Page 77 of The Lies We Believe

My good eye felt heavy and laden with sleep. Bane brushed my unruly hair off my forehead and brushed kisses to every part of my face he could reach. The semblance of a smile flickered at the corner of my lips. His soft, gentle touches were melting my insides, and the residual anger and resentment I’d been harbouring toward him lessened.

“Angel?” he whispered as my eye fluttered closed. The tension in my body eased as unconsciousness pulled me under. His hand wrapped around mine, his lips brushing over my knuckles as his hot breath ghosted over my skin. “You never told me who hurt you?”

His deep, gravelly voice echoed around my head. I couldn’t be sure if he was really talking to me, or if I was dreaming. “The Mitchell brothers,” I mumbled as I lost the fight to the drugs coursing through my system.

CHAPTER 31

BANE

River was sleeping like the dead when the door clicked open. I took my gaze off him for a second to find Montoya in black jeans and a hoodie, striding toward me with two massive cups of coffee.

“How’s he doing?” she asked softly and wrapped her arm around my shoulders, offering me some much-needed comfort. The last however many hours since I’d left her came rushing back to the forefront of my mind, and I shattered like a pane of glass.

Tears slicked my cheeks, and my body convulsed as pain and heartache swept me away. I’d come so close to losing him, all because I had my priorities in the wrong place. I’d learned my lesson, and things were going to change. It might cost me my job, but I had enough in savings and equity in my home to start over somewhere else. I wouldn’t do anything without consulting River first, though.

“He’s s-so fucking strong,” I whimpered, my voice strained and raw. “I was t-too late…”

Montoya set the coffee cups down on the unit next to River’s bed, grabbed an extra chair, and sat next to me, close enough so her shoulder butted up against mine. She shored me upphysically and started picking up my fractured emotions. “You weren’t too late, Jacob. He’s still here because of you?—”

“It never should have happened.” My chest rumbled. Self-loathing was a vile cocktail to swallow. “I should have been there. If I had, he wouldn’t be in here right now.”

“He might not be. Or you both might be dead.” She shrugged and handed me my coffee. “You don’t know, because that wasn’t the road that was travelled. There’s no point in beating yourself up over what you can’t change.”

I scoffed. “When did you get so wise?”

She snickered. “I’ve been talking to Sharon a lot. Think she’s rubbed off on me.” Her hand rested over mine. “But in all seriousness, you can’t keep beating yourself up. You need all your strength to focus on River. Fuck knows, he’s going to need you now more than ever.”

“If he doesn’t hate me.” I sighed and welcomed the rich, bitter liquid as it slid down my throat. Its welcomed warmth filtered through my body.

“He might be angry and hurt.” I eyed her over the top of my cup. “He has every right. You promised him so much and…” She didn’t need to finish that sentence, because I knew exactly where she was going with it. I’d spent every minute berating myself for the choices I’d made since I found him.

“That’s going to change,” I promised. “I’ve told River that too and apologized profusely. I can only hope he believes me and has enough faith in me to give us another chance. If he walks away, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“That boy thinks the world of you. I’ve never seen anyone look at you the way he does, the way he always has, even when you couldn’t see it.”

I let her words settle into my bones. I knew River loved me, but sometimes love wasn’t enough. Actions spoke louder thanwords, and so far, mine had been the opposite of every word I’d said, every promise I’d made. But that stopped now.

“Do you know who did this to him?” she asked carefully.

“Yes. River said they were the Mitchell brothers. I don’t know anything else about them but…actually.” I turned to face Montoya. “Are you okay to sit with him for half an hour? I’m going to run home, shower, and grab the USB that’s hopefully still hidden in the house. I’ll bring my laptop back, and we can see what’s on it once and for all.”

“You don’t have to ask. I’m assuming he’s going to be out for a while?”

“Yeah, they upped the morphine as he was struggling so much with the pain.” I brushed a kiss to the top of her head, and with a final longing glance at River’s prone form, I slipped out of the room and headed home.

Not that this house felt like home anymore, not after everything that had happened here. It was a shock to the system to see police tape cordoning off my entire property, meaning I’d have to park on the street. But before I could, old Mrs. Burrows appeared on her porch and waved me over to hers.

“Thank you, Mrs. Burrows,” I said and shut the door behind me. “It’s been a hell of a time.”

“I’m so, so sorry to hear what happened, Benson. How is the young boy doing?” I winced at her choice of words. River wasn’t as young as he looked. “He’s doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances. I won’t be long; I’m just going to clean up, and then I’ll be off.”

She gave me a quick hug that almost had me breaking down again. After abandoning my car on her drive, I ducked under the tape and stepped into my house. It was just four walls filled with memories that had been tainted by everything that had happened. I’d never feel safe in here ever again, and I doubted River would either.

“We weren’t expecting you, Benson,” Daniel said when I stepped into the kitchen and put my keys on the counter.

“Oh, I came to have a quick shower and change. That’s alright, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is. They didn’t go in your room, so as long as you’re careful when you go up there, it won’t interfere with my work.”

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