Page 129 of Beautiful Exile

I lifted my blowtorch, binding one piece of metal to another and then stepping back. As the torch extinguished, I lifted my maskto study the woman battling her way out. Out ofwhatwas open to interpretation. And I wanted it that way.

Because we all had darkness we were climbing out of, things that held us captive. And this woman had fought to emerge from it. She was scarred and battleworn, but she was breaking free.

The music cut out, and I whirled, the stark change from chaos to silence almost too much for my ears to handle. “Son of a biscuit-eating monkey. Don’t do that to me.”

Linc’s brows rose in amusement as he bent to scratch Brutus between the ears, setting a bag by the couch. “A biscuit-eating monkey, huh?”

I glared at him as I set the blowtorch down and removed my gloves. “Apparently, I get wholesome when someone scares the crap out of me.”

He chuckled, but there was something beneath it. I saw shadows in those hazel eyes. The instinct was too hard to fight. I pulled off my mask and crossed to him. “What’s wrong?”

Linc brushed his hand over my face as he held me to him. “You done running?”

A wash of panic swept through me, and hot on its heels came annoyance. “I’m not running. I’m right here.”

It was a lie. My heart was running—terrified and ducking for cover. And when it wasn’t running, it was building as many walls as it could, even though it was too late.

Linc held me to him, no judgment in those hazel eyes, but he wasn’t buying my story either. “I’ve given you this play for the past few days. Can’t give it to you any longer.”

I tugged myself out of his arms. “Yougaveme this play? I decide what’s best for me. And right now, it’s this.” I gestured to the statue behind me, the one currently saving my life as it took all the badness inside me and turned it into beauty.

“So, I’m just supposed to stand by while you work yourself to the bone, almost twenty hours a day? Only stopping to make sureI’veeaten and taken my meds, but never once taking care of yourself?”

My mouth snapped closed.

Those hazel eyes flashed gold. “Yeah. I’m not going to stand by and let you slowly kill yourself. Because I love you. And despite the fact that it terrifies you, you love me.”

The panic surged anew like some sort of back draft, the flames strangling me. “Don’t.” I threw my hands up as if I could ward him off.

“You love me.” He took two steps forward.

I shook my head but couldn’t get out anobecause my body knew it was a lie.

Another step. “And I love you.”

“Stop,” I croaked. The panic was too much, clawing, trying to drag me under into the inky black.

Pain swirled in Linc’s eyes. “Vicious,” he whispered. “You love me.”

I broke then, tears streaming down my face. “I love you.” A sob tore free, and I nearly collapsed, but Linc was right there, catching me as I fell.

“I know,” he said, lifting me in his arms and carrying me to the brand-new leather couch he’d had delivered.

“Your stitches,” I rasped between cries.

“Are fine,” Linc whispered, cradling me to him.

Sobs racked my body as I clung to Linc, terrified he’d disappear the moment I let go. Stolen because I’d had the audacity to love him.

Linc’s hand swept up and down my back in soothing strokes. “Talk to me.”

The words wanted out, but my body was battling to keep them in. “I-I was trying to keep you safe.”

He pulled back, his eyes searching mine, trying to understand. “And loving me puts me in danger?”

I nodded. It was so stupid. Juvenile, even. But it was the only thing I knew to be true. The tears only came faster. “They weren’t perfect, but I loved them. The only people I’ve ever really loved in this life. And he killed them. One and then the other. And it almost killedme.”

I sucked in a shuddering breath, trying to keep the worst of the sobs down. “You know why I do jujitsu with Kye? It’s not just so I feelsafer. It’s so I feelstrong. Because I was so weak back then. I almost let it take me under. I wanted it to.”

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