Page 61 of Unexpected Heroine

Finally finding my voice, I grit out, “Stop.”

And he does.

I’ve never been more grateful for silence.

Is it wise to avoid this conflict? Is that a rash decision? Or is demanding answers the poor choice?

I can’t trust my instincts. They’re shot, and they weren’t any good when I wasn’t healing from a fucking trauma.

I’m left with one question.

After a weighted pause, I ask, “How bad is it?”

“Depends on how much you want to know right now.”

He’s giving me an out. Leaving it to me to decide how much his secrets matter.

“Will the answers change... us? Not what you do out there.” I point toward the front door, then drop my hand. “Do your secrets—whatever they are—change what we have? How you feel about me? How you care for me?” After a choppy inhale, I whisper, “Is what we have real?”

He swallows and nods his head subtly. Moisture pools in his eyes, matching my own.

With the earnestness of a man on his deathbed, which is something I’ve seen firsthand, he gives me the words I seek so desperately.

He gives me his truth.

Well, part of it.

“Violet, there is nothing in the entire world that could change how I feel about you. Nothing. You and I are the realist thing I’ve ever known.”

Blessed relief floods my soul, sealing all the fissures that were threatening to shatter our lives.

“Then I don’t care. Make them pay. Make them all pay.”

“I will.”

His lips find mine, searing his declaration on my soul like a branding. Or a vow. Twinges of pain from his tight grip on me barely register.

I’d take all the agony in the world for more of this feeling. For more moments with this man.

Because my love for him is the realist thing I’ve ever known too.

There’s a lot I don’t understand. Endless questions still plague me. But there’s one thing I know for certain—I will not lose him.

And that means I can’t let him walk out that door tonight. Not until he has help.

He needs a plan. To do this with a calm head and backup.

Somehow, I’ll need to get a message to the people he works with. The ones who helped him rescue me.

I can’t let him do this alone. Because when he leaves, he damn sure better come back to me.

Chapter 12

A seesaw on the edge

TOMER

It’s been hard to breathe since the second that damn USB drive got here.

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