Page 164 of Redeemed

“His hands.” She brushes her fingers over her palms.

My stomach drops. Haven doesn’t have to say anything else. Stress manifests in lots of different ways. For some people, it’s over- or under-eating. For others, grinding their teeth at night. For Lucas, it’s clenching his fists so hard that his nails cut into his skin without him realizing it.

With a sigh, I run my fingers through her hair. “I’ll talk to him. Thank you for telling me.”

“Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine. Just has to blow off some steam.”

“How does he normally do that?”

“Sex, sometimes, although I think he was too focused on making sure you were all right for it to help.”

She looks surprised. “Oh.”

I clear my throat. “How does watching a movie sound? Maybe eating some ice cream, too?”

Just like that, she perks up. “Yes, please.”

“Good. Let’s get you into something that’s not covered in cum.”

She glances down at her bodysuit and laughs.Laughs.After her crying and begging earlier, that’s as unexpected as her hair spontaneously turning bright pink.

Maybe she is right. Maybe this is what she needs.

I walk her to Colton’s room, and he opens the door just as she’s about to step inside.

“Movie sounds good,” he tells me, referencing the text I sent him. His eyes drop to Haven. “There’s pajama pants and a T-shirt on the bed for you.”

“Pajama pants?” she asks, peeking around him.

“You did good today. Want you comfortable.”

Her eyes fill with warmth. “Thank you.”

Leaning down, Colton brushes his lips against her forehead. “Meet us downstairs when you’re changed.”

Closing her in, Colton jerks his head toward the end of the hallway, and I follow him down the steps and into the kitchen.

“I reached out to a few people the other day,” he tells me as he dishes out ice cream. “Lookouts.”

“To find the guy who’s searching for her?”

He nods. “Forgot to mention it with everything else going on. Took a few days, but I’ve got a few pictures. I think it’d be a good idea for Haven to take a look at them.”

“Sure, yeah, just not until after the movie, okay?”

“I was thinking at dinner, once Luc is back.”

“Sounds good. You think one of those pics is actually him?”

Colton’s hand tightens on the ice cream scoop. “I hope so. I want this motherfucker dead.”

Haven

I’msandwichedbetweenColtonand Xander on one of the loft’s couches. A movie is playing on the TV, but my attention drifted from it the moment Colton hit play.

Today has gone differently than I expected it would. First, learning that Mark is trying to force Colton into an arranged marriage threw me off. I don’t know anything about Delilah, but I don’t need to. Not having a choice in who I married almost killed me. I understand why he’s so upset about it.

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