Page 80 of Give Me Perfect Love

My heart jumps in my chest, pushing forward, urging me to step in and help Bryce.

I see the knife Cain used on me and I move, but Jace grabs my wrist, causing me to stay put and wince at the same time.

I look away from Bryce to the door, when a man in all black appears. He raises his hand without a second thought. My whole body jumps as Cain stiffens before falling to the floor.

“K.” I hear. I jump when someone touches my arm, quickly turning to see Bryce. I look up at the rearview, my eyes connecting with Ben’s.

“We’re at my apartment,” Bryce says. My eyes move to Jace who holds a smoke between his lips, looking at me in sympathy.

How long was Bryce talking to me? He doesn’t urge me to move, giving me a moment to gather my thoughts.

My vocal cords sting when I say, “Okay.” I rub my throat where Cain had his hands around it.

Bryce’s eyes go there, and a pained expression covers his features. I don’t look back at Jace or Ben before opening the door and stepping out into the cold.

“Ben, let me know as soon as you hear from Bones that this shit is taken care of.”

“I’ll call you in the morning. But there’s no need for you to worry, boss.”

“Yeah, well, we thought that last time,” Bryce says. I look up at him before I close my door, shutting off their conversation.

So many questions.

I want to know countless things, but right now, I need to get out of these clothes and into the burning hot shower. I need to wash away everything I saw and everything that happened.

I can’t deal with this.

I can’t deal with any of this.

The quakes in my body keep me from fading, reminding me I’m alive. The ache in my shoulder and burn in my wrists tell me that we made it through this.

He said he was going to kill me.

He’s the one who’s dead.

The SUV drives off as soon as Bryce nears me. I look back, seeing Jace watching us. He gives me a nod and they disappear down the road.

“Come on, baby. It’s freezing out here.”

Bryce grabs my hand and we make our way up to the apartment.

The ride up is quiet, both of us in our own heads.

That man that Bryce called Bones shot Cain without so much as a second thought. How can you look so cold while taking another man’s life?

Not that he didn’t deserve it.

Oh God, did he.

My gaze bounces from the reflective elevator doors to his.

We stare without word, but not without thought. Bryce was going to kill Cain, too.

If I wouldn’t have said anything, Bryce would have stopped Cain’s breathing. He would have done it with his own two hands.

The hand I’m holding. My digits flinch, but our eyes stay connected. An overwhelming feeling of gratitude fills my chest, drowning my heart.

He would have done that for me.

---