Page 50 of Catching His Runaway

Staring at Abigail, I take in how normal she looks. Not at all like Camellia or Eliza who both came from another family in the same business as ours. She’s just a medical worker, as normal as normal can be.

Over the years, Lazaro’s skills haven’t dulled despite his claim of being rusty. He’s still the best shot I’ve ever seen. Still, it’s easy to see he’s not as hardened as he was before he left the family to live this peaceful life of his.

He is the one outlier to prove that men like us can live outside of our violent upbringings.

Letting my eyes slide back to the woman next to me, I watch as she looks around curiously. Is she thinking about the same things I am?

Did she have something similar once she got out as well? Before the gambling addiction, before her riches, did she own herself a small, dainty apartment to call her own?

Noticing the weight of my stare, Valeria glances my way with a hint of a smile, and I feel something stir around. Something that wouldn’t settle if I demanded it to.

After Abigail instructs me on where the bathroom is, I follow at Valeria’s heel as she starts to walk.

She looks over her shoulder, her mouth twitches into what looks to be a hint of a smile. “Tommy.”

Do I think I’m going to have to fight off a threat in the bathroom? Of course not.

After spending the length of the drive to Elijah’s home thinking about how I’d never forgive myself if I found Valeria injured, or worse, there’s no way in hell I’m going to let her out of my sight.

Not because I want to keep her safe, but because without her, it feels like a piece of me is missing. A piece I can’t replace with anything else in this world.

“Keep walking,” I order softly, refusing to stop.

She does, much to my relief. Looking too exhausted to argue, she leads me inside the cramped bathroom. By the time I’m nudging the door shut with my foot, she’s dragging her fingers against her temple like she’s got a migraine.

Is she crashing from everything?

“He had me kidnapped and drugged,” she explains slowly as her eyes pinched shut. “Didn’t want to say it in front of the others, but that’s not all he did. Wanted me to pay off my debt through him and slapped me when I rejected him. I never had a clue.”

My nose flares at her words, and my fingers twitch at my sides. As anger flickers up, my nails dig into my palms. “I knew.”

She opens her eyes, blinking at me. “You did?”

“Bad apples tend to fall from the same tree, Val.” I tear my eyes from hers when she frowns.

Nowshe looks angry.

“He was a monster,” she reminds me, as if it were evidence that what I said was wrong.

“We’re the same. Knew it the moment I saw him. Like looking in a mirror.” My brows knit together, and I refuse to move when she steps toward me. I don’t flinch when she reaches out for me, either.

Her hands cradle my cheeks as she stretches to reach me. “You arenota monster. If you were, what does that say about me? Since I…” Her next word catches in her throat.

My next breath feels like a lump the size of my fist in mine. “You what?”

I watch as she bites on her lip in contemplation, and the more seconds that pass by without me hearing the word on her tongue, the crazier I become.

“Since I love you,” she finally finishes off, her eyes falling immediately.

There’s a heavy thump in my chest, and I realize it’s my heart. I’m starting to get used to the way it crashes around in my chest whenever this woman is involved.

Staring at her, she soon frowns up at me. “Say something.”

I can’t. Instead, I grab her face and kiss her as the wordlovebounces around in my head.

This woman loves me.

Hearing her say it out loud has silently filled my thoughts with the imagery of the future. I want things I’ve never wanted before, anything that results in not just her happiness, but my own as well.

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