Page 58 of Taste of Addiction

“Mainly phone. I didn’t want to risk your car’s tracker box being spotted.”

“Okay.”

“The poor cell reception kept me from following your path in the beginning, so I had a late start at finding you. Remember Owen? You guys met at the safe house.”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t want you to be scared, but I want you to stay where you are and wait for him. Don’t get out of your car. I’m going to drive toward you, and you both are going to meet me. I’ll escort you the rest of the way back to Portland. Then we will come up with a plan to get you back to good health. Okay?”

“Okay. So just stay here?”

“Yes. Let me get ahold of Owen who should be there in a bit. Just hang tight.”

The call ends, and I sit shaking behind the steering wheel. So much has happened here. So many revelations and enlightenment. Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom in order to make a change.

My phone buzzes, and I answer Graham’s call.

“Baby? Go park near the storefront and get a drink or snack. Use the restroom. Owen should be there in twenty minutes.”

“Okay,” I say hesitantly.

We hang up, and I start the engine. I pull around to the front of the store, park, and hop out. My head hurts, and maybe some caffeine will take the edge off. I walk into the store and find the restroom in the very back. For a small-town gas station, the inside is very nice.

When I am done freshening up, I grab a pack of crackers off the shelf and a bottle of iced coffee from the cooler. I pay and then make my way out to the safety of my car.

It doesn’t take long for Owen to pull up beside me and get out of the driver’s seat. His warm smile makes me relax for the first time since I arrived here. He helps me out and escorts me to the backseat of his car.

“Feel free to rest, Miss McFee. If you want to get something to eat from inside, I can run in and grab it for you,” he offers with a warm smile.

“Thank you, Owen. I actually just finished my snack.”

“Okay,” he says, slipping into the driver’s seat.

“What about my car?” I ask, looking back at it.

“Mr. Hoffman will get it back to Portland. Don’t worry about anything. It’s all taken care of.”

That’s the thing with Graham… He’s super thorough. He thinks of everything.

* * *

I feel his touch before I see him. His warm arms wrap around me and hold me close to his muscular body. It’s as if I am in a dream. Except in my dreams I cannot smell, and his smell coating my body is intoxicating.

“Hmm…” I moan into his neck, as I breathe him in. “I’ve missed you.”

He kisses my ear and then rubs his nose into my hair. I get lifted and the cool air wakes me. I open my eyes to stare straight into the blues of Graham. He bends to kiss my lips and I accept, opening mine to let him inside. I want to be mad at him. I want to scream at him for rummaging through my belongings earlier today. But I can’t.

I am in trouble.

I am abusing pills.

I need help.

My vision isn’t the best right now, but I can tell even in the darkness that he is relieved to be with me. The feeling is mutual. Graham is my lifeline. My anchor. While it used to bother me in the past to be so wrapped up in a man’s life, it is the one thing that is providing me with a steady comfort during a time of uncertainty.

“Sweetheart, I never want to let you go.”

“But we have to keep being apart?”

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