AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Without thinking about it, I lean forward and brush away her tears with my lips. “It's alright, I've got you.”
19
EVANGELINE
Embarrassment slinksinto our moment like a thief in the night, stealing the relief and replacing it with shame.
I clear my throat, sniffing a little. “Are you sure there's no one here?”
He nods. “I'm positive. I cleared the whole place, closets included.”
“Okay.” I worry my bottom lip, my nerves frayed and residual fear thick on my tongue.
“Come on. We can do it again,” he says, threading his hand in mine.
Relief sags my shoulders. “You don't mind?”
“Nah, baby girl. I don't mind.”
His hand envelops mine, big and warm, and I instantly feel safe. I bet there's some irony in the fact that he'salwaysmade me feel safe. We make our way through the first floor, going from one room to the next until we circle back around to the staircase.
He moves upstairs, me trailing a half-step behind him. I do my best to squash the persistent thrum of anxiety in my chest. I feel like I'm one untimely spider away from jumping on his back.
My heart trips over itself as we go through each guest room, Bane opening each closet and checking under the beds. He even moves the blinds aside, and double-checks that the windows are locked.
By the time we reach the primary bedroom, I've calmed down considerably. My anxiety is still high, which I expected, but it's not earth-shattering. It's manageable. Mostly. I still low-key feel like I might spook myself on something and casually embarrass myself by jumping and yelling.
I tighten my grip on his hand, my free hand wrapped around his wrist like a lifeline. I'm so close to him that I have to do this little half shuffle just to keep up with his long strides. But it's a concession I'm more than willing to make.
“It's not that I don't trust you, you know,” I murmur, keeping my voice low as if there really is someone still here.
Like we wouldn't have already given ourselves away by our footsteps and Bane's quiet assurances that everything is okay. I want to poke fun at myself, but adrenaline is still coursing through my veins. It just started to come down, that twitchy, nauseated sensation beginning to prickle against my awareness.
“I get it,” he says, reassuring me. “I never took it as a trust issue anyway.”
“Good, because I do trust you. Even though it seemed like I didn’t this morning. It’s just . . . a lot of people in my life have abused my trust before. And I-I struggle sometimes.” I glance at him to find his eyes already on me as we pause in front of the doorway to the primary bedroom. “It's just, I feel . . .”
“Violated,” he supplies after I pause for too long.
I blow out a sigh and nod, shuffling even closer to him. “Yeah, I guess that's it. Nana Jo’s house was always the safest place I've ever been, and now . . .” I trail off, slipping my tongue across my bottom lip. “Now it doesn't feel all that safe.”
He shifts so he's facing me directly, his height crowding me against the wall a little. It only reinforces the safety I feel with him.
“I promise you will feel safe in this house again.” His voice holds a level of intense sincerity.
“Can you teach me how to shoot?” I ask before I even give myself permission to think about it.
He stares at me for a moment, his gaze ping-ponging between my eyes, no doubt looking for a clue as to where that question came from.
But it can't be that hard of a leap. How many people have thought the same thing after a similar incident? Too many probably.
“I know it's cliché, but I just don't ever want to feel like that again.”
He nods once. “Okay.”
My brows arc toward my hairline. “That's it? No twenty questions? Noare you sureor telling me everything will feel better tomorrow?”
He tilts his head to the side as he regards me. “Do you want me to ask you those things?”
