Page 3 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two
“I know,” I whisper.
I don’t.
It’s not that I doubt how much they’ll try to keep me safe. But everyone’s human. Everyone makes mistakes. In a life so full of danger and violence, of secrets and lies, how can anyone guarantee their own safety, let alone someone else’s? The guys are good at what they do, but no one can bethatgood, right?
Still…
“I trust you.”
And I mean it.
The three of them have done nothing but care for me ever since we came together. And based on the way they’ve all been looking at me the past couple days, they’re about to get ten times more protective.
As if they weren’t before.
Last weekend is the perfect example. When Jordan kidnapped me, I was barely even in that house for twenty-four hours. The guys did everything they could toget to me.That’swhat matters. As for future dangers, we’ll deal with them as they come. As long as I’m not taken from them again, I’ll be okay.
Rhett and Oliver come into the living room, hands clasped together.
“Hey, I was thinking we could head to the museum a little early to—” Oliver stops abruptly when he gets a better look at us. I must look like shit, because his smile fades. “You guys okay?”
“Yeah. I just had a flashback, that’s all.”
Rhett’s expression hardens, like I shouldn’t be brushing this off. He doesn’t say anything, though.
The remnants of Oliver’s smile morph into a full-on frown. “Did something trigger it? Or did it just happen out of the blue?”
My stomach twists. Why do I have to be such a mess? What if we get to Florida and the mere sight of the ocean makes me panic? What the hell am I going to do? “It…”
Instantly, Oliver is on his knees in front of me. Taking my hands in his, he gazes up at me and says, “It’s okay, Wren. You can tell us.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. “I can’t look at water without thinking about drowning. I was trying to work through it, so I filled the kitchen sink with water, but it backfired and I froze up. It felt… awful.”
“She wasn’t breathing when I found her,” Elliot adds in, tightening his arm around me.
“Princess,” Oliver murmurs, and I hate the concern mixed with disappointment in his voice. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I was hoping it’d go away,” I mumble, squirming in Elliot’s lap.
“Wren. Look at me.”
Grudgingly, I open my eyes, terrified that Oliver will be looking up at me with hurt and more disappointment. Instead, I find a gentle compassion shimmering in his eyes that makes my throat ache.
“It’s okay,” he whispers. “We’ll take it one day at a time. We’re here with you no matter what, got it?”
All I can manage is a relieved nod. They’ve had to deal with so many emotions and problems from me. How they haven’t run out of patience and understanding yet is beyond me.
“Got it,” I say, squeezing his hands.
“What were you going to suggest, Ol?” Elliot says.
“That we head out a little early,” he says, not taking his sad eyes off of me. “So we could get back for ice cream with enough time for our stomachs to settle before bed.”
“That sounds good to me.” Elliot glances between me and Rhett, and we nod in agreement.
Oliver tugs me to my feet. “You wanna get ready with me?”
“That sounds nice.”
