Page 54 of Silver Secrets

A knock jolted her. She hadn’t been expecting him to do that. Something about the way he was stomping towards her house left her feeling like he might just barge in. Or at least try to.

Shit, she hated the way her hands were shaking. Sloane had to take time to unlock the deadbolts before she could get the door open. She steeled herself, elongating her spine and sucking in a sharp breath before greeting him.

“Gage, I wasn’t expecting you?—”

The look on his face had her words dying on her tongue.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sloane…” Her name came out a desperate cry, and her lip quivered as his hands moved to touch her. But they didn’t. He just stood there, with his hands hovering out in the air, like he was desperate to wrap her up in his arms and never let go. The look of pain etched in his features chilled her to the bone.

“Sloane.”

He said her name again. And again. Anguish dripping through every tone and nuance in his voice.

“Sloane.”

“You have to stop it,” she begged. “Please stop saying my name.”

“That’s just it, Red. That’s not really your name, is it?”

It was right then and there that she realized what was going on.

He knew.

Not just that she’d vaguely called Mae for help. Not that something happened to send her spiraling. The way Gage was looking at her… the way she was watching his heart break as he looked at her asking that question, it was obvious.

Gage looked at her as if she was going to fall apart and disappear if he even blinked. And the way her body shook at that very moment, she might. Her stomach ached, threatening to empty as the truth swirled so thickly in the air between them. And she hated that his eyes showed the way he saw her now. So broken. Reaching out like she was fragile. Discolored by death and the decay of someone’s horrible acts. Dirty.

And she was.

“Y-you know?” It came out as a whisper, and the pain that cut across Gage’s face was the only confirmation she needed.

“Fuck it,” he whispered before wrapping his arms around her shoulders, tucking her safely into his chest. Sloane melted into his embrace.

This is what being safe feels like.

“You have to let go,” she said, begging him to hear the lie in her words. Not truly wanting him to take a step back. Not truly wanting any distance between them.

For the first time ever, he didn’t listen to her, tightening his hold around her. The deep pressure helped to calm her entire nervous system. God, how long had she just needed Gage to hold her?

“I don’t think I can, Red. What you went through.” His hand reached up and brushed the tear off her cheek. “What you survived.”

“How? How do you know?” Her questions came out a sob, but her voice sounded like it was miles away.

Gage looked back to the door, still standing wide open. He waited for a second, with both his hands on her waist, before he let go. She watched him shut and lock the door. “Fuck. I’m all messed up. Is that bag packed? Are you going somewhere?”

“How do you know what happened to me?” she doubled down. Kimi had only called her an hour before? There was no way she could have put information out in the community that would expose Sloane and possibly put her in danger.

He stepped towards her, cupping her face in his hand. “Your eyes. You’re disguising them. Contacts?”

She nodded, willing herself to not fall apart at the softness of his touch. “I’ve had to wear them. All these years. To hide.”

“Fuck. I’m so fucking sorry, Sloane. An FBI Agent came to our office today. To ask for our help protecting someone in our community. Someone who she feared was in danger. Why did I have to hear it from her, Red? Why don’t you trust me?”

“I do trust you! I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone!” She pushed back from his hand, wrapping her arms around her stomach as she paced across her living room. “They drilled it into my head, over and over again before I was relocated. Tell someone about my life before, and he’d find me. I followed the rules. I always follow the rules. Because I didn’t want to die then. Even after all the pain. All the trauma. The darkness. I didn’t want to die.”

Gage’s face was irate. “Why the fuck are you limping?” His eyes dropped to her bare feet, and then his gaze swept across the floor. “Why the fuck is there blood all over your floor?”

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