In the apartment, she packed a backpack full of toiletries and whatever else she needed.
When we went to Harper’s room to do the same, we found everything put away and labelled neatly in boxes, duffels, and trash bags.
My mate fell apart again.
I held her until she was ready to get up. She’d been holding herself together and keeping her emotions controlled for too long, and it had caught up with her.
When we left the room, she clutched my hand, towing me out of the apartment immediately.
The enforcers could handle the move. I’d have them drive my SUV home for me too, since Bloom wanted the fresh air that would accompany a walk.
Harper was never going to be like she had been again. Things had changed permanently for the pair of friends. It was going to take Bloom time to process that.
I used the pack link to ask my enforcers to take pictures of everything when they came to pack it up, in case Bloom wanted to see them at some point.
They would take all of Harper’s things to one of the available rooms in the tower, so it would be ready if she decided she was going to deal with the bloodlust for the sake of staying alive.
“Can we grab coffee on the way to the restaurant?” she asked me, as we walked down the stairs with our fingers intertwined. “I know you’re probably nervous about it, but I think I need it to get through this.”
“I’m not nervous about it. The killer isn’t a mind reader. They can’t poison one cup of coffee in advance at a cafe we choose randomly.”
And I’d be sniffing it before she drank it.
She let out a breath of relief. “That’s what I was thinking.”
We walked in silence for a few minutes. The city was loud, and I knew her mind was as well. With everything that had gone down in the last twenty-four hours, anyone’s would be.
After we grabbed our drinks, we walked a little slower. Bloom seemed reluctant to get to the lunch with her family, which didn’t surprise me at all.
They were a lot.
I was used to a lot, though, and I’d already texted to let them know they needed to go easy on her.
Bloom was really fucking strong, but knowing you were possibly losing the person closest to you would hit anyone hard. The tight way she was still gripping my hand told me she wasn’t coping as well as she wanted it to seem like she was.
When her mind touched mine first, without me instigating it, I couldn’t help the small wave of pride that followed.
She was mine.
Permanently.
Fuck, it was surreal.
“Do you think it’s weird that I’m not afraid to drink coffee again after what happened last time?”she asked.
She was trying to focus on something within her control. It didn’t surprise me. I thought it was both expected for someone as controlled as her, and safe as far as coping mechanisms went.
“No. You love coffee, and you know it’s not likely to happen again. If it does, you know I’m here.”
She nodded.“I guess.”
There was another stretch of silence. It wasn’t awkward. Just calm.
On a normal day, I would’ve tried to make her laugh or started a conversation, but this wasn’t a normal day.
She didn’t need me to make her laugh at the moment. She just needed me to be there.
“I know you’re worried about it, but I’d really like to go to the office,”Bloom said quietly.“I spent the last few days watching Harper devolve, and I think I might be able to spot someonewho’s in the same situation. I know everyone who works there. I know their version of normal. If there’s a chance I can stop them before they kill someone else, I want to at least try.”
