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Chapter 13
Trigger jerked awake. He wasn’t sure what had awoken him. Hell, he hadn’t even remembered falling asleep. The last thing that he could recall was holding Harley on the sofa. He shot upright when he realized his arms were empty.
“I’m here.”
He turned his head in the direction of her voice. She was curled up in a chair near the window, wrapped in a blanket. He relaxed once he saw she was okay.
“How long have you been up?” he asked.
“Not long. I had to use the bathroom.”
He reached for his cell phone and grimaced when he spotted the time. “Have you eaten?”
“Not since lunch, but I’m not hungry. I can’t eat right now.”
“You need to,” he countered as he swung his legs around so that he was sitting.
After a few minutes, he pushed to his feet and groaned. “I’m too old to be sleeping on the couch.”
She didn’t respond, but he saw how the corners of her mouth twitched at his statement.
“I’m going to take a quick shower. Then I’ll heat some of the leftover casserole you made yesterday.”
“I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere,” she promised.
The words settled him some, but he didn’t waste time. He took a quick shower feeling a lot better once he had. When he returned, he found Harley sitting in the same spot. He went into the kitchen and pulled out the leftovers. She joined him a short time later.
When she started helping, a little more of the tension swirling within him dissipated. While it wasn’t a complete one-eighty, it was enough to show him that she hadn’t completely shut down as he feared she would.
He didn’t pressure her to talk as they ate, but he knew she was thinking—a lot.
Before it was all said and done, he would get her to express her thoughts. One thing he was all too familiar with was being alone with your thoughts and allowing them to eat you from the inside out.
Once they were finished eating, he pushed to his feet and began cleaning up. When she started to help, he stopped her.
“Go take a shower and get ready for bed. I have this. Meet me back in the living room once you’re finished.”
When she left the kitchen without arguing, it took everything in him not to throw the plate in his hand and yell. But he had to keep it together for her. No matter what. She was clearly distraught by the news he’d shared with her earlier.
He would never forget the way she collapsed in his arms. The guttural scream that she’d emitted before her knees gave out. One that must have carried around the compound because several of his brothers had texted him. He’d only returned one—to Rock and asked him to let everyone else know that he had it handled but that he would call if that changed.
Not knowing how much time he had, he finished putting everything away and headed for the living room. He’d just settled onto the couch when Harley returned. A glance at her face told him that she’d cried again at some point during her shower. But even with red-rimmed eyes and splotchy cheeks, she was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.
He held his hand out to her. “Come here. Tell me what you need right now.”
“To forget,” she whispered as she walked over to him. “I can’t shut my mind off. I just...I don’t know. Make me forget. If only for a little while. Please.”
His stomach clenched in anger, every thump of his heart promising retribution the moment he had a chance. He tugged her into his arms, ready and willing to give her something else to focus on, if only briefly.
“I’ll give you anything you want, Harley.”
He covered her mouth with his in a slow, lazy exploration of dueling tongues because he meant what he’d promised. He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and held her mouth to his. Without breaking the kiss, he scooped his arms around her waist and lifted her so she was plastered against him from shoulders to thighs. He kissed her until they were both panting hard.
