“I’ve got Harper,” he said.
“I know. Thank you.”
He turned his back to me and strode away. Nolan saluted me and went with him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
bloom
At some point,the door to my cell opened.
I’d been dozing in and out of sleep, still trembling uncontrollably and crying in random bursts. My chest felt tight, and my mind had all but shut itself down.
A light, sweet scent met my nose.
Vanilla.
My eyes burned all over again.
I’d expected yelling when he arrived. Anger and hatred and betrayal andfury.
What I didn’t expect was for him to gently pick me up, cradling me to his chest as he carried me out of the cell.
When he did exactly that, I braced myself for whatever awful confrontation was coming next.
The yelling.
The betrayal.
The fury.
I thought he’d take me to an interrogation room.
Instead, he carried me to his apartment.
I couldn’t stop myself from inhaling when we got there.
It smelled like us.
Just us.
Nothing and no one else.
Another round of tears escaped. I wasn’t sure exactly why.
Maverick carried me to the bed, sat down, and pulled me under the blankets with him. His arms were still around me, holding me tightly to his chest.“I know you’re awake, Sugar.”
His voice was low, but soft.
“If you’re going to kill me or lecture me or hate me, get on with it,” I whispered against his throat. My arms were trapped between us. I wanted to wrap them around him and hold on for dear life, but I didn’t want to push him any more than I already had.
“I would rather rip my own throat out than hurt you.”
My arms went around his back, and another sob made my entire body arch in pain. Overwhelming fucking pain. “Is she dead?”
“No, Bloom. Harper’s alive. There is no world where we would kill her without letting you say goodbye. She’s alive, and safe.”
I cried harder, in relief.
