Page 40 of Erik's Redemption
“I can’t…breathe.” Another sob broke free, and it was all too much. The weight on her shoulders felt so heavy, her knees caved, and she would have fallen to the ground if Leo hadn’t pulled her into his arms.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered into her ear. “It’ll be okay.”
“Tellme you have eyes on her and she’s okay?” Erik growled into the phone.
He felt hollow. Empty.
His one driving force, the one thing keeping him focused, was the deep need to know that Hannah was safe.
“She went to her friend’s store, but it was closed,” Chandler said quietly.
There was a pause, and in that pause, Erik’s heart began to thud violently against his ribs. “Tell me.”
“She was upset. Banging on the glass and pulling at the handle.”
Erik ran shaky fingers through his hair. All he wanted to do was go to her. Be with her. But she didn’t want him. Might never want him again.
“A guy she works with found her, and he drove her to her friend Henry’s house,” Chandler continued. “That’s where she is right now.”
A guy she worked with…Leo? Erik would normally hate that, but right now, all he felt was gratitude that someone had been there to help her. “So she’s safe?”
“She’s okay, Erik.”
The air rushed from his chest in a long stream. “Thanks. Tell your guy to keep eyes on her.”
“You know it’s already done.” There was a small pause. “Areyouokay?”
The question almost made him laugh, even though that was the last fucking thing he wanted to do. “No. I’m not even close to okay.”
He was tattered and torn, and there was this ache inside him so deep that it was the only thing he could feel.
“Anything I can do?”
He shook his head even though the guy couldn’t see him. “Just make sure she’s safe. I’ll check in again soon.”
He hung up and let his cell fall, the sound of it hitting the desk loud in the otherwise quiet room. He dropped his head into his hands.
Gone. She was gone. And there was nothing he could do about it.
Her expression as she’d walked away from him played over in his head again and again. He’d done that. He’d put that lookon her face. It was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to tell her what he’d done. Because he’d known it would kill her.
She’d already lost so much, having her parents die when she was so young, then her foster mother. Nico had been her one constant.
He pressed his palms harder to his eyes, everything inside him swirling like a deadly storm.
When his phone buzzed, indicating someone had pulled up at the house, he didn’t look down. He couldn’t. He had nothing left in him. At the click of his front door unlocking, he knew who it was, anyway. There were only two people with keys to his home—Hannah and his sister.
“What are you doing here, Andi?” He didn’t look up as he spoke.
The soft thud of footsteps moved across the room. Then her warm hand was on his back. “Mom asked me to check on you. She seemed pretty worried.”
He looked up to see his sister beside him, watching him closely. “If you’re going to ask me if I’m okay—”
“I’m not. I can see you’re definitely not okay.” She tilted her head. “Talk to me, Erik. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I did something I can’t take back.”
“What?”
