Page 104 of Kings Fear No One
She shakes her head, looking anywhere but at me. I cross the room and drop down next to her, scooping her hand up ’til it’s in my lap and not her own.
“Tell me, baby,” I say in that damn tone. That damn rasp that’s gentler just for her. “What happened? Did they…”
I can’t even get the fucking words out.
I don’t even fucking know what I’d do if they did—I already killed the bastards.
But if they did… I’ll hunt down their dead bodies and figure out how to slaughter them all over again.
“You interrupted before they could,” she answers. “And I didn’t go there by choice. I did buy a ticket to Boulder.”
“They take you from the terminal?”
Slowly, she nods. “They grabbed me and told me if I screamed they’d kill me and my family. They flashed a gun and told me to act calm. We got on the bus to Jefferson and that’s when they brought me to the bar. They were waiting on someone.”
Abraham.
“But he didn’t show up,” she continues, wiping a puffy eye with the back of her hand. “Then they started feeding me drinks. But it wasn’t like the drinks you’ve made me…”
The guilt I was already feeling magnifies by one hundred. Can I really be pissed with her? She told me she was leaving. She went to the bus terminal to go home.
I’m the one who didn’t take her; I’m the fucktard who didn’t check up on her to make sure she made it. Instead, I counted on the unreliable account of some clerk.
I waited hours before I even sent her a text. Ignored Sydney when she expressed concern.
This is on me.
We sit in uncertain silence for another minute. Teysha’s busy studying the ugly shag carpet beneath her feet. I’m processing how wrong I’ve been.
I’m questioning what it means that I’ve gone off the way I have.
These feelings invading my chest can’t be ignored. They can’t be pushed aside or denied. They’re quickly becoming an issue.
I can’t walk away from Teysha; I can’t even fucking stop caring for her the second she needs it.
She shivers from beside me and I put an arm around her in hopes I’ll warm her up.
“Cold?”
“Just a fever… I think…”
“Probably whatever the hell they gave you. C’mere.”
I wrap my other arm around her, half dragging her into my lap. She rests her head against my chest, her long lashes touching her cheeks as she closes her eyes. My nose winds up in her hair, greedily inhaling the flowery scent of whatever product she’s put in. It’s a scent that’s come to ease any stress in my body. It’s come to signify peace and calm.
It makes my heart feel like it’s skipping a damn beat.
I swallow against the rush of emotion that threatens to take over.
Now is not the time to go there.
“Let’s get you in bed. You should get a couple hours of rest. It’ll help.”
“Will you…” she trails off, seemingly deciding against whatever she was about to say.
But I already know. Because I’ve started to memorize every little thing about her—including her quirks.
“I’ll lay with you,” I say, stroking her hair. “I won’t go anywhere.”
