Page 260 of Bound By Her

Eric nodded. “I hope so,” he said. There was a moment when it seemed like Kaydon might embrace him, but he thought better of it and instead stepped aside, letting Bryson come forward.

Moving to shake his hand, Bryson was surprised when Eric pulled him in for a brief hug, seemingly to whisper a heartfelt warning into his ear, and not simply to say goodbye. “Don’t talk too much, okay?”

Bryson smiled as he leaned away from Eric’s hold, moving his arm up and punching him in the shoulder lightly. “I’ll try not to.”

Seth gave Eric a big hug before wiping his eyes and saying to not just Bryson, but also to Eric and Kaydon, “We are going to come back, I know it.”

Bryson gave him a big grin. “Fuck yeah, we are.”

Seth snuck under his arm, and Bryson held onto him, giving him a squeeze.

When the black sedan pulled into the drive, Seth pulled out of Bryson’s hold, and the three of them lingered for a moment in the foyer.

While neither of them expected her to, they all hoped Adria would see them off.

It was Kaydon who stepped out first.

“Think how weird it’s gonna be coming back here,” Kaydon said.

“On our own feet,” Seth said, following behind him.

Bryson laughed, remembering being carried in through the back door. It had taken all four of his father’s men to get them out of the car.

“We gave them the hardest time,” he said.

“Yeah, and they took it all out on my face.” Kaydon rubbed his chin.

“Your face!” Seth said, punching his arm. “I could barely use my eye.”

Moving toward the car, Bryson felt eyes on him. He looked back, expecting to see Eric standing on the front steps, but the door was closed. He glanced up, seeing the curtain on her window fall, but saw nothing more. It could have been the breeze, but he suspected that it was her. He knew it was just as hard for her as it was for them to have them leave. But he knew that at the end of the year, they would be back at her door. Adria had slowly nudged her way into all three of their hearts. She had become their home, when they had struggled to find one for so long.

Getting into the car, Bryson gave her window a wave, in hopes that just maybe she might see it, before squeezing next to Seth and Kaydon in the back seat.

A little way down the drive, Bryson noticed a piece of paper folded in his suitcase’s front pocket.

Something I know only you will understand.

Things don’t stick around for people like us, and it’s scarier to have something than to have nothing.

And it’s much easier for me to hold on when I know I’m letting go.

So,

Goodbye and hello all at once.

All the best,

Adria

“Bye for now, gorgeous,” he said under his breath, folding the note and placing it back in the pocket.

EPILOGUE

Regan looked down at the blood-soaked carpet. Frances lay crumpled on the floor, strands of auburn hair stuck to her blood-soaked face.

He hadn’t wanted to kill her.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Hehadwanted to kill her, just not yet.

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