Page 99 of Wrecked By You
“It’ll do her good to get out of this house and back to some kind of normality.”
“Armed guards following her everywhere is hardly normality.”
“They’re professionals. She won’t even know they’re there.”
“I hope so.”
I cupped my hand around the back of her neck and kissed the top of her head. “Trust me.”
She tilted back her head, her eyes luminous and soulful, and brimful of love. For me. It took my breath away.
“I trust you. And I love you.”
I smiled. “Don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing you say that.”
“Good. Because I plan to say it a lot. For a long time.” She slid both arms around my waist and rested her head on my chest. “So, Kingcaid, we doing this or what?”
“I guess it’s time.”
She nodded. “Long overdue.”
I led her into the living room and nestled her beside me on the couch. And then I told her everything about Sadie, about the robbery, about the terrible scars, both inside and out, that her betrayal and the attack had left me with. She listened without interruption, just giving me the occasional squeeze of encouragement and reassurance. By the time I’d finished, I felt like I’d been through some kind of exorcism and the dark cloud that had hovered overhead for the past six years dissipated.
“So that’s why you wear these sweaters all the time?”
“Yes.”
“And your therapist didn’t help you find a way past hiding behind this clothing?”
“I never went to therapy.”
Her eyebrows shot north. “Why not?”
I hitched a shoulder. “Didn’t think it would help.”
“And what about now?”
Squeezing her tight, I rested my chin on the top of her head. “With you by my side, I might just be in a place where I can consider it.”
“Can I see it? The scar?”
A knot formed in my stomach.I can do this.If I could let strangers see the hideous, raised slash of a scar etched into my skin, as I had with the police in Vegas, then I could show the woman I loved.
I gripped the hem of my sweater and pulled it over my head, revealing a black T-shirt underneath. I closed my eyes.
“No.” Ella brushed her thumbs over my eyelids. “Don’t hide from me. Not from me.”
I locked my gaze on her as she traced the bumpy, ugly thing with her fingertip. I waited for a wave of revulsion to hit me, but instead, a raft of goose bumps covered my arms, and my skin prickled in joy from her touch.
And then she kissed it. And kissed it again. And again, until every inch had felt the touch of her lips.
“Why do you hide it?”
I licked my lips. “To me, it’s a sign of weakness, of failure.” I shrugged. “I’m sure that sounds crazy to you, but it held me prisoner for so long. I trusted Sadie, and she sold me out. Strangely, it wasn’t even almost dying that I found the hardest to deal with. It was living with the reality of my mistakes.”
“Oh, Johannes.” She tugged on her lip. “Did they ever catch her?”
I shook my head. “All that to get her hands on a million-dollar watch, a gold-plated cell phone, and a few thousand in cash.” I laughed, the sound grating and bitter. “Now you see why I live so frugally. Look where flaunting riches got me.”