Page 66 of Give Me a Reason

She shrugs. “No, he just pulled my hair a bit. My head is sore, but that’s all. It’s not bad.”

“Is that a gun?” he asks, eyes bulging as they settle on the piece at the edge of the bed. He blanches completely, hugging Olivia even tighter. “Holy hell. You went after a guy who was holding a goddamn gun?”

“I had to,” she murmurs. “Vincent helped. It was two against one. Justin never stood a chance.”

He snorts. “That’s what Jonathan and I thought once too. Thank God you’re both okay.”

Turning his head in my direction, he narrows his eyes as he looks me up and down, obviously assessing the state I’m in. “You are, aren’t you? Okay, I mean.”

“I’m fine,” I say because, physically, I really am. It’s a miracle, but it’s true.

Mentally and emotionally, however, I’m not so good, but that’s not what’s important right now.

Before anyone has moved another muscle, Mike’s men are swarming around him and two of them hoist Justin to his feet. As they reach the door, my dad and the others appear in it, expressions grim as they start realizing who he is and what must’ve happened.

Mike releases Olivia after giving her a final squeeze. Then he takes charge of the situation.

“Anderson,” he snaps at his second-in-command. “Take him out front. The authorities should be here soon. I’ll be there in a few. Tell them the kids will answer any questions they have right here, but they’re going to have to keep it short for today. I’ll take them to the station myself in the morning for the follow-up.”

My mom and Olivia’s suddenly appear behind Jonathan, Anderson, and everyone else crowding the door. They push themselves through, and then Olivia and I are both being pulled into their arms. My mom holds me close, sobbing into the crook of my neck as she strokes my hair just like she used to when I was little.

“My baby,” she murmurs. “Oh, my baby. Are you okay? What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” I say as I close my arms around her and hold her tighter than I have in a long, long time. Probably since I was a child clinging to her on my first day of kindergarten. Even then, I don’t think I actually clung to her much. I fucking loved kindergarten.

Mike barks orders to his men, and they follow them without question. Once the security team is gone, he waves the families who were right outside into the room.

“Okay, guys,” he calls. “We’re going to have to make this fast and it’s going to be a squeeze, but come on in. See them with your own eyes, make sure they’re okay, but after that, I need to take them with me.”

Maxim barrels his way to me first, but he’s closely followed by everyone else. Just like Mike said it was going to be, it’s a tight squeeze, but we make it work. My dad tucks me in under his arm, holding me between him and my mom with Maxim and Emma beside him.

Under any other circumstances, I’d have shoved him off, but I don’t do it now. All I really want is to go to Olivia, but she’s sandwiched between her parents as well, so there’s no chance of that happening.

As our eyes meet across the room, she gives me a soft smile and her eyes fill with tears as she mouthsI love you. I nod, but unlike her, I don’t keep it quiet when I say it back. “Love you too, Liv.”

A hush falls over the room, and Mike’s jaw grinds before he sighs and rubs the back of his neck with the hand not holding his daughter. “On that note, why don’t you guys tell us how the fuck this happened? Last I heard, you were both at the pool, and then I got the call to come here.”

Olivia takes a deep breath, sagging against her mom as she starts telling her side of the story—leaving out the reason she came back to the bungalow in the first place.

Isabella smiles, sucking her lip between her teeth as she cocks a brow at me. She’s the only other person who knows exactly why Olivia came back, but thankfully, she keeps her mouth shut.

It’s probably going to be a while before either Olivia or I want to be tied up or experiment with anything like that at all, but that’s okay. We’ll get there. In time. When the sight of anything that can be used to tie each other up stops reminding us of Justin lying on the floor, bound with the very same items we were planning on using for something much more fun.

I exhale deeply. Today has changed my life in more ways than I can count, and a quick glance at the clock tells me it’s only just after lunch.

After Olivia gives theCliffsNotesversion of what happened, Mike steps forward again. “I know none of you want to leave this room right now, or have them leave it, but we’ve got Justin in custody. He won’t be getting away from us, so you can all relax. I’ll have Liv and Vincent back to you just as soon as I can.”

With that, he motions us both to him, and I give my mom another squeeze before following him and Olivia to the door. I should’ve known better than to think my mom or dad, or even my brother and Emma, were going to let me out of their sight right now, though.

I’ve barely moved when they fall into step behind me, and instead of grumbling about it as I would’ve before, I wait up. Because I get it now. A lot of people would kill for this kind of support, and I’m done taking it for granted.

From now on, I’m going to appreciate it. Every last—sometimes annoying—drop of it.

30

OLIVIA

Due process is a real bitch. Vincent and I have been separated for hours now, being questioned in different rooms as our versions of what happened are taken down meticulously before being put to the test. I know it’s important for all this to get done as soon as possible after the commission of a crime, and I realize there are important reasons for it, butsweet baby zucchini,is it exhausting…

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