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He shook his head.
Cora turned toward Ollie and with a curse under her breath, she wrapped an arm around him. Ollie put his arm around her shoulders and let her snuggle in. Kody could see something change in Ollie’s expression. It was subtle. A slight glimmer appeared in his eyes as if Cora brought him out of the horror show he was certain Ollie’s mind had on repeat.
Ollie rested his head on top of Cora’s and while those two took comfort in each other, he decided to get up and stretch his legs. He headed out of the waiting room and down a hallway. His mind was elsewhere as he walked, thoughts of Ace taking over. He still didn’t quite understand what had happened. All he knew was that someone had tried to kill them and the next thing he knew, he’d been in Ace’s arms.
He hadn’t seen the body. The cops had covered it up before he had the chance to. Not that he wanted to see it. Just knowing that the bastard was dead was enough for him.
He found himself wandering further than he planned and as he turned to go back, a dark blue uniform caught his eye.
“Hey,” he said, walking up to the cop. “Do you know anything about the pregnant girl from our scene?”
“Last I heard, she went into labor.”
“Shit. Okay. Thanks, man.”
He headed back to the waiting area where he caught sight of the back of someone he would recognize anywhere.
“Ace?”
Ace turned, and the second their eyes met, he was running.
Ace
When Kody slammed into him, he wrapped his arms around him and held on like he never intended to let go again. He sucked in a deep breath, not surprised that he found he could breathe easier with Kody against him. He knew the man was safe. Alive. That was everything to him.
“How are you here?” Kody asked and leaned back in his arms. “I thought you were at the station.”
“I was. They let me go.”
When he’d called Griff to pick him up, he’d made sure he also brought him new clothes because he didn’t want to show up looking the way he had.
Kody gave him a confused look and he understood why.
“They have to investigate before they decide on arresting me.”
“But you saved us? Right?”
Kody was looking at him with such naive hope shining in his brown eyes. He was well-aware that Kody knew he’d taken a life and, unfortunately, he couldn’t exactly claim that it was the first time. He wished he could’ve kept Kody oblivious to that part of his life. To what he truly was.
“I killed someone, Kody.” He watched Kody’s Adam’s apple bopping and the color drain from his face. “And I would do it again in a heartbeat if it kept you safe.”
“I… that’s a lot,” Kody said, shaking his head.
“I know, and I need you to understand that that’s what it means to be with me,” he said, watching Kody closely. “I love you.”
Tears filled Kody’s eyes.
“I can stay, or I can leave. Whichever is easier for you, but I need you to make a decision about me, about us. Just, please, don’t try to do it right now. You need to go be with your friends. You need to process everything.”
Was he a dick for putting all this on Kody right now? Probably. Did he see any other way? No. Kody deserved the truth. He deserved to know everything so that he could make the right decision for himself and as much as he desperately wanted Kody to choose him, he would never try to influence Kody’s decision.
Kody nodded slowly, and as he pulled away and turned to walk across the room to his friends, he couldn’t stop the very unwanted feeling of having just lost the best thing he’d ever had.
Kody made him laugh and feel at ease. He made him feel important. Kody made him want to prove himself but not in a bad way. More as in that he wanted to live up to the person Kody saw him as.
A hand on his shoulder had him releasing a deep sigh.
He glanced up at Griff and wasn’t surprised to find the man with a sympathetic look on his face.
