Page 7 of The Hate We Breathe
Silence echoes between us. It stretches, a string pulled taut. Until I can’t stand it anymore. Withdrawing one of my hands from his, I smooth it over my cheek to double-check that I didn’t let the tears out before nodding my understanding.
“Okay,” I say. I inhale a deep breath and slowly release it again. This time, when I meet Nolan’s eyes, his are enigmatic—unreadable. “Then, what do I need to do?”
“Well, first, we need to talk to the cops.”
“The cops?” I frown. “Why? Do they think I?—”
He squeezes the one hand he’s still holding, the action stopping me from going down that rabbit hole. “We expected that they would want to question you about Morpheus’ death since you were living with him and at the event where he was murdered. I had Viks find out who’s being put in charge of the investigation,” he tells me. “It’s being given to the Silverwood Police Department. We scheduled a meeting with the detective in charge later this morning.”
“So soon?” I breathe.
“Yeah.”
I frown as I consider his words. “Wait, but Morpheus was murdered in the city, why would his death be dealt with here?” I ask.
His grimace doesn’t bode well. “I’m not exactly sure,” he admits. “But I think it has something to do with how involved Morpheus was in Silverwood’s community. The department pushed to have the case passed back to them since Morpheus’ life was here and they believe the suspect is someone he knew.”
Would it be that easy? I wonder, brow furrowing. Even if it is, though, I’m sure that the police of Silverwood are going to immediately presume I had something to do with his death. I’m nothing more than the daughter of a criminal, after all, and… with Morpheus dead, my mother and I are the only ones left to take over the business. With Mom gone, it’s just… me.
A warm hand grazing my cheek brings me out of my reverie and I blink in surprise to find Nolan’s face closer than ever, right in front of mine. He cups my jaw and strokes his thumb over my skin. The action is intimate—sweet—and it makes me want to lean into him even more.
“Do you trust me?” he asks.
Frowning, I cant back my head and his hand falls away. Of all the ridiculous questions to ask me now. “Nolan,” I say. “You’ve proven how far you’ll go for me. I trust you more than my own damn mind sometimes.”
He nods as if the answer was expected, but then why did he ask it? Before I can prod for more, he lifts his head and glances over my shoulder. I turn, following his line of sight to find Lex standing in the mouth of the hallway looking sleep-rumpled and sexy as sin. He scratches his stubbled jaw and yawns as he takes in Nolan and me.
“What’s going on?” he asks, lowering his arm and stepping farther into the room.
Nolan stands, startling me enough to return my gaze to him as he towers over me on the loveseat. “Nothing,” he says, and I’m not sure if it’s a lie. “Take a seat, I’ll grab you some coffee.”
Lex looks between Nolan and me as Nolan moves off, but follows the command and comes around the loveseat to plop down next to me. In a blink, he has his arm wrapped around my waist and me pulled directly into his lap.
“Hey!” I slap his chest. “What are you doing?”
Lex merely wraps both arms around me and bends low, nuzzling his face into the side of my neck. He inhales, breathing me in, and sharp tingles of arousal burn through my lower belly. Damn it. I need to focus, not get turned on. He never answers as Nolan finishes puttering around in the small galley kitchen and comes back a moment later with a mug of coffee that he passes over to me.
I nudge the man at my back. “Come on,” I urge. “Take your coffee.” I squirm back and forth as I try to assuage his grip, but Lex doesn’t let go until he’s good and ready, which turns out to be several minutes later, when the coffee in my hand has cooled considerably.
He takes the mug and sips it while keeping one arm around me. “Lost you once, baby,” he murmurs so that only I hear him. “Let me hold you so I can assure myself you’re real.”
That shuts me up. I remain silent and still for the rest of the time it takes him to finish his coffee and Nolan goes back to his. My hot cocoa sits, cold, on the table before us, and I honestly can’t find it in me to give a single shit.
As sunlight begins to rise over the horizon outside of the windows, a sound comes from the back of the carriage house. A few minutes later, Gio comes stumbling out of the hallway and makes a beeline for the kitchen. Nolan smirks and doesn’t offer to help as Gio makes a bunch of noise—opening and closing cabinets, stumbling and stubbing his toe against the floorboards, and cursing. Finally, though, he has his own coffee and makes his way into the living room before sinking onto the couch opposite of Nolan.
“Okay,” Nolan finally says, leaning forward and clasping his hands together. “So, here’s where we’re at.”
Nolan goes over the events of the last several weeks—basically ever since I walked back into the hellhole that was Morpheus Calloway’s grasp to keep them safe. That, however, is not an issue anymore.
Because Morpheus is dead.
There’s a hollow place inside of my chest at that reminder. The man that I hated and feared for the last several years is no more. I should be relieved. I am… in a way. But I’m also unmoored, floating in the ocean of the world and unsure what I should do next. All of the things I’ve been fighting—his control, the potential of him winning the legal battle to make me unable to take care of myself in the eyes of the law, the idea that maybe he had something to do with the embezzlement at Donovan-Calloway Industries. It’s all gone.
Just like that.
Except the emotions surrounding all of those things remain and now, there’s no outlet for them.
Nolan talks, recapping everything that he and the guys have been doing since I’ve been gone. Well, everythingafterthey realized that I wasn’t a “traitorous cunt” as Gio puts it when he pipes in, much to Nolan’s obvious annoyance. I know I should pay attention, I should care—and I do—but the longer the conversation goes, the more I drift. The information from them, including the regular comments from Lex and Gio, only makes new questions crop up.
