Page 38 of His to Protect

Then he let me go, and I was left wondering how I could bottle that ragged, deep, sexy voice so I could pop it open and have him speak to me like that every night before I went to sleep, and remember how he was looking at me right now.

As if he meant every word.

I lost my fight with the shiver and let it flow down my spine, feeling heat hit my cheeks.

A throat clearing caught my attention and both of us snapped our heads in the direction of the noise.

Blue was no longer looking sympathetic, but amused, and Tyson no longer looked concerned, but angry.

It was that expression that spurred me on. In part because I didn’t want Declan’s friend mad at me, if that was the cause of his sudden shift in demeanor.

Also because I was angry. And I had every right to be.

The people closest to me, who loved me, let me down.

It’d been the kindness of strangers in the last week that showed me what a life without the Morgenson name attached to it could be like.

And it was so much better.

It was a life I realized I wanted to keep.

“My name is Katrina Morgenson,” I told Tyson. “I’m sure if you pull up my medical records you’ll find various hospital stays all over Kentucky, and when I say all over, I mean everywhere. I wasn’t allowed to go to hospitals often. I was usually treated at home with a paid-off doctor, but when I did go, Kevin always made sure to give some excuse, some reason we were in town, and I never argued.”

“Why?” Tyson asked, although the question was a surprise.

I rolled my slumped shoulders and looked him square in the eye. “After my first beating, I went home to my family. My father had recently passed away and while I was crying on my mother’s shoulder, she declared that I should return home and find a way to not upset Kevin.”

“Jesus Christ,” Declan muttered.

I ignored him and continued. “I didn’t know it at the time, but learned later that while my father was wealthy, we weren’t millionaires, or anywhere close to the same league as the Morgensons. And on top of finding out my father’s business was actually going under, and his heart attack might have been‘self-induced’ ”—I paused and used air quotes, because while it was never determined, given our personal financials and those of the company, it was highly likely that my father had taken his own life—“my mom had just been diagnosed with leukemia.”

“And she had no money,” Blue filled in, figuring it out quicker than I would have anticipated.

“And Kevin did,” I replied, nodding confirmation of her assessment.

“You stayed to take care of your mom even though she sent you back to be with that monster.”

“And when she received her six-month clearance, just less than two weeks ago, I declared myself done. Figure I’ve done my daughterly duty.”

I let the silence, the weight of that statement, settle around everyone.

Blue grinned at me. “You might be the strongest person I’ve ever freaking met.”

Despite the heaviness in the room, despite the fact that Kevin could be outside the house that very minute, and despite the fact that I’d shared more in the last hour than I ever had with anyone in my entire life—and I was still not certain it was a good decision—I threw my head back and laughed, while Blue joined in. Next to me, Declan chuckled and pulled me closer to him.

And it felt really, really freaking good.

—

I wrapped my hand around the warm wrist as my back was lowered to the warm, plush bed I’d been sleeping on for the last several days.

With my eyes still closed, I knew Declan was pulling away from me. He’d just carried me up the stairs after I fell asleep on the couch. After I told the rest of my story to Tyson, including specifics I’d never wanted to mention to anyone, I had leaned my head on Declan’s shoulder and closed my eyes while I listened to Tyson, Blue, and Declan murmur quietly.

He felt warm and safe. The gentle brushes of his thumb on my shoulder sent tiny tremors through my body.

I tightened my grip on his wrist.

“Please,” I muttered with a garbled voice. “I don’t want to be alone. Not tonight.”

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