Page 93 of Vicious Deception
I turn to Rhett. “We’ll just be a couple minutes.”
The smile on his face takes me by surprise. It’s full and bright—brighter than I’ve ever seen it.
“Take your time,” he says, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to my lips. “We’ve got all day.”
Andrew follows us up, although I’m not sure why. Maybe because he doesn’t want to get stuck in an awkward conversation with the guys. Or maybe because he wants something to read, too.
In my room, I pick out a few books that are targeted toward younger readers. Benny’s eyes widen at the art on the covers, and he immediately grabs them and starts reading the backs.
“Can I take this series? I’ve been wanting to read it for months.”
“Take as many as you want. Just be careful with them, please.”
“I will be, I promise.” Benny looks up at me and grins, hugging the books to his chest. “Thank you.”
He runs off, probably to find a cozy chair to curl up in. Andrew hesitates to follow, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.
“You want a book, too?”
“No, I . . .” He shifts uncomfortably before looking up to meet my gaze. “I guess I wanted to apologize.”
“You guess?” I do my best to keep the malice out of my voice, but it only helps so much.
Sure, I’m the one who got caught. But if Andrew had kept his damn mouth shut, the past few weeks would’ve unfoldedverydifferently. The guys wouldn’t’ve been captured, and my heart wouldn’t feel like it’s been trampled on.
“No,” Andrew says. “I . . . Iamsorry. I never should’ve trusted Ludo, and I never should’ve told him I saw you go into the billiard room.”
“You almost got all of us killed.” This time, I’m actually able to keep the anger out of my tone. I want Andrew to learn from this—to grow. Lecturing him won’t help, but he needs to understand what he did.
“I know. If I could take it back, I would.”
For a moment, we stand in silence. I’m not sure I can forgive him yet, especially since I don’t even know most of what happened while the guys were locked in Ludo’s mansion. From the looks of things, I’m not sure I ever will. However Oliver got those bruises, I don’t think he wants to talk about it.
Maybe one day, I can forgive Andrew. Maybe once Holloway is dead and the pain has faded. But for now, when everything is so fresh, when my mind is still terrified I’ll lose the guys again . . . I just can’t.
“Apology accepted,” I manage, and I mean it. I can acknowledge that he’s sorry without forgiving him.
“Thank you,” he mumbles. “I’ll . . . I’ll go.”
I give him a minute’s head start before grabbing a sweater and heading down. Part of me wonders if I’m being too harsh on Andrew. He’s young, and it’s not his fault that Ludo manipulated him. In a way, he’s a victim here, too.
That doesn’t excuse what he did,the angry, hurt side of me roars.
But no one ever taught him any better,the softer, more understanding side reminds me.
I shove both thoughts away as I walk through the kitchen to where Rhett is waiting for me in the mudroom. He seems more relaxed, which I’m grateful for. Considering Ludo ishere,so close to us, I was expecting Rhett to be on edge constantly. Instead, he seems relieved.
Grabbing my hand, he pulls me in for a quick kiss before we head into the garage. Every small touch brings me closer to stability, to trusting my own eyes and ears.
They’re not going anywhere,my mind whispers.Ludo will never hurt us again.
. . .
Grocery shopping with Rhett is . . . nice. Before they were taken, we were just starting to figure out where to include me in things like chores. The guys already had a pretty established routine, but adding me wasn’t too much trouble.
Still, I’ve never gone grocery shopping with one of them. Maybe it’s silly that something as mundane as wandering through the store excites me, but it feels significant.
I’m also just happy to be doinganythingwith Rhett. I missed all of them so much, and my mind played out worst-case scenarios almost constantly. Getting to do the small life things, like grocery shopping or cleaning, were some of the things I realized we may never get to do together.