Page 88 of Subbing For Santa

A wall.

“Aggie!”

The voice is closer, but I can’t see anything but my teenage self.

“Aggie!” Strong hands grip my shoulders, giving me a shake, and my memory slips away as Griffin comes into view. “You weren’t meant to see that. I told you to stay in the room.”

I don’t speak, my eyes trying to focus on his dark gaze as he scans my face.

“Aggie. Talk to me.”

I shake my head, not able to find words. I need to tell him. I need to get this nightmare out of me once and for all, but I can’t seem to make the words form.

“Aggie.” Griffin shakes me a little, and I push him away.

He drops his hold on me, and I turn and run, bolting for the glass doors that lead out to the pool. The moment I have them open, I spring forward and leap into the cold water, releasing my pent-up scream as I sink to the bottom.

Griffin has been honest with me. He’s brought me into his world and trusts me with the secrets of his family, yet I haven’t told him about my past, or just how similar we are.

Movement in the water next to me is my only warning before Griffin’s hands are on me, tugging me up to the surface. When we breach, I suck in the air my lungs are so desperate for, and Griffin hugs me to his chest.

“Fuck, Aggie. I’m sorry. I should have taken him somewhere else, so you didn’t have to see that.”

I shake my head, wishing he wouldn’t blame himself. He has no idea this is about something else.

“It’s not that.” I say quietly before he eases back to look into my eyes.

“What is it?” he asks, and I shake my head as my bottom lip trembles. “Talk to me, little elf.”

I go to open my mouth to speak, but before I can, Devon’s voice reminds me that we aren’t alone.

“We have his phone, Griff. He’s definitely the one who took the pictures and sent us on a wild goose chase.”

Griffin drags his gaze from mine to glare at his cousin. “Do we know why?”

“No. Still working on that.” Devon responds and Griffin growls.

“Get it fucking done. I get the feeling he wasn’t working alone.”

“On it, you grumpy bastard.” Devon chuckles before I hear his footsteps heading in the other direction.

When Griffin returns his dark eyes to mine, they soften, and he wades us through the cold water to the steps where we climb out of the pool. He doesn’t say anything else as he leads me over to the side and wraps a towel around me. Then he leads me back through his house and up to his bedroom.

The moment we are in his oversized bathroom, I start tugging off the wet clothes and Griff flicks on the shower. Steam quickly fills the air before he takes my hand again and leads me into the large shower that could fit four standard sized showers in it.

Tugging me under the hot spray of water, Griffin’s hands roam over my skin as he washes me, my body warming quickly from the water and his touch.

We go through the process of washing each other’s hair in silence, and when we’re done and I know I can’t keep stalling, I finally open my mouth.

“I need to take you to Queensland.”

His brows hitch. “Queensland? To meet your mum and sister?”

My brows shoot up this time. “You know where they are?”

A wide grin spreads across his face. “I did my homework on you, remember? I know where you used to live, little elf. I know who I have in my arms right now.”

My heart sinks.

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