Page 72 of Lies We Tell (Thistle Cove 3)

“Babe?” he asks, rubbing his eyes. “What the hell?”

“I need somewhere to stay. To hide.”

He wakes up, jaw tightening.

“From who?”

I swallow, trying to process everything that just happened. “From Alice.”

37

Ezra

She stands with her back against the door, breathing erratically. She wipes at her eyes, ringed and wet, rubbing at red marks on her wrists. Words bubble from her mouth; Alice. Kissed her. Attacked her. She’s the one that’s been mindfucking Kenley, gaslighting her for all these months.

I grab her and pull her into my arms, cradling her against my chest. “You’re safe,” I tell her, stroking her hair. “Whatever you want to do, we’ll do it. We can go get Gimple. Shannon. My dad. We can call the police or I’ll go find her and let her know what happens when someone fucks with my girl.”

Her arms tighten around my waist and I rest my chin on her head.

“I don’t know what I want to do.”

“That’s fine, too. We can figure that out in the morning.”

“Thank you.” She sniffs and peers around me. “How did you get a room to yourself?”

“My dad paid extra. Well, really, my dad paid for most of the trip. They gave the chaperones their own rooms and tossed in an extra. He gave it to me.”

“Where are the guys?”

I nod to the door that connects to the adjacent room. “Next door. Do you want me to go get them?”

She shakes her head. “No. Let them sleep. We can all deal with this in the morning.”

Kenley steps around me and looks at the king-sized bed. I’d been fast asleep when she’d knocked—to the point of almost missing it. Thank god I didn’t. She looked so frazzled and upset. I’m glad to see she’s calmed down. Too bad I’m dealing with my own adrenaline push—thinking of ways to make Alice pay for terrorizing KK all these months.

“Do you mind?” she asks, standing by the rumpled bed.

I shake my head and circle around to the other side. A moment later we’re under the covers and she turns off the lamp. I reach out and pull her to me. She rolls on her side, back pressed against my stomach, and settles in. It feels so good to have her close—to have her safe—even if the smell of her, the feel of her is driving me mad.

The room is quiet—hotel quiet—and I’m pretty sure I hear my heart beating in my chest.

I’m not sure how long I lie there, dozing, holding her in my arms when she shifts to face me and says, “I thought it was one of you.”

“Hmm?”

“When Alice got in my bed. I was groggy and confused. She touched me and I thought it was you, or Finn, or Oz.”

“She’s a manipulator. She caught you in a weak moment.”

She presses her lips to my sternum. “I don’t like feeling weak.”

With two fingers I lift her chin, finding her face in the dark. “You’re the strongest woman I know—even through all this.”

“Ezra?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“I want you to be the one that touches me.”

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