Page 24 of Traded

My nod is barely present.

“Want a lift?” The tears spill over when Jonas gently tugs me to face him. His expression falls, thumbs already moving to wipe them away. “No tears, Rosie girl. Come on now.”

He lifts me easily, and I wrap my legs and arms around him tightly, burying my face in his neck and mumbling into the faint scruff that rubs against my cheek. “Nest.”

I’m dysregulating, and fast. Everything is too loud, and too much.

“Carter is coming,” Liam murmurs. He follows close behind as Jonas carries me out. A few whistles and cheers follow, people assuming it’s part of the celebration.

Iruinedthis for them.

And my anxiety isn’t lessening, because beneath the warmth of Jonas’s skin… I can still smellher. A trace amount, but enough that my tears erupt into full flow, my body shaking. I rub my cheek against Jonas’s neck, then my sleeve, and his grip tightens. “Rosie. Come on, baby. Stop that.”

Ithasto go. I open my mouth to ask him to stop off at the bathroom when the call registers.

Carter rips me from Jonas. “What the fuck happened?”

I shrink back, but he tilts up my chin and studies me. His eyes widen, his palm spreading to cup my cheek until I lean into it. “Not you, baby. Liam?”

“Not here,” Liam responds coolly. “Rosie needs to be at home.”

I bite my lip. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey.” Carter pulls me into him, and I dive into my usual position to breathe him in, the question building in my mind. “You never need to apologize to us, Ro.”

He doesn’t smell like her.

My entire body shivers. “I had a… a meltdown. Upstairs.”

“Not here,” Liam snaps.

Carter stiffens. “Donotspeak to her like that.”

Liam says nothing, and I curl my fingers into the familiar flannel of Carter’s shirt. “Can we go home, please? No arguments. I’m embarrassed enough as it is.”

I wait. Carter’s chest rises and falls beneath me.

“Sure,” he says finally. “Let’s go home.”

Chapter seven

Carter

Jonas shifts in his seat. “I can take her.”

“No.” My response is short. I keep my eyes on the windshield. Liam glances over his shoulder and then away before I can. “You’ve done enough.”

I can’t look at them. Either of them. Jonas clears his throat uncomfortably. “It’s going to be fine.”

Is itfuck.

Rosie shifts against me, and I nudge her head back against my shoulder. The faint huff of her breath against my neck, that familiar cherry almond scent of her skin, feels like the only thing keeping me going.

The only thing keeping me from fucking breaking straight down the middle.

My shoulder screams with that small effort, and I grit my teeth. The painkillers I popped before leaving Elena have done precisely nothing, and it only adds to my rising temper. “Wedo thisexactlyas we discussed. If you still plan on moving forward.”

My voice drips with the same fury that’s been building in my chest since I watched Rosie walk away from me this morning. “We deviate from the agreement, and we’re gonna have a fucking problem.”