Page 63 of Into the Woods

“Breathe, Bex,” I ordered myself. I slowly counted to five in my head and then pushed off the door and hurried into the separate toilet area of the bathroom. I’d unpacked some of my toiletries last night, so I washed my hands and brushed my teeth when I finished emptying my bladder. Locating a hair tie, I twisted my unruly hair into a knot on top of my head and braced myself to leave the space.

Court was standing near the foot of the bed, a pile of clothes in one hand. He smiled at me as I walked by, careful to keep enough distance so we wouldn’t touch.

But then he caught my wrist. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Uh, sure,” I managed.

He handed me his cell phone. “Ash is supposed to text me, and it’s important. Can you knock on the bathroom door and let me know what he says?”

My brows shot up. “Isn’t that, like, need-to-know type stuff?”

His lips twitched. “It’s not that kinda stuff. It’s the not-so-official summons for you to return to Pacific Cross. In fact, forward it to yourself so you have it, just in case you need to show it to anyone.”

“Like Eric?”

Storm clouds gathered behind his eyes. “If that fucker contacts you, I need you to tell me immediately, okay?”

I nodded. “I will. What’s the code to unlock it?”

He gave me a strange look before finally saying, “Zero-eight-twenty-two.”

I paused, the number registering in my brain. “My birthday?”

His face relaxed into a softness that I rarely got to see. “Yeah.” He started to move around me.

“Court?”

He stopped instantly, giving me his full attention. “Yeah, baby?”

I caught my bottom lip between my teeth, suddenly embarrassed and unsure. “You…” I took a deep breath. “You really want to talk later?”

He moved in front of me, his hands framing my face and holding me like I was the most precious thing in the world. “Yeah, Becca. I’ve let you go twice now, and I hated myself every time. I can’t do it a third time. I won’t survive it, baby.”

I swallowed hard, working not to cry.

“I know I’ve let you down before, but I won’t. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that I need you in my life.”

I shrugged. “Sure, Court. Whatever you say.”

His eyes slid shut, and he leaned forward to press a kiss to my forehead. “Give me ten minutes.” Then he was gone, disappearing into the bathroom.

Letting out a wobbly exhale, I hurried up and grabbed a change of clothes before wandering out into the main living area to the kitchenette. A fresh pot of coffee was waiting for me along with my favorite hazelnut creamer. Smiling, I made myself a cup and took it to the couch.

I’d just settled in when Court’s phone pinged with an incoming message. Setting the coffee aside, I typed in my birthday and saw he had a new text. “Damn, Ash.” I did the mental math—if it was eight in the morning here, it was two a.m. in California.

I hit the text icon, and the message opened into an image.

It took me a second to realize that what I was seeing was a perky set of very naked breasts attached to a blonde with big green eyes. Her lips were stained crimson and slightly open, her eyes hooded.

UNKNOWN: I miss you, baby.

Before I could nope my way out of the text thread, a second one came through. This time it was a waxed va-jay-jay with a silver piercing spread wide open by long, pointed green nails.

UNKNOWN: My pussy needs you.

Horrified, I exited the text thread, but stopped cold as I realized there were other texts in his phone. Ash’s name was in there, but it was buried under several others.

Nicki. Sarah. BethAnn.

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