Page 102 of Thaddeus

“Don’t, Emmy. Please just give me this. Me holding you is the only thing holding me together. Just let me carry you.”

The trembling in his voice was killing me.

“Thank you for saving me. I knew you’d come.”

I felt the swift intake of air and the hitch in his voice when he said, “Agápi mou.”

I shoved my face back into his neck, and I finally lost it.

The terror of being taken overwhelmed me and my body shook with all the fear I’d shoved aside.

I may’ve been a good actress, but when the curtain fell and the mask slid away and the truth of how dire my situation had been hit me, I couldn’t control my sobs.

I felt water surround me, then I was half-floating, half-towed through the small waves.

“Let me swim.”

“I got you,” Thad returned.

“But I can swim—”

“For two hours I didn’t know where you were. Two hours before that, you’d been taken and I didn’t know it. Four hours, Emmy. Four fucking hours you were in extreme danger, two of those I didn’t fucking know. So, I know you can walk. I know you can swim. But you’re not gonna do either of those things because I’m not gonna let you go.”

I said nothing. Because, well, there was nothing to say. If that was what Thaddeus needed to calm himself, I’d give it to him. And the truth was, I didn’t want him to let me go.

Not now.

Not ever.

We’d made it to a boat, and I was lifted in. Which was a good thing, because there was no way with the way it was bobbing and my lack of strength, I was getting in by myself.

Thad jumped in, proving he was superhuman, and I was back in his arms. His ass hit the hull of the boat and I was on his lap with my face pressed onto his chest and his in my hair.

“Fuck,” he growled.

“You saved me, Thaddeus. I’m fine,” I reassured him.

“Fuck,” he repeated and his body shook all around me.

“You got to me in time.” I tried again.

“Could’ve lost you.” His voice thickened with an emotion I understood.

“That wasn’t going to happen. I had a plan,” I told him. “I was gonna fight my way back to you no matter what, Thaddeus.”

“Too close,” he went on. “Too fucking close.”

It was, but I wasn’t going to verbalize my agreement.

“I didn’t give up. I was coming home to you.”

“So damn proud of you.”

My heart warmed at his praise but it was still breaking at the same time. My strong, tough warrior was barely holding it together.

“Thaddeus, I’m okay. I promise. I wasn’t hurt.”

“They stole you from our room. They locked you in a goddamned box. That’s the opposite of okay.”