Page 90 of What Comes Around

And Knox was here.

Chapter 29: Safe in His Arms

Knox helped me stand, one hand steady at my back, the other closing gently around my elbow to keep me balanced. The hallway felt too bright, too loud, and I leaned into him without meaning to. He did not comment, just adjusted his hold so I would not sway.

As we reached the hospital entrance, Nathan was already waiting with the car. He stepped forward immediately, opening the back door.

“Miss,” he said with a respectful nod.

Knox guided me inside, one arm around my waist, the other bracing my elbow. He helped me sit, then buckled the seatbelt himself, his fingers brushing my cheek as he moved a strand of hair away from the bandage on my nose.

The touch made something warm and fragile settle in my chest.

As he closed the door, a sudden panic hit me.

“My bag,” I whispered. “I do not have my bag. I dropped it in the garage, or .. I do not know, I…”

Knox slid into the seat beside me and took my hand. “I have it.”

I blinked at him. “How?”

“My security team went to the scene,” he said. “They secured your car and collected your things. Your bag is here. Do not worry about anything tonight.”

Relief washed through me so fast it made me dizzy.

Nathan pulled away from the hospital smoothly, the city lights blurring past the windows. Knox kept my hand in his, thumb brushing slow circles over my skin.

Halfway home, he spoke quietly. “You can come to my place. I can take care of you better there.”

“No,” I said softly. “I want to go home.”

He studied me for a moment, then nodded. “Then we will go to your house. But I am staying. I am not leaving you alone tonight.”

I did not argue.

The car fell into a quiet rhythm, the city lights sliding across the windows, and for a moment my mind drifted to the last three days.

Since the weekend, nothing had been defined. We had not labeled whatever this was. We had not had the talk. We had not said what we were or what we were doing.

At the office, no one knew. At least, not officially. But people were starting to suspect. Knox did not hide the way he looked at me anymore. He did not even try. His eyes found me across rooms, across meetings, across hallways. And sometimes, when he guided me somewhere, his hand settled on the small of my back, lingering longer than necessary.

No one said anything.

But they watched.

I knew we could not stay in this space forever, half-spoken and undefined. Sooner or later, we would have to decide what we were doing. Where we stood. What this was allowed to become.

All I knew was that he was here.

And I was leaning on him more than I should.

More than was safe.

Because depending on someone was dangerous.

I had learned that in another life, with another man who had broken me in ways I still carried in my bones. I had promised myself I would never let anyone get that close again.

Yet here I was, letting Knox hold me together.