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“Oh, just about twenty-four hours,” he replies. “The worst twenty-four hours of my entire life.”
This surprises me. It had felt like so much longer, but I was under extreme duress. Some of that feeling probably sprung from the fact that I had no idea when or if I would get out of there. I’d imagined my life ending in captivity. I couldn’t even hope that he would come for me. But he did.
“So,” I say, stretching slowly and feeling the soreness and pain in my cramped muscles. “Tell me more about Davis Thompson’s elaborate plan to become mayor by torturing me.”
Bones squeezes my hand gently and shakes his head, a pained look plastered on his face.
“Please don’t make light of it,” he whispers with so much sincerity I think he may start to cry again. “I mean, I get it if it’s part of your process or whatever. But I spent an entire day thinking I’d never see you alive again. There’s no comparison, I know that, but I was in hell, too.”
I smile sadly at him and he leans closer to me, kissing me sweetly on my lips. It’s chaste, closed-mouthed, but I feel the promise in it. The promise that this is a hello and not a goodbye.
“I’m sorry,” I say, as he pulls away and stares down at me with so much tenderness in his eyes. “I do want to hear everything, though, seriously. I just want to know how you found me. You said Davis is in jail. Is it in the press yet?”
He chuckles again and comes to sit on the edge of my bed, facing the room’s window.
“I’ve barely left your side since I brought you here,” he replies, his back to me as he looks down at his hands. “But, from what Seer has texted me since, the story broke early this morning. Public sympathy has completely turned toward your family. Your dad is basically guaranteed the next term.”
I nod, even though I know he can’t see it. It’s so bizarre to think that I’ve won my dad another election, when all I wanted was to be left out of it. The whole experience is still so surreal, both right at the forefront of my mind and buried somewhere deep in my subconscious. I have so much still to process and unpack, but for now, I just want to feel like a normal girl spending the morning with a guy she really likes. In the hospital, sure, but it’s still a sweet moment.
Not that that’s without its complications. After all, I was kidnapped because I’d purposely snuck away from Bones. All of our words over the last few days have been said in anger, when any words were exchanged at all. I know now that I’m in love with him, but he might hate me for what I put him through. I can’t ask him to put all of it aside and forgive me. I’m also unwilling to let him go without a fight.
“Bones,” I whisper, reaching my hand out to brush against his shoulder. “I just want to say, I really am sorry about the other night. I’m sorry about all of it. Being tied up with a bag over your head gives you just . . . unlimited time to think. The whole experience was just proof that you were right to be so protective of me, and I’m sorry that I tried to push you away.”
He turns just slightly to look at me, though he doesn’t seem to want to allow himself to fully look at me. There’s a wall between us and I’m not sure if I put it there or if he did.
“Do you hate me?” I whisper, unable to deal with the tension.
He shakes his head firmly and turns his body toward me, grabbing my face gently with one hand and forcing me to look up at him.
“Melissa, I could never hate you,” he says gently but firmly. “You have no idea . . . you don’t understand how much I can’t hate you.”
He presses his forehead against mine and our breath syncs so that it seems like even our heartbeats are beating in the same rhythm. I’m about to close the gap between us again, to feel his lips against mine again and hopefully more of him soon after. But there’s a sharp knock at my door and I pull away as if I’ve been shocked.
“Probably your dad,” he breathes, and I relax again. Though, to be honest, the thought of seeing my father after all this doesn’t seem that more appealing than being kidnapped again. “He told the staff I was your husband so I could stay. I think he realized that there was no way in hell I was going to leave you, so he’s been kind enough to help me stay,”
“He was probably too intimidated by you to try and argue.” I giggle softly.
Bones kisses me on the forehead and pulls away, walking to the door and opening it to my father. He sighs and nods at Bones, clearly unsure how he feels about this situation. It’s likely on his top ten list of nightmare scenarios where I’m concerned. Probably right up there with me getting kidnapped by his political adversary. Bones slips past him and closes the door, giving us some privacy.
“It’s been a while, Missy,” my dad says quietly, his voice breaking. “I was looking forward to seeing you at Thanksgiving, not getting into a partnership with a gang leader to rescue you.”
“What?” I ask in shock, completely confused.
“Never mind.” He shakes his head and blushes, crossing the room to me. I pat the bed for him to sit down. He gingerly sits by my side and pulls me into a long, gentle hug. I lean into it, realizing how much I’ve missed him. “You have no idea how worried I was,” he breathes.
The tears spring to my eyes again as I think about him and all he must have been through, and I find comfort in his embrace. My whole life, he was the one who chased away the nightmares and kept me safe from monsters. Then a monster tried to hurt me because of him. I can’t imagine how hard this has been for him.
“Please tell me that man didn’t sleep in your bed,” he finally says, breaking the sacred moment between us. Normally, this kind of comment would upset me, but it’s all just so absurd. I can’t help bust out laughing.
“I’ll remind you ‘that man’ saved my life,” I say, pinching his arm. “But we’re just friends, I promise. Honestly, I’m not even sure we’re that.”
He fixes me with one of his special looks. The one that says,I’m your father and I can tell when you’re bullshitting me, but he doesn’t press it. He just holds me tighter and tells me how much he loves me.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
“Idon’t see the problem exactly,” Hex mutters through a mouthful of Chinese food. “You’re friends again, right? You’re basically back to where you started, you just don’t spend every night sleeping on her couch.”
I pick up a fortune cookie and peg it at his head, satisfied when he rubs the spot in pain. He’s such an oblivious asshole sometimes.
