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27
Mare
My adrenaline faded slowly, each breath ragged and harsh as it sawed out of my throat. The trembling in my hands wouldn’t stop, despite how hard I tried to steady them. Archer held me close, but really, he was holding me together because at any moment I felt like I could fall apart.This is real.I knew it was, but knowing and experiencing were two different things. I inhaled through my nose and exhaled through my mouth, letting the scent of Archer—menthol and citrus—fill my head. It calmed me.
“You’re moving in with us,” Ian directed. While the words were soft spoken, the underlying command was clear, and as much as I would have normally put up a fight, I couldn’t. Not after what happened. I had been an idiot to think that there was even the tiniest of chances that my father wouldn’t come after me. He had what he wanted despite the trial. Money, freedom, anything and everything under the damn sun, so a sliver of me had hoped, despite my best efforts to stay grounded, that he had forgotten about me. “Baby, you’re going to be alright,” Ian said when I still hadn’t spoken. His palm touched my cheek. “It’s going to be alright. You’re safe now.”
I nodded, too emotionally raw from the attack to say much else. They were here, and I was safe. Shaking myself mentally, I forced the last of the panic and adrenaline down the best I could and pulled away from Archer, leaving the warmth of his body to move across the room to my closet. Each movement was sluggish, as if wading through molasses, and by the time I reached my closet and yanked out the only piece of luggage I owned, I felt ready to collapse with exhaustion. Once the worn duffle was laid open on my bed, I started piling my small amount of clothing —sans my work clothes—into the suitcase.
Even after five years here in this city, I had never truly settled. The amount of stuff I owned was limited, easy to pack and take with me in case a situation exactly like this happened. I dropped the couple items from my bathroom on top of the clothes, and that was it; five years’ worth of life in one measly bag.Was this really what my life had been relegated to?I thought, my lips curling down. I’d worked hard for what I could afford, but I didn’t have friends or people surrounding me. No pets, plants, or anything requiring care from me to survive. At the revelation, my chest ached. Five years of surviving, five years of loneliness. It all fit perfectly into a 24 by 17 inch duffle.
“Ready, sweetheart?” Jensen’s hand came to rest on my lower back as he appeared at my side. At his touch, the swirl of thoughts faded. Glancing over my shoulder, I took him in.
A five o’clock shadow coated his strong jaw, the brunette coloring a stark contrast to his usually clean shaven appearance. A black t-shirt was pulled taut over sculpted muscles, the slight V in the neck showing off the hollow of his throat. His jeans were dark, and his boots were black and scuffed. So normal looking, easy to blend in, but I saw it when I looked at him, atthem. Predators. Dangerous, but above all, there for me.
“Yeah, I got everything.” Heaving the bag up onto my shoulder, I turned to face them. The place I had called home over the last year had been packed up, and Ian and Archer waited by the door silently. The latter held it open with Ian exiting first. As we walked to the cars, Jensen and Archer took up position behind me, creating a barrier between me and the outside world.
“In you go,” Ian commanded, opening the passenger door. I started to climb in, but he stopped me briefly, his eyes centering on Archer as he bent down to look under the car and opening the trunk. “He’s making sure no one messed with the car.”
I didn’t say anything to Ian’s explanation, sinking into the seat with my bag between my feet when the search was finished and Ian signaled it was okay to do so. The precautions didn’t surprise me, the action no doubt going back to their interesting career choice, but I was too worn out to ask for any details.
Jensen took up residence in the backseat, and Archer darted to his vehicle to start it up before Ian pulled away from the curb. None of us spoke during the drive, and without the radio on, it was a tense silence that made the time it took to get there even longer than it was as all of us processed what had happened.
“Which room am I staying in?” I asked as I followed them up the front steps to the house and inside. “I’m assuming it’s with one of you.”
“Go get ready for bed for now, we can figure that out in a bit. We have some other stuff we want to talk to you about first,” Archer told me.
Not in the mood to argue, I nodded and moved away from them and down the hall. Stepping into the first bedroom I came across, I closed the door until there was only a sliver between the wood and the frame and just stood there trying to breathe and take it all in. A few moments later, the door opened, and Jensen filled the threshold.
“Need anything, sweetheart?” he asked, closing the distance between us quickly.
“I think I’m good. Still kind of numb, ya know?” I murmured, one shoulder lifting before dropping dejectedly. “Hoping some sleep will help.”
He didn’t say anything, his fingers wrapping around my forearm and tugging slightly, pulling me closer. Stepping into his body, I wrapped my arms around his muscled stomach. A hand held my head to his chest, the thud of his heartbeat and soft sigh filling my ears. He didn’t have to say anything; his embrace told me everything I needed to know about how Jensen was handling the situation.
“You finish getting ready, and I’ll meet you out there,” he whispered, lips brushing against the top of my head with each word. I jerked my head up and down in acknowledgment before I released him. When I glanced up, a haunted gaze met mine, startling me. His jaw clenched as he stepped back, but I couldn’t let him go with such a look in his eyes, and my hand darted out to grab ahold of his forearm.
“Wait. Don’t go yet, please,” I whispered, tugging him slightly. A small grin appeared, and he wrapped me in his arms. Neither of us talked, content to just hold onto each other, his cedar and cinnamon scent soothing the raw, jagged edges from the attack.
“You get ready, sweetheart,” he told me, the haunted gaze was gone, replaced with a smile as he gave me one more kiss and walked out.
The pain that had been etched on his face echoed through me, though, and my eyes prickled painfully with the build of tears. Blinking away the watery wall, I forced the tumultuous emotions back and pulled out my pajamas. Right as I was pulling the hem of the t-shirt down, there was a soft knock at the door.
“Mare?” Archer called out, peeking his head in. “You okay?” My brow drew down at the question, confused at why I wouldn’t be. Well, other than the fact I had just been fucking attacked in my own damned apartment.
"Yeah, why?" My tone conveyed my confusion. "Are you?"
Archer gave me a half-hearted grin, walking over to me. As soon as he was within reach, he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, rough fingertips trailing over my cheekbone. "Arch?" I murmured when he didn't answer.
"I'm good, sweetheart." Leaning forward, he pressed a lingering kiss to my lips. It was sweet, chaste almost, Archer never taking it further. "I just wanted to check on you … and apologize for not being with you when everything happened.”
“There’s no reason to apologize.” I leaned into his chest. “I’m safe, and I’m not hurt. It was a shock, but that’s all it was.” His eyes fell closed, his cheek pressing into the top of my head as he hugged me tightly.
“Alright, Mare, you almost done?" The scent of menthol and citrus surrounded me, the roughness of his blond beard rubbing against my skin as he talked.
"I'm done. I was about to head out there."
With that, he stepped out of the way, letting me pass. His fingers trailed over my shoulders and back as I walked by, the caress making my skin pebble. Instead of making it back to the kitchen, I ran nearly face first into Ian's muscled chest.
