“While tied to a chair.”
“It seemed like the appropriate response. Maybe I was thinking what would Leo do right now, and it brought me a lot of strength even when I was scared.” That hits me hard. Even though she saw me in one of my psychotic episodes, she looks at me the same. And it fills me with love knowing that somehow she was able to gain strength from me even when I wasn’t there.
“Pinky promise me something,” I say.
She raises an eyebrow. “We’re doing pinky promises now?”
“Pinky promise me,” I press.
She sighs dramatically but holds up her little finger, and I hook mine around it.
“We always have each other’s back,” I say. “No matter what. No more pulling away.”
“Even if the other one is being an idiot about a man?” she asks sheepishly.
“Especially then.”
She tightens her pinky around mine. “Deal.”
“Deal.”
We hold the link for a moment longer than necessary. Then Nessa smiles.
“Now stop being sappy and let me sleep.” She gets comfortable among the pillows and closes her eyes. “I’ve had a really shitty day.” But before she closes her eyes, she says, “I like Silas for you too. He might be able to handle you.”
I scoff. “He can try to keep up.”
She laughs as she closes her eyes. It doesn’t take long for her to fall asleep too.
When I’m sure she’s fully out, I carefully extract myself from the bed and slip out of the room.
I find Silas in his study. He’s in the leather chair behind his desk, staring at a glass of whiskey in his hand. He looks exhausted.
He lost men tonight, and I can tell he’s feeling the pain of those he lost tonight deeply. Everyone in his crew feels like family.
I lean against the doorframe. “You should sleep.”
“I wish that were an option.”
“From where I’m standing, it’s the only option.”
I cross the room and sit on the arm of his chair. He doesn’t look up, but his free hand finds my thigh and begins to gently stroke my skin.
I place my hand over his. “You’re a good man, Silas.”
“Says the woman who wanted to cut off my dick and fuck me up the ass with it.”
I laugh. That conversation feels like a lifetime ago. Back to a time when all my walls were up, and I couldn’t imagine letting this man anywhere near my heart.
Now he has it wholly.
“You keep surprising me,” I say.
He looks up. “How?”
“With your strong sense of family.” I brush a strand of hair from his forehead. “When you first walked into my lab, I never imagined this was who you are.”
“Family is everything,” he says.
