“It’s okay, babygirl,” I said. “I got you.”
The words rumbled through my chest, deep and gravely, the sound of my old voice a shock to my ears. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve sworn there was another man in the room.
But it was just me and Haley, all alone in the candlelight, her eyes going so wide I saw the flames dancing in them.
This time when she smiled, it stuck.
“Hudson,” she whispered, “thank you.”
And I knew it wasn’t just for the message, but for the words. For sharing them with her like some precious gift.
I kissed her forehead and pulled her back into my arms, and she snuggled in close like the whole fucking world could go to shit and it wouldn’t matter, not a damn bit, so long as I kept my promise.
“I got you,” I said again, only a whisper this time, because like she’d said—sometimes a fleeting thing was all the sweeter. “So fall apart if you need to, ‘cause IswearI ain’t letting you go.”
29
HALEY
Iwoke up in my bed a few hours later, half-smothered by a sleeping, tattooed giant in gray sweatpants.
It took a few minutes to extricate myself. My big teddy bear looked so sweet and peaceful, snoring lightly and taking up most of my bed, I didn’t want to wake him. Something told me it was the first time he’d slept in a long time.
I closed the door softly, then crept into the kitchen, unable to help the smile that spread on my face.
Until I found Elian standing at the counter, arms crossed over his chest, glowering at me like he’d just discovered I’d eaten his leftovers and had been waiting hours to ambush me.
“Sleep well?” he practically grumbled. His jaw ticked, and his pupils were large and glassy.
Technically, there was no morning in Midnight, but it still felt too early for a little wake-’n-bake with the Devil.
I blew out a breath. I no longer had a say in Elian’s choices—if I ever really did.
He kept on glaring at me, though, which was getting annoying.
Forcing myself not to roll my eyes, I said, “If you’re not careful, Elian, you’ll infect this whole city with your joyful attitude, and the next thing you know, they’ll be painting rainbows and unicorns on the wall and breaking out in musical numbers in the streets. Is Jax back yet?”
“Why?” he snapped. “Worried he’ll find out who you spent the night with,angel?”
“Okay, first of all? Don’t call me that. Secondly, it’s none of your business who I spent the night with. The only thing I want to hear out of your mouth next is confirmation that Gem stocked this place with coffee, or I can’t make any more guarantees about your personal safety.”
Elian turned his back on me to mess with something on the counter. When he faced me again, he held out a steaming mug of black coffee that called to my very soul. I hadn’t even noticed the coffeepot behind him.
I took the mug with a nod of thanks and a genuine smile. Elian almost smiled back.
After a few sips, I leaned back against the counter next to him and said, “After we left you guys last night, Jax told me he was going up to the city center to dig up some more dirt on Keradoc. I figured he’d be back by now.”
“Haven’t seen him,” he said. He shifted to stand right in front of me—all the better to glare down at me with those judgy silver eyes. “Haley? Honestly. What are you doing with Hudson?”
I took a few gulps of fortifying coffee, then grinned. “Oh, that’s easy! If you head on over to Wikipedia and look up the entry for… What was it called again?” I tapped my lips. “Oh, right! Even More Shit That’s None of Elian’s Fucking Business. Can you spell all that, or should I write it down for you? I don’t want you to miss out—it’s a good entry. It’ll save you from wasting your breath asking me shit like this.”
He stepped close to me, crowding me against the countertop, his bergamot-and-rain scent making my heart rate kick up even more than the fresh jolt of caffeine.
Another second ofthatstupidly sexy nonsense and I couldn’t even hold his gaze anymore—just dropped mine into my mug, grateful I had something else to focus on.
“It’s the worst of the worst who end up in Midnight,” Elian said, his voice low.
“Jax told me Hudson was born here.”
