Page 178 of Heir

I tightened my arms around him, and he pressed his hand on my stomach, as if to keep himself grounded.

“Someone gunned us down. We were both shot, but Jude pushed me out of the way of the first bullet, so he got it worse than me. Roman came out of the bar when he heard the gunshots, and a fight broke out. I wasn’t even sure how it happened. A lot of that night is a blur to me, but I remember the man standing over both of us. He had stood there and watched us, and in the end, grabbed Jude’s body and left. I didn’t know why he even took Jude in the first place. Three days later, a tourist in the city found Jude’s hand in the Sacramento River.”

My eyes widened, and I pushed up to a sitting position. I glanced out the window.

Was that why he’d bought this apartment? So he could always see the Sacramento River from his window?

He didn’t say anything, but I had a feeling he could see me putting it together.

“Aunt Jenny blamed Dad. She moved to New Zealand and hasn’t really talked to any of us since, trying to run away from her grief. It didn’t help that her husband had died in a car accident earlier that same year.”

I lay back down on his chest, and he pressed his hand back on my stomach.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

He nodded.

“It’s not your fault, you know.”

Because though he didn’t say it, it wasn’t hard to guess that he had taken the blame for what happened.

“Isn’t it?”

I shook my head at him. “You guys were both kids. You didn’t ask to be gunned down. Baby, it’s not your fault. You can’t blame yourself.”

He didn’t say anything to that, holding me close to him, and I knew that no matter what I said, he would blame himself.

I placed a kiss on his chest and felt his breath catch.

I wished I could take the pain from him.

I looked up and met his bright, animated blue eyes.

He made me feel alive and brave. There had never been a person who had been able to make me feel like this.

“I love you,” I said.

He leaned closer to me until his lips were a mere centimeter away from mine. His warm breath fanned across my face. Goosebumps rose on my skin.

Would it be possible to burrow myself into his skin and stay there?

“I love you too, pretty girl.”

Tears stung my eyes as a small laugh bubbled up my throat. “You do?”

He cupped my face, careful not to squeeze too hard where Frank had hit me.

So gentle with me.

Since he’d rescued me, he had treated me like I was made of glass.

“Of course I do. Can’t you tell?”

I looked down at his naked chest, taking in his muscular pecs. I played with the few chest hairs he had there.

“It’s hard for me sometimes,” I said.

He grabbed my hand and pressed it to his chest. “Then listen to what I have to say, Gemma. Feel me, see me. Know that there will never be another woman for me. Know that I fucking love you with everything that I am, and there will never be a day, a minute, a fucking second that goes by when I don’t love you. Got me?”

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