Page 86 of When It Reins
“So do you think he’ll try to find you guys?” Lue’s question draws my attention, and I can see the worry on her face.
“No,” Mitch answers immediately, and I glance at him, seeing him give her a gentle look. “I have people out looking forhim, and your dad and I are watching this house, so you don’t need to worry a bit.”
Lue seems to agree and nods her head, but I see her. She is a smart girl who knows that no matter how reassuring her uncle was being, there is still danger outside of these walls.
“Let’s have a camp out, you and me and Aunt Juniper,” Thea says suddenly, glancing around the living room. “We’ll kick all these boys out and lay out on the floor.” She glances at me. “You can stay on the couch since you nearly got blown up.”
I laugh at the way Thea says it and nod. “Oh gee. Thanks, sis.”
Mitch’s hand tightens on my foot, and I smile at him, my eyes connecting with his. There is something in that little squeeze that tells me he will be joining the girls’ campout.
After dinner with my sister’s family, and I realize my boyfriend’s family as well, we start to get ready for bed. I’m in the bathroom, staring at the bruise on my face from where I hit the floor.
My entire body has been sore since the moment I woke up in the hospital. Aches come with damn near every movement, and I am about two seconds away from a mental breakdown.
Eyes watering, I run the tap on the faucet and let the cool water run over my hands, moving my wrists underneath it and back down. The tears I’ve been holding back start to trace down my face, and I breathe deeply through my mouth.
I’ve been so consumed with the people around me, with knowing Mitch is safe and doesn’t hate me, with knowing that I am alive and okay after being nearly blown up, that the reality of what happened finally hits me.
David, or Aaron, or whatever his name actually is, is coming after us.
A man I had shared myself with, my body, my home, my secrets—not that there were a ton—but I had let him in, thinkingthat I was finally going to get over the man that I loved, and I made plans with him to move forward.
And really…it was all a lie.
Knocking on the bathroom door interrupts me, and I shut off the water quickly, swiping my eyes and sniffing, trying to compose myself.
The door starts to open before I can finish, and then Mitch is inside with me, shutting the door behind himself. His brows are furrowed in concern as he takes me in, noting my puffy eyes and still damp hands.
Then he presses me gently to his chest, wraps his arms around my body, and he holds me to him tightly. I burrow deeper into his body, like I always do when he holds me, and the tears come steadily until I’m sobbing in his arms.
He doesn’t say a word, just holds me firmly to his chest while I cry, letting out every bottled emotion I’ve got.
We move until he’s hoisted me up and settled me on the vanity. His hands cradle my face, and he swipes at tears that fall faster than he can catch them.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble, wiping at more liquid on my face, wondering how awful I must look. But I’m drained enough that mustering the energy to care is difficult right now.
“Don’t say that.” Mitch’s rough voice vibrates against my temple where he’s still half-holding me against the vanity. “You have every right to be upset.”
Something in his tone has me pulling back and gazing up at him. His face tells me he’s found out more information, but his gaze looks concerned, like he doesn’t want to tell me what he knows.
“What is it?”
For a moment, I’m not sure if he’s going to tell me, and I start to get irritated. I deserve to know the truth. I’m a grown asswoman, this is my relationship too, and if he keeps things from me?—
“Cheat and Loki took the package from your house to a field and used a drone to open it.” His brows dip, and he shakes his head, worry evident on his face. “It exploded when they did.”
My heart drops, and my skin goes cold. Numbness fills the tips of my fingertips as I stare at him. “What?”
He nods, his expression severe. “He tried to kill us.”
“Oh my god.” I reach out unsteadily, my hands gripping his forearms and clenching tightly. Mitch seems to be feeling similar when his hands reach out to my hips and hold me to him. “He…why?”
“He’s desperate,” Mitch answers, looking down at me with both love and fury. I know which is for me. “Cheat got ahold of his financials. He’s dead broke. He put everything he had into the last six months, thinking he was going to get a huge payday leading up the investment in the properties when they took over the Four Foxes area. He also had a contract with a big box store that was going to be put there, and their deposit was spent, by him likely, before they pulled out.”
“So he owes money?”
“More than likely.”
