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“Nadja,” I roared out, feeling fear grip me at the thought of her leaving again.
Her steps faltered, and she looked over her shoulder.
“Nadja?” I yelled out again, pulling the baseball cap from my head and feeling my heart race in my chest as she slowed then stopped. I was either certifiable, or she was here. She was right fucking here.
She turned around and faced me once again, and I took a tentative step toward her. I was afraid she’d run again. The fear in her was strong, and I wanted to kill the person who made her feel that way.
“It is you.” I hadn’t meant to say those words out loud, least of all let her hear it, but I was glad she had, because she took a step toward me. She looked different for sure, but I could be blindfolded and find her no matter what.
My soul was hers.
“Frankie?” She said my name so low I almost didn’t hear it. “Is it really you?”
I nodded and felt my heart skip a beat. “Yeah, baby. It’s me.” Fuck, was I hallucinating? My step faltered as I took another one closer to her. “It’s really me,” I said again, trying to reassure her, to take away that fear-laced look on her face, to stop those tears from falling down her cheeks.
I could have fallen to my fucking knees right then and there. And then the next sequence of events happened in slow motion. I knew she was going to go down before I saw the color drain from her face. I saw the moment her knees buckled and her eyes rolled back. I saw the sweat lacing her brow, felt the heat pound down on us from above.
I saw all the signs of her about to pass out but barely made it to her in time before she hit the ground, her head connecting with a rock on the shoulder of the road.
I cursed and picked her up, cradling her far too thin frame to my chest, inhaling her scent into my lungs. I’d missed it, the memory of strawberries and mint the only thing that had been able to bring me solace all these years.
I tightened my hold on her as I strode to the SUV, gently set her in the back, and called Cullen. His woman needed to look at Nadja, to make sure she was okay, that hitting her head like she had didn’t cause any damage.
And as I barked all that out into the receiver, my focus was trained right on Nadja’s face. I’d fallen down the fucking rabbit hole and never wanted to crawl back up to the light of day.
I had my girl back in my life, and I didn’t care what I had to do to keep it that way.
I wouldn’t let her leave my side.
17
Nadja
As soon as consciousness rolled into me, I remembered everything, like great waves rushing to the shore, crashing against rocks. My head hurt, and I groaned softly, shifting before opening my eyes and staring at a white ceiling.
I could hear soft murmurs but couldn’t tell what was being said, the words muffled by walls and the door. I remembered looking up and seeing that dark SUV, the same one that I’d seen parked far too close to my apartment building. Instantly, I thought it was Maximillian. How could it not be? So I ran. But then I heard his voice… Frankie’s deep voice calling out my name, roaring out like he was a wounded animal.
I closed my eyes and breathed out as I remembered how it felt to hear it again after so long, to hear my name uttered from his lips.
I opened my eyes and turned my head to look in the direction of where the voices came from. I stared at a partially opened door, the crack wide enough to let me know people were out there, but not open enough to let me hear what was clearly being said.
I inhaled, and a very familiar scent surrounded me. In fact, I felt doused in it, and instantly calmness settled over me. I closed my eyes once more and just inhaled again and again, deeper each time. It was this automatic reaction to taking in that smell, to letting it move through me and heal every single broken part of my body.
Frankie.
It was Frankie’s scent. I was in his room. It was this strong and masculine aroma that reminded me of how you smelled after coming in from the beach—the sun, salt, the powerful ocean covering you.
I pushed myself up into a sitting position. The back of my head was sore, and I knew I passed out, assumed I probably hit my head as I’d gone down.
I lifted my hand and touched the tender spot, hissing under my breath as I came in contact with the pain. I was embarrassed that I fainted, but it had been a mixture of shock after seeing Frankie, the heat, total exhaustion from constantly running and never fully resting, and then my lack of nutrition.
