AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Arlene was too shocked to cry.
“Is Dani okay? Did he hurt her?”
“She’s okay. Your warning saved her life.”
There was a moment of silence, and then Sonny heard her crying. He began to explain about where her son’s body was, and that she would be notified when it was released.
“Again, I’m sorry to have to give you this news,” he said.
“My sons…they never fit in this world. Maybe now we can all find some peace.”
The line went dead in Sonny’s ear. He hung up, then sat for a few moments in silence, staring at the wall and remembering a line fromMacbeth, a play he’d seen once in college.
Something wicked this way comes.
How horrifying it must have been for this mother to know she’d given birth to such madness.
Aaron and Dani were silent all the way back to her house. They both knew his departure was imminent, but neither knew how the other felt about it. When he reached the house, he pulled up into the drive, but didn’t open the garage door. Instead, he took the remote from the visor and handed it to her.
They both exited the car at the same time, then Aaron unlocked the door and stepped aside for her to enter. As soon as they were inside, he laid the extra key on the table by the door.
“It won’t take me long to get my stuff out of your way,” he said.
“You were never in the way,” Dani said.
Aaron started to say something, then shook off the thought and went to gather up his stuff.
Dani took herself to the living room and sat down, listening to him moving back and forth across the hall, gathering up his toiletries from the shared bathroom and putting the quilts he’d used beneath his sleeping bag back in the linen closet, then carrying his suitcase and sleeping bag out to his car.
When he came back inside, Dani was standing in the hall, trying not to cry.
“I think I have everything, but if you run across a stray item I’ve left behind, just let me know,” he said.
Dani took a deep breath. The speech she’d prepared was stuck in her throat, and all that came out was her truth.
“I will never be able to thank you enough for your generosity and sacrifice. You didn’t have to do any of this, and still you chose to, out of the goodness of your heart. I owe you my life, and I am forever in your debt,” she said.
“You owe me nothing. I did it because it was the right thing to do, and because you matter to me. Probably more than you care to know. You’ve been through hell, and I’m afraid to touch you for fear you’d get the wrong idea. I don’t want this to be the last time we see each other. I don’t want to lose this connection, but I won’t ask you for more than you’re willing to give,” Aaron said.
“I’ve already given you my trust. If you want more than that, then don’t quit me. You know where I live.”
Seconds later, she was in his arms.
He moaned as she melted against him, and then her feet came off the floor. Now the wall was at her back and Aaron was holding her, suspended in an embrace that lasted all the way through one long, mind-numbing kiss. When he finally put her down, she was shaking.
There was a long moment of silence as they stood, foreheads touching, feeling the warmth of each other’s breath, waiting for their rocketing heartbeats to settle.
Finally, Aaron slipped a finger beneath her chin and tilted her head until their gazes were locked.
“That’s what I want,” he said softly. “You. In my life.”
“I’m already here,” Dani said. “Don’t forget to take your key before you leave.”
His dark eyes flashed, and then he kissed her again, slower, softer, before he stopped.
“Leaving you behind isn’t going to be easy, but you’re worth the wait.”
“I’m going to miss you so much,” she said.
