Page 39 of Flashback for the Forward

He offered me a tight-lipped smile. “I hope for both your sakes that it is.”

Me too, brother. Me too.

It was closing in on 1 AM when I pulled into Levi’s driveway, having followed him home from the airport. Climbing out of his car parked in the garage, he motioned for me to follow him through the door that led into the house.

With a quick stop to disarm the security system, we walked through the dark interior toward the only light coming from the family room.

Disappointment crashed into my chest when we found Arizona sitting alone, reading a book.

Her head turned at the sound of our approach, a smile touching her lips when she laid eyes on her husband. “You’re home.”

Levi moved as if he were pulled by a string toward Arizona. “And you should already be in bed.”

She hummed when he dropped a kiss on her upturned lips. “I missed you.”

With his forehead pressed to her, he let out a contented sigh. “Missed you too, baby.”

I cleared my throat. “Um, if you can let me know where to find Bridget, we can get out of your hair.”

Arizona pulled back from Levi, a flush on her cheeks. “Oh, she went upstairs a little while ago.”

Hitching a thumb toward the stairs, I asked, “You okay if I head up?”

“Sure. She’s in the room across the hall from Maisie’s.”

“Thanks,” I tossed over my shoulder, already jogging up the steps to the second floor.

Unsurprisingly, the door to the room Bridget occupied was locked.

With a gentle rap of my knuckles against the wood, I called out, “Bridget?”

No answer.

I tried one more time and still didn’t receive a response.

It was late; she’d probably fallen asleep.

But I refused to leave here without her. So, despite the stiffness that plagued my body after a game, I slid down the wall, assuming the position to stand—or sit, in this case—guard.

If protecting her while she slept was as far as our relationship ever went the second time around, I would take it.

Because that meant she was back in my life. And that was everything I’d ever wanted.

Chapter 12

Bridget

Light streamed through the window, and I lifted both hands over my head, groaning as I contorted into a full-body stretch. Through the crack in the door, the scent of frying bacon reached my nostrils. Arizona must’ve beaten me awake because if I was the first one into the kitchen in the morning, I handled breakfast—my little way of saying thank-you for letting me crash here unexpectedly.

I swung my legs over the side of the mattress, my bare feet easing onto the hardwood, and I reached for the oversized cardigan discarded on the armchair, slipping it on over the secondhand pajamas Arizona had secured for me from her friend’s shelter.

Even though I knew this house was safe and secure, my heart rate kicked into high gear as I turned the knob, pulling the door open a fraction of an inch to peek into the hallway.

All clear.

Logically, I knew it would be, but deep in the back of my brain, I couldn’t shake the fear that Aiden would pop up out of nowhere when I least expected it to drag me back into Hell.

Venturing from the guest room, I made it exactly one step before halting.