Page 80 of Deceive Me
“Come talk to us,” he repeated, jostling Sydney a bit as if to assure her that he wouldn’t jump down her throat with his daughter in his arms. Which…right. Yeah. Of course. Elliot’s brain was obviously addled at this point. “Please.”
“Pleeeease,” Syd added.
That pulled her to her feet. She kept her eyes on the ground, trying desperately to ignore the hot flush creeping into her cheeks. Trying to ignore the silence as every man in the room watched her walk out the door. Whatever they were thinking, she didn’t want to know. This was a moment she had to face alone.
Funny that doing so now seemed unusual, like an old suit that no longer fit just right.
Sydney was oblivious to the emotional undercurrents. The little girl chattered away as they moved into the hall and down to an empty office Deacon shut them into. Elliot let the sweet voice wash over her, but she couldn’t bring herself to respond, not until the voice went silent.
She turned to face them. They looked so right together, so perfect, almost…complete. How could what they shared ever have room for someone like her?
“Where were you, Elliot?” Syd asked. “You were gone forever.”
And Sydney had a fear of people disappearing, Elliot knew. Instinct had her reaching for the little girl, arms aching not from her injuries but from longing—she wanted Syd in her arms, cuddled against her. Almost as much as she wanted Deacon to hold her.
Deacon pulled Sydney away. The move hit Elliot like a hammer blow.
“Daddy says you can’t hold me right now,” Sydney informed her.
“Oh.”
“I don’t want anything aggravating your ribs. You’ve done enough to aggravate them as it is.” Deacon’s head tilted, a frown settling on his mouth. “Why else wouldn’t I let you hold her?”
“I—” Elliot shrugged. “I don’t know.”
More silence. Elliot’s nerves felt like they’d snap any minute. “So…you wanted to talk to me?”
“I did.” Deacon rubbed a hand along Syd’s back, seeming to search for words. “Are you okay?”
He already knew about her injuries, knew she’d been looked at, but she was standing here, so he must mean something else, something not physical. She had just killed her mother’s murderer, after all.
“Fine. I’m fine.”
His look said he didn’t believe that but wouldn’t fight her over it, not right now.
Elliot shifted, leaning a hip against the desk at her side.
Deacon cleared his throat.
A shot of knowledge hit her as she looked at him. She’d been so caught up in her own fears that she hadn’t taken the time to notice his, but the silence, the way he kept rubbing Sydney’s back…he was nervous. Of her.
Well fuck. Was it possible she hadn’t completely screwed herself after all?
“Look…” Deacon laughed a little. “I don’t have a lot of experience at this.”
And I do?
“But I…we…”
“We what?”
He shifted again.
“We want you to be our girlfriend,” Sydney burst out.
Elliot felt her eyes bug.
“You want me to what?”
