Page 35 of Cautious

I tense at her words, but she pushes on. “I met Danny when I was sixteen. He had bounced around foster care after his mom died. His dad had died overseas when he was just a baby. We met in a therapist’s office, and for the first time in my life, there was someone out there that got me––that believed me. I lived for those stolen moments every Tuesday and Thursday until we both turned eighteen and decided to pool our resources and move in together.”

I swallow, suddenly feeling like I’m the runner-up prize, which is ridiculous. This Danny guy isn’t here. I am.

“You loved him?” Stupid fucking question. She was going to marry the guy. Of course, she loved him.

“I loved him,” she nods, wiping her face. “And he loved me. But we were never in love. We didn’t think that was in the cards for either of us. We were like roommates in the beginning. We dated other people, but nothing ever clicked. We were both just too emotionally unavailable with anyone but each other so we decided to give each other the things we both so desperately wanted. A family. A home. A safe place to just be.”

“So what happened?”

“Christian happened. He broke in with a couple of goons one night. He pinned me down and forced me to watch as they beat Danny to within an inch of his life.”

She starts shaking, so I tug her into my lap and wrap my arms around her.

“He didn’t remember much about the attack, but I do. I remember the sound of fists hitting his flesh, the scream of my voice echoing in my ears over Danny begging them to let me go. You ever hear a bone snap? It’s not something I’ll ever forget. But the worst part was afterward. The absolute silence after they left and slammed the door. I honestly thought he was dead,” she chokes out. I rub my hand up and down her back as she shudders.

“They broke his back, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Danny couldn’t accept that he likely would never walk again, and he didn’t have any strength left to fight. He told me he loved me, but he was just tired of living a life that was slowly killing him. I tried so hard to hold on to him, but he somehow managed to get his hands on a scalpel and slashed his arms open from elbow to wrist. He was dead before the nurses found him.”

“Fuck, baby. I’m sorry,” I slide my hand around the back of her neck and hold her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“He’s dead because of Christian, but the police refused to listen to me.”

“I don’t get it. You were an eye-fucking-witness.”

“Someone alibied Christian, and I didn’t have any idea who the other two men were.” Her voice comes out muffled, so she pulls back and looks up at me. “I tried to carry on, but our apartment felt haunted. Christian upped his stalking campaign, and the police were just useless. I felt like I was living on borrowed time. Walking on eggshells and looking over my shoulder while I waited for him to make his next move.”

“And did he?”

She nods rapidly. “It was four months after I buried Danny. I’d thrown myself into my volunteering, anything that would keep me away from home. I was on my way back one evening, barely a block from the shelter, when Christian grabbed me and dragged me down an alleyway. He slammed my face into a wall before I could scream and told me he was tired of waiting before shoving his hands down my pants.”

I suck in a sharp breath, biting my tongue so hard I taste blood, but I keep myself in check so she doesn’t stop talking.

“A couple of homeless guys who recognized me from the shelter heard me scream once I got my bearings and held him off long enough for me to run.”

Tears spill over her cheeks again as she looks at me in defeat. “I’m so fucking stupid. I underestimated his obsession with me once before, and Danny paid the price for it. I can’t do that again. I won’t. I have to leave before he hurts you or one of the guys or?—”

I cut her off with a soft kiss, holding her tighter when I feel her trembling in my arms. “First of all, nobody will lay afucking hand on you or anyone else. Secondly, you aren’t going anywhere?—”

“Blake,” she cries out, interrupting me, but I carry on.

“Trust me with this, Callie. This is what my team and I do. You can run, but when will it stop? How far do you have to go? That’s no life to live.”

“He will hurt you,” she whimpers.

“He can fucking try,” I scoff. “Stay with me. Let me help you, please.”

She dissolves into sobs, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. Her tears seem endless, running down my neck, soaking my skin and breaking my heart.

“Okay,” she finally whispers, her voice hitching at the end.

I take my first deep breath since finding her. Thank Christ. “Good fucking girl. Now I want you to lie down on the sofa here for a moment while I call the guys over so we can brief them. I want you to tell us everything you can, no matter how small or insignificant you think it might be.”

She nods, her hair tickling the side of my face as she pulls back to look at me with her pretty copper eyes shining with unshed tears.

“I wasn’t looking for love. It’s been a long time since I had stars in my eyes. Love was too terrifying to even contemplate. I just needed to feel safe. That’s how I ended up here. Once upon a time, a little girl told me her hero lived here, and I really needed a hero. So I took a chance and moved here. And there you were, waving a pink cock in my face, making me want to take more chances. You unraveled the parts of me I’d bound so tightly I could hardly breathe. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you, Blake Price. I didn’t want to, but it turns out you’re impossible not to love, serial killer tendencies notwithstanding.”

I laugh at her, not realizing I even had that in me at the moment, before sliding my hands up and cupping her face. I kissher gently, tasting the salt of her tears on her lips, trying to show her how I feel with actions, not words. I don’t know if it’s love or if that’s even something I’m still capable of anymore. Whatever it is, it’s strong and all-consuming. And I’m selfish enough to take everything she’s willing to give me.

After losing everyone who mattered to me, I closed myself off to the idea of love. I have my grandmother, and for the longest time, it’s been enough. Now I’m not so sure.

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