Page 103 of Royal
“And I’m never leaving.”
I smiled, closing my eyes. I couldn’t keep them open anymore. My lids were too heavy. With the threat gone, my body released the tension and started to relax.
Voices murmured close by. Fingers gently caressed my arms. I was lifted from the hard table and placed somewhere soft. More murmuring. Lips lightly brushed across mine.
The storm had finally passed.
***
Grayson took the next day off work to be with me. I’d told him he didn’t have to, but he’d insisted. With the killer caught and in custody, the town of Addersfield could breathe again. The officers and detectives who’d put in hours upon hours of overtime, the ones who’d missed time with their families over the past month of hell, could rest a little easier now.
“How are you feeling?” Grayson asked, smoothing the hair from my eyes.
“Sore.” I shifted on the bed, finding it hard to get comfortable.
The hospital had kept me for a while, but then they’d given me the okay to go home. I hadn’t wanted to go to my house, though. Not where Alex had stalked me. So, Grayson had taken me to his place instead.
He lived in a two-bedroom duplex in downtown Addersfield. The place was mostly bare, even though he’d lived there for years. Nothing on the walls and little furniture. He had the bare essentials and not much else. But it fit him. He’d never been one for materialistic things.
“Brysen and Kyler are on their way,” he said before climbing off the bed and grabbing my empty glass. “I’ll get you more water so you can take some pain meds.”
“Okay.”
My friends had wanted to come see me the night before, but I’d been too out of it, alternating between sleeping and having panic attacks when I thought I was still in the basement of the King Opera House. I hadn’t been in any mindset for company. Grayson had told them to see me the next day.
“Thank you,” I said after he gave me my pill and handed me the water. I took it and lay back, staring at him. “Stop looking at me like that, Gray.”
“Like what?”
“You’re blaming yourself. This isn’t your fault.” I reached for his hand, feeling a ripple of calm wash through me as his fingers linked with mine. “I’m safe because of you. If you’re going to take responsibility for anything, take it for that.”
“It wasn’t just me.” He tightened his hold on my hand. “Aunt Abby came by the station and helped. Then, Phoenix remembered an old case, and we put it together. It was a team effort.”
“Abby helped?” I cracked a smile. “I told you she had a real gift.”
Grayson scoffed, but there was no actual irritation behind it.
“Come on, Gray. Admit that theremightbe things in this world you can’t explain.”
He held my gaze. “Maybe. But I’ll stick with what Idoknow. Reason. Logic.” Something clouded in his expression, and he looked down. “Alex’s neck was a mess. All that scratching. Reminded me so much of my nightmares.”
I didn’t say it, but I suspected we were both thinking it. What if he’d somewhat inherited Abby’s gift?
A few minutes later, there was a pounding at the door and Grayson left to let Brysen, Kyler, and Declan in. Not even three seconds passed before there was pounding across the floor, a blur of blond hair rushing into the room, and then the bed bouncing as Brysen jumped on it in a Superman dive.
“Hey, B.” I grinned and gave him a side hug. Nearly every part of my chest was cut, so I couldn’t give him a bear hug as usual without being in excruciating pain.
His hazel eyes were watery as he peered at me, his tears creating diamonds on his dark-blond lashes. “How are you? Are you in pain? Do you need me to get you anything?”
“I’m okay. Are you?” I asked, concerned. He had a bandage on his forehead, and his neck was bruised. “I was scared when I saw you in that alley. I thought you were dead.”
“Don’t worry about me,” he said, waving his hand. “I’m too cute to die.”
Kyler walked over and gave me a gentle hug before Declan appeared at his side and greeted me with a nod.
“Okay, you guys need to stop staring at me like I’m dying,” I said, irritated but also touched by their concern. “It’s only minor cuts.”
“And mentally?” Kyler asked, sitting on the edge of the bed beside me. “That’s mainly what I’m worried about.”
