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“Really?” I ask because I knew they were friendly, but that’s a lot.
“Yeah.” She folds a T-shirt and sets it in her suitcase. “I was molested by my uncle when I was ten.”
I swipe a hand down my face. “Fuck.”
“It’s not the same because it only happened once, and my parents believed me when I told them about it and put an end to it, but I still feel a kinship with Navy. We were friends before, but now we’re sisters.”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”
Betty laughs. “No, she won’t. She’ll hate it, but she needs to be held accountable. If she doesn’t have our help, she might get lost in the dark.”
Goddamn. Of all the things I imagined when we opened the doors to this place, gaining an extension to my club family wasn’t one of them, but that’s exactly what happened.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
NAVY
Istartle awake, panic clawing at my throat and sweat beading across my brow.
“Shh,” someone whispers at my side, draping an arm over me and scaring me even more. “You’re okay.”
I get a whiff of leather and what can only be described as the outdoors, and my nerves settle.Rigger. Then, I realize it’s the middle of the night, and he’s in my bed.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” I squeak, scrambling away from him and sitting up.
“Sleeping,” he drawls, as if I’m slow.
“I can see that. What I meant was, why are you in my bed?”
He rubs his eyes as he sits up and yawns. “I couldn’t sleep and was too worried about you, so I thought it was best for both of us if I slept here for a few nights.”
“You didn’t think to ask me?”
“You were asleep,” he deadpans.
“You scared the shit out of me.”
He drapes an arm around my waist and lies back down. “Well, now you know I’m here, and you can go back to sleep.” When I don’t immediately join him, he tugs on me. “Come on. You need your rest.”
I turn to lie on my side, still trying to work this out. I should be pissed, but if anything, I’m glad he’s here. After that nightmare, I doubt I could’ve calmed myself down. It was so real, so vivid. I take a deep breath and shake the memory from my head.
“You okay?” he whispers.
“Yeah.”
“You wanna talk about it?”
“No.”
He kisses the top of my head. “I’m here, Navy.”
I try to fight it and stay irritated, but those two words nestle deep inside my heart. He’s here. I’ve done nothing but push him away since he came back into my life, and he’s done nothing but prove he won’t make the same mistake he did all those years ago. Can I trust him? God, I want to.
Maybe it’s the exhaustion or the weight of his arm and warmth of him pressed against me, but I quickly fall back asleep with his words running through my head.
I’m here.
The next time I wake up, I expect to still be lying beside him, but his manly scent and comforting presence are gone. I chastise myself for the disappointment I feel. He snuck into my room and fell asleep in my bed. Who does that? But the indignation I should feel over this never comes, only acceptance.
