Page 77 of The Truths We Seek

I don’t remember ever feeling so... nervous.

Though not about her.

Never her.

Just at her reaction to me when she sees what’s inside the warehouse.

“Ready?” I ask her, holding out my hand to her, thankful for its steadiness as she places her palm on mine.

She smiles and I swear, all of the heavy shit in my life falls away and it’s just me and her. Nothing else exists, nothing else matters.

Not when she looks at me like that.

Like I hung not just the stars and the moon, but the entire fucking universe.

She makes me feel invincible. Like nothing is impossible. Breathing life and light back into me when, before her, I thought I’d never feel this. I accepted that that was my life. My karma.

But then she arrived and turned everything I thought I knew upside down.

Placing my hand on the door latch, I look down at her again. “If you don’t like your gift, we can leave. There is zero pressure.”

She barks out a laugh, her eyes dancing with joy. “I don’t know whether to be scared or really fucking excited after an introduction like that. Your mind is a beautiful and twisted place, Meyer Marino. Now show me my present!”

I chastely press my lips to hers, not allowing myself any more... yet.

Opening the door, I motion for her to enter. “Ladies first.”

Her giggle sounds again as she shakes her head. “We both know I’m no lady. Female yes, and I can absolutely pretend to be a lady if the situation calls for it…”

She trails off, poking her tongue out at me as she walks by, so I swat her ass, enjoying the squeak it pulls from her. I follow along behind her as she retraces the hall I walked her down when we came to see Harper, but she pauses at the end, looking back to me before turning right like we did last time.

“This way.” Taking her hand, I lead her left, to where the monster who I know still haunts her nightmares is waiting for us.

“Why do I feel like I’m going to vomit?” she asks, her voice quiet as we reach the door to the warehouse. Thankfully, the soundproofing means even if he’s awake and making noise, she has no idea what’s on the other side of the door.

Pausing, I turn her to face me and cup her chin. “What waits for you on the other side of the door is a choice. If you decide to not accept it, that’s okay. If you choose to accept it, that’s also totally okay. This is a choice that no one is going to take from you, but regardless of what happens, you are still loved, you are still worthy, and you still deserve the world.”

Tears fill her eyes and she blinks them back, her hands clasping my forearm where I have a hold on her chin. She squeezes my arm and takes a deep breath. “Thank you.” The words are quiet, almost like a prayer, so I kiss her and show her that my words are more than words. I pour every ounce of truth, love, adoration, and outright fucking obsession I have for her into it. Her hands move from my arm to my chest, where she clutches to me like I’m her lifeline in a storm, activating that primal, caveman part of me that really fucking enjoys her bending to my will.

“Okay,” I murmur, breathless. “We need to stop. Otherwise, we’re not making it to the other side of that door.” She pouts up at me, and I laugh once. “Oh, Kitten, we will definitely be finishing what we started, we’re just pushing pause.”

I kiss her again and she nips at my lips. “Naughty little kitten. Playing with fire.”

Her eyes dance with delight and I take a deep breath, trying to will away the hard on that’s very much on show. “Come on, present time.”

Opening the door, I step into the warehouse first, knowing she’s behind me from the sound of her footsteps. She steps around me and I know she sees him when her breath hitches.

“Trent?”

He’s hanging from the beam by metal chains that are attached to the cuffs on his wrists. The ones Rory said he used on her, his own version of poetic justice.

She looks back at me, questions in her eyes. “This is your gift, Quinn. We have gotten the info we could from him, but Rory says he’s done talking. We could have dealt with it, but after everything, I wanted to give you the option to do it yourself. To own the downfall and eradication of that monster, both in reality and in your head.”

Trent splutters a laugh from across the room. “She won’t do it. She’s weak. She’ll fail at your test like she’s failed at everything her entire life. Then you won’t want her, the way no one else has ever wanted her. Except me. I loved her and look where it got me.”

Rage courses through my veins but I keep my gaze on the blonde before me. Emotions flicker over her face, but I watch as she works through it, takes a breath, and then there’s peace.

“Thank you,” she says to me, holding out her hand. I pull the gun from my waistband and hand it to her, keeping a grip on it while ignoring the laughter that still comes from Trent, despite him being half dead already. He’s only alive because Rob put him on a feeding tube and IV. It takes a lot not to just shut him up myself, but she deserves this kill.

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