Page 63 of Delicate Escape

“Fuck,” I whispered.

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not.” And I hated that she’d been struggling to find that rest alone. I wanted to be there to soothe her back into dreamland. Or tire us both out so we had no choice but to pass out. The latter sounded a hell of a lot better.

Her gaze softened on me. “Even though I didn’t sleep, it was a good day. I feel…better. Braver.”

Thea’s words hit me like beautiful blows. “I’m glad.”

“Me, too.”

I bent then, unable to stop myself. My lips brushed her temple,featherlight. But the feel of her skin against mine scalded in the best way. “You’re one of the strongest people I know,” I whispered.

As I pulled back, our eyes locked. It would be so easy to dip my head and take that mouth. Thea’s lips parted, and her head tipped back. Silent permission. Those plump, berry lips. I wanted to know what they tasted like. What they— My phone rang.

The sound was so jarring, Thea jerked in my arms. I cursed as I let her go, pulling the device out of my pocket. Jennie’s name flashed on the screen. “My realtor,” I said before answering. “Hey, Jennie.”

“Shep,” she greeted, not wasting any time before getting into it. “I’m not having any luck on a rental that meets your specifications. Best I can do is early September.”

I let out another curse.

“Can you stay at Cope’s place for a couple of months? Or Nora’s?”

That was the thing about small towns. Jennie knew my whole family and had helped most of us with our real estate purchases. “Yeah. I’ll figure it out. Go ahead and get the lease worked up for the September place.”

“Will do. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thanks, Jennie.”

“Anytime.”

I hung up to find Thea studying me. “What’s wrong?”

I shoved my phone back into my pocket. “Nothing, really. I just need a rental while I work on the new house. She can’t find me one until early September.”

Thea studied me for a long moment. “It’s more.”

That was the thing with Thea. She always saw more. I’d sensed it while watching her from afar. But truly getting to know her, I saw it firsthand. She had a radar for wounds and scars, anything that might be amiss.

“It means staying with my mom or brother for a couple of months. They’ve been…hovering since Rho was taken. I didn’t handle it well when I found out it was Silas.”

If Thea had been willing to give me her hard truths, the least I could do was give her mine. Even if it made me look weak.

Thea’s expression didn’t fall in pity like I expected. She simply switched off the water and moved into my space. “You blame yourself.”

Acid crept up the back of my throat. “I worked with him for almost a decade.”

“And an FBI profiler who’d been trained for that long worked with Silas for years and didn’t see it.”

My mouth snapped closed.

“Shep,” Thea said, her voice going soft as she laid a hand on my chest. “People fool us. We think they’re one thing when they’re really another. It doesn’t say anything aboutus; it says something aboutthem.”

I knew what those words had cost Thea. How deeply she understood that torment. “I hate what Silas did to Rho. What he did to Anson. And it’s because of me that he had the access to inflict that damage.”

“And you think he wouldn’t have found another way?” Thea challenged. “He was a freaking psychopath.”

I let out a harsh breath. “I know. I just… It messes with me.”

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