Page 24 of Erik's Redemption
She nodded quickly.
“You’re safe, Angel. I’ve got you.”
“Oh my God!” His sister’s voice came from the side of the pool, and he turned to see both her and Nate standing there.
He swam to the steps and climbed out, Hannah still wrapped around him. The second the cool night air touched her skin, she shivered.
Nate took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
“Come into the house,” Andi said quickly, leading them to the front rather than the back to avoid the crowd. “I’ll get you both some towels and find some clothes for Hannah. I don’t have any men’s clothes. Sorry, Erik.”
“I’ve got some stuff in my car,” Nate said, jogging toward the front of the house.
Erik followed Andi inside and down a hall to her bedroom. She opened the door, and he carried Hannah inside.
Andi disappeared into the attached bathroom, returning a second later with towels. She gave them to Erik before rummaging through her drawers and pulling out some yoga pants and a sweater for Hannah.
“Is there anything else you need?”
Hannah shook her head. “Thank you.”
“I’ll leave you two to it.” At the door, she stopped, eyes meeting Hannah’s. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. It was too quick, and her skin was too pale. Anger pounded through Erik’s veins.
Nate stepped in. “Here, I had these.” He left the clothes on the bed.
The second the door closed behind his siblings, Erik peeled the jacket off Hannah’s shoulders. Even though the pool water had been warm, her skin was chilled, probably a combination of the shock and the cool evening air.
He moved into the bathroom and turned on the shower. When he returned to Hannah, he gently slipped the straps off her shoulders and let the wet material of her dress fall to the floor. A shudder rocked her body, and he cursed under his breath.
Quickly, he pulled off his own clothes and lifted her into his arms. The second they stood under the stream of hot water, Hannah sighed. He lowered her to her feet, and she rested her head on his chest.
For a moment, he let everything fade. The anger. The dread that had pitted his gut for weeks. He just released it all to hold her. Love her.
They stood under the water for so long that steam billowed around them. Still, he didn’t move to get out, and neither did she. It was only the vibration of her watch from the bathroom countertop sounded that had him putting a bit of separation between them.
Was she low?
Without a word, he stepped out and grabbed both their towels, wrapping one around her shoulders first.
Quickly, they both dried, and he helped her into the spare clothes before urging her down to sit on the bed. He pulled on the jeans and T-shirt Nate had left him, then checked her watch. Yep. Low.
He moved to Andi’s dresser drawers, opening the second one and digging to the bottom of her socks for the bag of sour worms.
Humor sparkled in Hannah’s blue eyes when he returned to her. “How did you know they were there?”
He lowered to his haunches in front of her. “Andi loves candy. In particular, sour worms. When we were kids, if Mom bought any form of candy, she’d take it and hide it. It took me a few searches to realize she always hid it in the same place, but I never ratted her out or took it back.”
“Why not?”
He lifted one shoulder with a slight grin as he pulled a worm from the bag. “Knowledge is power. I thought I might need to use it against her one day. As it happens, I didn’t use it against her then, but Iamusing it now.”
He touched a worm to Hannah’s lips, and she opened for him, the candy disappearing inside her mouth.
He waited for her to swallow before cupping her cheek. “What happened?”
Her brows knitted together. “I was on the phone but couldn’t hear whoever was on the line, so I moved around the corner to look for someplace quieter. And I think…”
