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I was immediately suspicious. What made her do a complete one-eighty?
“She’s trying,” Rhys answered my private thought. “She’s protective of us, and you’re not the only one your father hurt with the choices he made.”
“Geez, way to make me feel like a mega-bitch,” I quipped.
“Stay out of my head.”
“Why would I do that? It’s my favorite place to cause chaos.”
I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. I didn’t think he was joking.
“You sure you’re okay?” his voice was gentle, full of genuine concern.
“I’ll be just fine,” I lied.
“This is for you.”
Feeling something against my palm, I glanced down at
a sleek cellphone. It was trivial sure, but the meaning behind the gesture, at least for us, was huge. He was trusting me.
“Once I’m gone, go find the room I told you about.”
I nodded, leaning into his touch when he gripped my face and turned it towards him, leaving me with a kiss that I would feel long after he left.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
NOVA
I didn’t see Emery the rest of the day.
I’d tried looking for her, but the house was too damn big with way too many rooms.
I wound up outside the door Rhys had directed me to, turning the knob as if a bomb would trigger from within once I opened it.
Before it could fully open, I smelled one of my favorite things in the world. I stepped inside and felt for the light switch, clicking it up when I discovered it. Neatly stacked rows of canvas were sat against the back wall, all mine. To the right were at least a dozen waiting to be graced with the swirl of a brush.
In the center of the room was one all by its lonesome. The setting was a forest of dead trees, and broken branches. They represented the feeling of fear and desperation the wounded rabbit below felt.
Bite marks pierced its spine, turning pure white fur red. Far away was an open field, above it a stormy, lightning-lit sky.
It was an illusion of hope.
Pursuing the rabbit, a wolf. Its silver eyes stared out at me, tinges of black and blue mixed in their centers. When I’d painted it not too long ago the inspiration had been simple.
Predator and prey.
Hunter and hunted.
Rhys and me.
He must have felt the same to of put it of all my pieces on display.
I was struck with the overwhelming urge to recreate it.
Looking around the room, I laughed to myself, spotting an unopened bottle of tequila beside on a corner desk.
He knew me far too well.
