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"Brandon," I breathed.
It took him less than a second to gather me into his arms again, pulling me into the crook of his shoulder while we both released our emotions––me in great, noisy sobs, him in long, silent streams down his chiseled cheeks.
"How did you find me?" I hiccupped into his chest.
His hand grasped the back of my head, holding me tight. I burrowed further in.
"The picture from your phone," Brandon breathed. "He was using a burner phone that couldn't be located before that. But Craig traced the IP address of your phone. Stupid fuck didn't know you can do that with a picture."
"What about the money? Jesus, Brandon, twenty-five million dollars..." The staggering ransom choked in my throat.
"Fake," Brandon said as he pressed his mouth into my hair. "All of it. But even if it wasn't, you would be worth it. I'd pay anything just to...God, Skylar, I'm so sorry. You wouldn't be here if I hadn't..."
I shook my head viciously into his shoulder.
"No," I protested. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Brandon, I should have told you about everything, so, so long ago. I'm...God, I ruined everything!"
Brandon just gathered me even closer, stroking my hair from scalp to tip, hushing me over and over again until we had each reclaimed our cool.
"Shh," he crooned against the crown of my head. "I'm just glad...I got here in time. You're safe now, baby. You're safe."
"But, Brandon––"
"I love you," he interrupted. "That's all that matters now. That's it."
The wail of sirens could be heard approaching in the near distance. In another minute, a squad car, followed by an ambulance, pulled to a stop in front of the SUV. I was placed on a gurney and transferred to the back of the ambulance. Brandon sat beside me, holding my hand the entire time while his team gave their statements to the police. There was no more time to have the conversation I knew we'd need to have eventually. But he was right. We loved each other, and that was all that mattered right now.
~
