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“I wasn’t going tohurther.” Oliver’s voice is so pathetic it almost breaks my heart.Almost.
I’m not ever going to forget what he did. I’ll have nightmares about what he might have done if Edwin hadn’t come when he did.
“We’ll take care ofhim,” Lourdes says and then nods in my direction. “Check on her, eh? She looks like she can barely stand up.”
I hadn’t even noticed how weak my body had gotten as I stood here. The absolute shock of it all is just starting to hit me. “I think I need to…need to–”
Edwin rushes to my side and slides one hand onto my lower back, grabbing my other hand for support. “Careful.”
His touch makes me stronger. I don’t know how to explain it. But it justdoes. Infuses me with comfort and steadiness.
All the same, I allow him to guide me to one of the sofas surrounding the center stage. I glance over at Lourdes who is pushing Oliver out of The Underground.
My boss helps me sit down. “Don’t look at him.”
I snap my attention back to Edwin.
He gets to his knees before me. “Just look at me.”
Now that I’m looking at him, it would be impossible to look away.
“It’s all okay now, alright?” He holds his hands out to me.
Is Edwin asking me to touch him when we know what kind of fire that can ignite?
However, I’d be denying myself so much if I refused. I need his steadiness. Something to hold onto. What better than his hands…
As soon as I set my palms in his, my heart starts to race once again. But this time, it’s because of the warmth-in-your-chest feeling that overwhelms me.
He looks me over. “Are you hurt?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“What…what happened?”
I hesitate.
“You don’t have to tell me yet if you–”
“No, no, it’s…” I keep my eyes glued to our hands. If I look up at the beautiful edges of his face, I might lose all ability to speak. “Hazel was sobbing after leaving a scene with Oliver–”
Edwin’s grip tightens. “What did he do?”
“He wouldn’t yield to the safe word.”
“Bastard.”
“I let Hazel go home and went to find Oliver, but he–he–”
Edwin scans The Underground. “Why the hell didn’t Ruby do something?”
I shake my head. “Don’t know where she is.”
“That’s unacceptable.”
I nod.
We are both quiet. From outside The Underground, an argument is escalating.
