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“He stole me, Nick. I didn’t have a choice. I was deliriously drugged by the time he got to me, and I was in such pain when he abducted me I couldn’t fight back, even if I wanted to,” I reason.
His eyes quickly flash with remorse. The muscles in his jaw visibly clench, and I hope he’s internally berating himself for whipping the shit out of me. Then he surprises me with what he says next, “I’m sorry. I lost sight of your punishment. I didn’t mean to take it that far.”
Tentatively, I cup his face, feeling a week’s worth of scruff bristling against the palm of my hand as I look into his eyes. “I forgive you, Nick,” I shakily whisper. “It wasn’t right what I said to you that night. I’m sorry too,” I softly confess, showing true remorse in my eyes.
“What happened when he took you? I need to know.”
I carefully explain to him everything, from the car accident to the memory loss that followed. I recapped the last few weeks for him, all the way up until the invasion happened. I don’t want to discuss the atrocities of me having to kill anyone, and I hope I never have to talk about it. I want to erase it, forget it ever happened.
Nick listened intently, not once interrupting me as he soaked in every word. After I finished explaining, I notice he’s calmed significantly, and his breathing has evened out. “Once I got my memory back, Travis still had every intention to hold me hostage, but the first chance I got, I escaped.”
“You ran home, though. You didn’t run to me,” he says like a petulant child.
“I didn’t know where you live, Nick. I had no numbers, nothing. If I was against you, wouldn’t I have called the police the first chance I got?”
Nick half-laughs. “I fucking own half the police, but yes; I’ll give you that. You didn’t run to the authorities when you had the chance.”
Silence grows between us for a brief moment as he studies me. He glances at my lips as if he wants to lean in for a kiss, and I’m not ready for that, so I begin to talk out of nervousness to keep a conversation going.
“He drugged me with Blyss the entire time, told me so many lies while manipulating me at every possible turn. He’s been using me, Nick.” Damn, Travis sounds really bad when I paint him in that light.
Nick’s eyes soften. “Yes, I know he drugged you. He stole a shitload of Blyss when he took you.” My heart begins to settle down now that I think Nick is less maniacal, and I let out a sigh. Then his lips turn down in a frown as deep regret fills his eyes. “I should have never left your side that night,” he confesses.
Reassuring him, I gently place two fingers over his lips, shushing him. “You didn’t know. It’s not your fault.”
He wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him for a tight embrace. “Nevertheless, you are my responsibility and I let you down.”
Silence settles between us as he guides my head back to his chest. My left hand settles over his heart as I take in a breath, inhaling his all too familiar cologne. You would think I’d hate the smell, because of the association it represents, but I don’t. He smells incredibly delicious. His fingertips massage my scalp, and I close my eyes as I listen to the thrum of his heartbeat. I realize by the beat of his heart, he’s still wired, even though he appears calm, gentle, and caring on the outside. He then whispers over my head, “Did my men shoot at you?” A tinge of rage is evident in his question.
“Yes,” I tell him. The memory so fresh, I grasp onto his dress shirt, clenching his fabric with my fist. “Bullets whizzed by my head, they were so close I could hear them whistling through the air.”
All his muscles tense as he holds me tightly. His lips rest against the top of my head as he mumbles, “I’m so sorry.” I want to say it’s not his fault, but it is. All of my predicaments trace back to Nick as being the root of all my turmoil. I have no idea where this home of his is, and right now, I don’t care. A wave of exhaustion suddenly overcomes me, and I do the only thing I know to do anymore to escape the mental pain, and that is to fall asleep.
“Wake up, sweetheart,” Nick whispers in my ear before his soft lips press against my cheek. I stir and stretch out my limbs, and notice immediately my legs don’t fall off the edge of the limo’s back seat. In fact, I feel like I’ve been sleeping on a cloud. I peel my eyes open, and I’m met with Nick’s beautiful smile.
