My eyes widen and I stare at him in shock. “You’re not the slightest bit bothered by what I did? He was your dad.”
“He was a controlling, manipulative asshole, who dictated everything in my life, and made it perfectly clear I never met his expectations. I can’t think of one fond memory with him—not one fatherly moment. He was nothing but the demon on my shoulder my whole life, telling me to try harder and do better. After finding out what he did to you all these years, I would have killed him myself.”
He shuffles closer to me on the bed, until our bodies are flush against one another, his head resting on my pillow, inches from mine. “You mean more to me than he ever did. I’ve never been more proud than I was when I walked in and saw you wielding that knife. You didn’t just face your greatest fear, you conquered it and made sure he could never come after you again.”
Even in the dark room, I can see the honesty shining in his hazel eyes, and for the first time since Cam stormed into that room and found me murdering his father, I feel like everything between us might be okay.
“It might have been completely inappropriate, but seeing you covered in his blood, knowing you hadn’t been afraid to do what you had to do, it had me so fucking hard.” I snort out a laugh as one side of his mouth lifts in a grin, and a sense of accomplishment shines in his eyes. “Now roll over so I can be the big spoon.”
Doing as he says, I shift onto my other side, and he drapes his arm over my hip, tucking me in against him. Just as my eyelids droop, he murmurs against my ear, his warm breath tickling the skin, “I’m pretty sure you’re the love of my life.”
Well, if I don’t fall asleep with a smile on my face after that.
***
“Where is she?!”
Emilia’s shout wakes me from the land of the dead the next morning—damn, those pain meds really knocked me out—and I can’t help but chuckle as I hear Hawk grumble a response, his voice too low for me to make out the words.
The two of them argue back and forth, and I feel Cam’s chest rumble as he laughs. “Sounds like she’s giving him hell.”
“I should probably go save him.”
Cam groans in protest as I disentangle myself from him and climb out of bed. Grabbing a pair of shorts from my duffle bag, I slip them on, and snatch Beck’s hoodie from yesterday off the floor on my way to the door.
“She’s resting,” I hear Hawk snap at Emilia as I walk down the hall, following the sound of their voices as they argue.
“I want to see her. I need to know she’s okay.”
“She’s fine.”
Emilia scoffs. “Like I’m going to take your word for it.”
The two of them are standing at the front door, facing off against one another as I enter the room. Hawk’s back is to me, so Emilia sees me first, her gaze moving to mine as her eyes widen and her mouth drops open in shock.
“Oh my god,” she gasps, and Hawk turns to see what’s gained her attention.
She shoves her way past him and throws her arms around me. “I have been so worried about you,” she cries, squeezing me so tightly it hurts. I momentarily stiffen at the sudden contact, but after a second, I relax and return her hug.
When she eventually pulls back, her eyes roam over me, widening as she spots the cuts on my legs and the large bandage wrapped around my thigh.
“What happened to you? Where have you been?”
I grimace, looking past her to Hawk. He purses his lips, but gives me a nod of encouragement before slipping down the hall, giving me some privacy to explain everything to her.
Taking her hand, I pull her with me over to the sofa, and sit so I’m facing her. I chew on my bottom lip as I debate how to tell her everything. It’s all pretty fucked up, and I can only imagine how it’s all going to sound to her.
When I take too long to start explaining, she sighs in exasperation. “Just spit it out, how bad can it be?”
Ha, if only she knew.
Taking a steady breath, I blurt out, “I grew up in a mercenary compound that I recently found out is owned by my parents. I was kidnapped as a baby by Cam’s dad, in some revenge plan to get back at my parents, but he developed some sort of fucked up attachment to me while holding me captive. I escaped, but Michael lured me into a trap with Cam’s dad, and he kidnapped me again. But the guys rescued me. Oh, and I killed Cam’s dad.”
By the time I’m finished, Emilia’s mouth is wide open, and I can see the whites of her eyes. She gapes at me, speechless for what is probably the first time in her life.
“Michael?!” she eventually screeches, making me huff out a laugh. Of course that’s the part she focuses on. Color works its way into her cheeks and tight lines form around her eyes as they narrow. Her lip curls back and she jumps to her feet, unable to sit still as she paces back and forth in front of the sofa. “That asshole! Do you know he’s been walking around here like he doesn’t have a care in the world?” She waves her arms around her in fast movements that match the rapid pace of her words. “Oh my god!” she exclaims. “All those times I told him how worried I was about you.” She barks out a caustic laugh, upping her pacing as she wears a path in the hardwood floor. “He pretended to be fucking there for me—telling me not to worry about you. He fucking hugged me.” She’s snarling like a rabid dog by the time she’s done, making me dizzy with all of her back and forth.
“You, uh, don’t have anything to say about the other stuff I told you?”
“Huh?” She spins to face me. “Oh, uh…” She pauses, eyeing me critically before she moves back over to reclaim her seat on the sofa. Reaching out, she clasps my hands in hers. “You’re going to be okay, right?”
There’s genuine concern in her eyes, and I swallow roughly before plastering on a watery smile. “Yeah.” I smile coyly. “They might have bent me a little, but they’ll have to do more than that to break me.”
She smiles placatingly, but I can tell she doesn’t believe the lies I’m feeding her. Squeezing my hand in reassurance, she says, “Your past doesn’t change anything for me. I love you for you.” Her eyes soften. “I’m so sorry for whatever you had to go through, and for being robbed of a life you should have led, but don’t think you’re going to scare me off with all your baggage. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
One side of her mouth lifts in a rueful smile, and I can’t help but smile back as I lean in to hug her. “Thank you.”
“Please tell me you’ve got a plan to deal with Michael?”
“Oh, we do,” Mason practically growls out the words as he comes striding into the room. Despite the anger on his face, his eyes soften when they land on me.
He comes toward us, kissing my temple before dropping onto the couch beside me and pulling me into his lap.
“We do?” I question. It’s the first I’m hearing of any plan.
“We’ll deal with him; you just rest.”