Page 45 of Bound By Them
“Come on.” I gesture toward the street.
When I hold out my hand, she takes it. I lead her to my truck and open the door for her, giving her a boost so she can climb in. When I get behind the wheel, I don’t start the ignition. Because Dani, this precious woman, is full-on crying in the passenger seat.
Her pain is my pain, cutting me to the core. “Dani, what can I do?”
“Nothing. I just want to go home.”
“I can’t do that. I can’t take you home to cry by yourself.”
She rubs the tears from her face and turns an angry, gray-eyed gaze on me. “You can, and you will, because I don’t want to look at you or Edmund or anyone associated with the Laytons until I see you all in hell.”
Oooh, little spitfire. But her words are coming from a place of pain and hurt and sadness.
“Get over here.” My words surprise me.
She stares right back, challenging even as her eyes fill with tears. “Make me.”
“You really want me to? I will, little girl.”
With a shake of her head, she says. “I don’t want to fuck you.”
“I don’t want to fuck. I want to comfort.” I pat my thigh. “Get over here and sit on my lap.”
She smiles, even though her eyes are watery with tears. “You want me to sit on your lap and take your cuddles like a good girl?”
I laugh and lean over to brush a stray tear off her cheek. “Now, Dani.”
15
Danica
I crawl across the console and maneuver myself into Troy’s lap. He wraps his arms around me, shifting to keep me away from the steering wheel.
And then I just…cry. I cry for Patrick and the life he could’ve had. I cry for his stupid-ass behavior. I cry for whatever turned him into the kind of guy who would sexually assault someone. I cry for my aunts, who lost their son, and Rachel, who lost her big brother. If it had been Dmitri?—
I can’t even finish the thought. For a few seconds, when my parents first gave me the news, I thought it was Dmitri who died. It was the worst feeling in the world. I’m so glad it wasn’t him, that I didn’t lose my brother. Does that make me a bad person? My sobs keep coming, a torrent of sorrow and rage and confusion.
Troy holds me through it all. He strokes my back with his big hands. He anchors me to the moment, letting me feel everything.
I don’t know how long we sit like that. It feels like a year. When I lift my head from his shoulder, I sniffle. “Sorry. I got your shirt all wet.”
He kisses my temple. “No problem. How are you feeling?”
“Better, I think.” I suck in a deep, shuddering breath. “Yeah. A little better.”
“Do you want me to take you home?”
I shake my head. “No. Not home.”
“My place?”
“Fuck no.” I shake my head again. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that. But I won’t forgive you if you take me to Edmund. He probably sent you, and I can’t look at him right now.”
He doesn’t push me away at the confession. In fact, he holds me tighter. “I won’t take you anywhere you don’t want to go.”
“I don’t know where to go. I guess we could stay here in your truck forever.”
A long moment passes while I listen to his heartbeat, thudding heavily in his chest, right against my ear.
