, disorientated and terrified. Once my breathing was under control and I remembered where I was, I blinked my good eye open and found Bane and Montoya watching over me like sentinels guarding the gates of hell.

Bane gently cupped my face, his thumbs sweeping away the torrent of salty tears spilling down my cheek. His deep voice whispered soothing platitudes that calmed my ravaged soul. His plush lips pressed kisses across my face until I was shivering from the sweet intensity of his singularly focused affection.

“Can I kiss you?”

I snorted through my snotty nose and tipped my head to the side as I regarded him. Hadn’t he been doing exactly that?

“You know what I mean, angel. A proper kiss.” He sighed, his hot breath ghosting over my dry lips. “It’s been too long since I’ve tasted you, River…”

My tongue darted out and wet my lips, and his eyes hungrily tracking the motion. My body responded to his proximity, and my heart ached. Was I ready to reconnect with him this way? My head said no, but my heart and body were on a whole other page.

“Please don’t overthink this, baby. I love you.” He rested his forehead against mine, the move sending shockwaves of electricity through me. “Yes, I fucked up, and I probably will again, but there is nothing more I want in this world or any lifetime that is to come than you. I think it’s always been you, angel, even when I didn’t know what a love like this felt like. Even when I fought the way my heart ached and my body begged for you. There is nothing without you.”

Fuck me. His sweet words and silver tongue weaved a spell over me that I didn’t want to fight. I could spend days wallowing in the pain of betrayal or stoking the anger his broken promises made me feel, but I wasn’t certain that was what I really needed. I wanted to drown in him. My safe harbor. My heart. My everything.

My right hand surged forward, circling his neck as I pulled him closer. Bane’s lips sealed over mine and it felt like coming home. His tongue licked and teased across the seam of my lips, begging for entry. My lips parted, and his tongue surged forward and wrapped around mine. I sighed as his taste exploded across my tongue.

A groan rumbled in his chest as he took control and nipped my lips before sucking on my tongue. I reveled in the light teasing he gave me before he fucked into my mouth and owned me. The blood in my veins turned to quicksilver, and Bane stole the air from my lungs so he could sustain himself. We lost ourselves in each other, a perfect symbiotic relationship.

The world around us faded away until there was nothing but a single pinprick of light left, just us and the lust burning between us. I didn’t think I’d feel like this ever again after what the Mitchell brothers stole from me, but somehow my heart, body, and mind had aligned and set me free.

A throat clearing made Bane jump, and he pulled back. Montoya stood at the end of my bed, cheeks flushed and a smirkon her face. “As much as I enjoyed the show because, boy.” She waved her hand in front of her face like she was fanning herself. “Jordan has an update that I don’t think you’ll want to miss.”

With a grumbling moan, Bane stepped away from me and folded his arms over his chest. My lips twisted into a smirk at the deep rouge tinging his cheeks. “I…” He shook his head. “Don’t ever do that again,” he bit out, but his words lacked heat. “Where’s Jordan?”

“Coming.” She smirked. “I sent him to get coffee from that place down the block, to give you…time.”

“Seriously?” Bane rolled his eyes and retook his seat.

“Seriously,” she parroted.

Bane turned back to me. “Are you comfortable?” He took my hand in his and ran his thumb over my knuckles. After I shook my head, he grabbed the bed control and raised me up so I could at least feel like I was part of the conversation.

Montoya hid a smile behind her hand. “I’m glad you two sorted shit out.” I tipped my head to the side and waited. Chuckling, she glanced over at Bane, who seemed very interested in a loose thread on his jeans. “Let’s just say he was a bit sulky when I got here.”

A smile tugged my lips as Bane scowled at her. I was starting to see that the bond they shared wasn’t a threat to what I had with Bane. The more I thought about it, the more they seemed like siblings.

“Ah, here is the man of the hour,” Montoya said as the door opened and a guy I’d never seen before stepped into my room. His dark eyes twinkled as she lurched forward, reaching for one of the cups he had balanced in a carrier in one hand as he tried to close the door behind him.

“Get off,” he grunted as she crowded around him. She lifted one of the cups and sauntered back to her seat. He rolled hiseyes, then handed one to Bane. His eyes dropped to me. “I, um…shit. I didn’t get one for you, sorry.”

My chest ached as I held in a laugh and shook my head. Using Bane’s phone, I tried to put him at ease.

It’s ok. Water is the only thing I want right now.

Jordan snorted, his lips twitching. He circled the bed and leaned against the wall opposite me and took a long swallow from his drink.

“Montoya said you had an update?”

“Yes, I’ve found a few interesting things.” Jordan straightened up, looking all business while dropping the playful persona. “Once I found the right security room and gained access to their CCTV footage, I scrolled through everything from today, all the way back to River’s previous stay.”

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