Page 32 of Redemption

“No.” His features soften for a split second before he continues walking with me in tow.

When we reach the room he locked me in earlier, I tense up, but he squeezes my fingers as he leads me inside. His hold drops as soon as we enter the room. He shuts the door behind him, leans his back against it, and rubs the tip of his thumb along his bottom lip as his blue eyes stay fixed on me.

I do my best to tamp down the emotions that are threatening to swallow me whole and hold my head high. Silence stretches between us, but he never breaks it. The longer he stares the more my heart pounds against my chest. My stomach rolls as I swallow down the lump forming in my throat.

“What is it? Just tell me!” My voice comes out louder than I intend, but it can’t be helped. Whatever he has to say is going to gut me. I know it.

“I went by your house today to see what’s going on with your parents and why they aren’t returning our calls.” He leans against the door and rubs his thumb along his bottom lip.

I want to scream at him for going without me, but something about his body language tells me there’s more to it. “And?”

He opens his mouth to speak, but pauses for a second collecting his thoughts. “We found your mom.”

“That’s good.” I sag down against the mattress, nodding my head. Hearing his words is like a weight has lifted. I don’t know whether to hug him or smack him for scaring me like that.

“No, Wildcat. We found her. Found her body.” Every muscle in his body tightens the longer his gaze holds mine. “She was stabbed.”

It takes a few seconds for what he’s really saying to penetrate and when it finally does, the floor falls out from under me.

“No! You’re lying.” Tears fall down my face as everything he’s saying manages to sink in and sober my ass right up. Numbness takes over. It feels like I’m floating out of my skin. This can’t be happening. “She’s not dead. She can’t be.” My vision narrows as a tightness crushes my chest causing my lungs to struggle for air.

Axel crosses the room in a couple of strides and kneels down at my feet. His fingers interlace with mine as a muscle in his jaw jerks. “I’m so sorry, Kelsey.”

I sag against him and let all the pain out. He gets to his feet, pulling me into his arms and he lays us back against the mattress. The wetness from his clothes seeps into mine as he holds me tighter, but it doesn’t penetrate through my numbness.

“Is that her…” I can’t even bring myself to finish that thought as I take in the red splatters on his face once again.

He shakes his head. “It’s someone else's blood.”

Neither of us speaks as his head dips against mine, but words aren’t necessary at the moment. All that matters is what he’s offering me. We lie chest to chest, listening to the rain pound against the roof as his hands lightly caress my back. Every stroke pulls me in deeper to his web and it isn’t long before my body craves more of his comfort.

“Let me hold you tonight, please?” His arms squeeze me in tighter against him and I don’t fight him. I need this connection. This familiarity. Despite everything his arms are the only place that I have ever truly felt safe. Felt like home. It’s been two years and that fire is still there, burning bright between us. I curl deeper into him and let the tears fall until I’m all cried out.

Every limb on my body feels like jelly and my eyes become so heavy that I can’t keep them open. I let the emotional trauma from the day pull me under. My heart’s still in tatters on the floor, but I’ll pick up the pieces tomorrow and do what I do best—survive.

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