Page 88 of The Freedom in Captivity

Flynn immediately shifts his hands to the window’s edge and lifts himself into the air, through the window, and rolling to his feet with a light thud that has us both pausing, glancing at the door.

Nothing.

Flynn straightens from his crouch, more agile than I imagined a man his size could be. He stumbles, swaying, and reaches out for the bed post to steady himself. I suppose climbing a house would fuck with someone’s equilibrium.

Wait…“What the hell, Flynn?” We’re easily three stories high. “You climbedthat?”

“Shh,” he hisses, attention darting to the door again. “If you’re gonna yell, don’t do it so fuckin’ loud. If you pay attention, the mansion wasn’t built with a completely flat siding. Bricks pop out for aesthetic or whatever shit. That’s how.”

There’s a slight slur to his words, which I note, first glancing out the window. The low sun casting a glow over the land makes it difficult to see the details of the mansion’s brick siding, so I shut the window and slide the curtain into place.

“That’s how you got in here.Whyhave you come?”

Stony silence.

I drag my gaze to him, actuallylooking.Behind low, measured breaths from his climb, Flynn’s a mess. His eyes are bloodshot, like he hasn’t slept in days, and a light purple-black rings the base of each eye. His hair is frazzled, like he’s ran his fingers through it too many times. His cheeks are more shallow than usual.

He looks exhausted.

“I don’t know. ‘Cause you won’t get out of my head.”

My heart hammers, urging me forward, but I make my feet into bricks, determined to remain in spot. “And you think seeing me will help?”

“No.” He growls. “Yes.” Fingers skate through his hair, frustrated. “I don’t fuckin’ know,mon soleil.”

My thighs clench. My hands weave together in front of me. Flynn’s never caused my nerves to react, even from the moment he’s had a knife to my neck, so I don’t know how to handle this.

“Sneaking in was the only way I could see you. Nico ordered me away from you.”

He snuck in here against orders. Living with Dad taught me how dangerous disobeying a mafia boss’s order can be. My resolve cracks slightly, and I approach, reaching for him.

I haven’t gotten close enough to make contact when I catch the whiff of what I had missed with his entry. He didn’t only stumble because he climbed a mansion; he stumbled because he wreaks of alcohol.

“Are you drunk?”

The hollow eyes, the messy hair; it’s not exhaustion. It’s lowered inhibitions, which also explains his subtle slurring.

He grins messily, reminding me of the younger version from my memories.

“You got drunk and climbed a mansion.”

“For you.”

“Maybe you should sit.” Even though heshouldn’tbe here, I urge him toward the bed.

He follows my suggestion but quicker than I catch, his arm snakes around my waist and tugs me over his lap. The movement has me shoving my hands against his shoulder, keeping myself righted, but as fast as I manage to, his mouth claims mine in a heated kiss.

I fall into it for a second, long enough for a cloud of lust to begin claiming me, when rationality takes over and I pull my head away, pushing into his shoulders at the same time to make my point.

We both know he could fight my denial if he wanted to, but he lets me go with a groan and instead grips the back of my neck, holding me steady as drunken, blurred eyes—how did I not notice before?—stare at me so intently, I feel them throughout my entire body.

“I spentyearstrying to forget you. After all, we wereeighteen. Children,” he sneers the word. “Teenage love isn’t the real, lifelong thing. Your words hurt so fuckin’ bad, even when a part of me felt, deep down, the bet you claimed to have made was a damn lie. Tell that to me back then though. When you left, when the Corsettis found me, it was another two years before I stopped thinkin’ about you all the time. No—not only thinkin’ about you.Worryingabout you. You fed me some bullshit lie, which I wanted to believe.” One hand cups my face, his touch tender. “I wondered if you were safe. If you were still in the city. There wasn’t a place I went that I didn’t look for you. And then…time fades. Wounds heal. I ended up with a different life.”

I press my palm over his heart, knowing what’s there. The sign of that different life he speaks of.

“At least I thought it did. I thought I moved on. But then you fuckin’ showed up here,” his fingers grip my neck tighter, “and everything went to hell. I’ve never debated breaking my vows, but here I fuckin’ am.” His tone is harsh, despite his whisper. “Being in this very room goes against a direct order and if Nico found out, my ass would be on the line. The family who took me in. The family that found me. Thatmademe.”

“Are you blaming me?” I jerk away, shoving into his chest only for the hold on my neck to get heavier. “Asshole. I didn’t invite you in here.”

---