Page 68 of Sole Survivor
“Just… don’t forget me. Okay?”
“Never,” I snarl before I do something I’ve never done before. I pull her into my chest and wrap my arms around her.
She’s tense at first, but after a few minutes, when she realizes that I’m not going to do anything else,she relaxes into me.
“Everyone else forgot me.”
“Your sister?—”
She flinches again, making me frown as I tighten my hold on her, not ready for her to pull away.
“She’s the good one. My parents don’t visit because they have the perfect daughter already at home. The only reason my sister comes to visit is to remind me of that. To rub salt in my already infected wounds.”
“Your sister is a fucking bitch,” I snap, making her chuckle. The sound is rusty, like she hasn’t done it in a while. Although I should be happy that I made her laugh, it acts as a reminder of all the reasons she has nothing to laugh about.
“I’ll add her to the list of people who will pay for hurting you.”
She grabs the fabric of my T-shirt and takes a shaky breath. “Thank you.”
“What are you thanking me for,Boo? I haven’t done anything to earn your thanks.”
“You’re keeping me alive. Without you… I would have given up months ago.”
“You can’t leave me, Boo. I can’t do this without you.”
She sighs and snuggles closer. I don’t know how long we lay there in silence—long enough for me to think she’s fallen asleep when her whispered words slip free.
“Holding on is so much harder than letting go.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Valen
Iwatch her as she pulls the cookies out of the oven, biting back a groan when she bends over, giving me the perfect view of her ass. The things I want to do to her. I lick my lips in anticipation.
“Valen? You still there?”
“Yeah, sorry, Tim. I’m just looking over the figures.”
Rue’s ass is the only figure I care about right now, but I’ve worked too hard on this deal to have it fall apart because my dick has a mind of its own.
“I think we’ve taken care of the worst of the problems, but I know Mr. Nakamura would benefit from another face-to-face.”
“I went last time, Tim.”
“He likes you better than me.”
“I’m a prick. What does that say about you if he likes me better?”
“That like attracts like?”
I blow out a breath and watch Rue as she tosses the oven gloves on the counter after transferring the cookies onto a wire rack to cool.
“Last time I went, my girlfriend was attacked.”
He’s quiet for a minute, probably at a loss for what to say. I mean, what can you say to that?Sorry that a serial killer is stalking your woman.
“You could bring her with you.”