Page 55 of If This is Love

Skye lowered herself to the floor. “We’ve got temporary housing. We’ll take you there today if that’s okay with you. We also have a legal team who can help you with a protective order if that’ll help you feel safer, but I swear on my life, nobody will ever come near you again if you let us take care of you. Does that sound alright to you, sis?”

Olivia nodded against Gunner’s yellow fur, and he turned his face to lick the tears off her cheek.

“Gunner,easy,” I clipped.

“He’s okay,” she whimpered. “He’s so sweet. I had a dog like him when I was little. We lost him in K. That’s when I lost my folks, too.”

K.

Katrina.

So Olivia was one of the hurricane orphans. The ones who fell through the cracks in the chaotic aftermath and had to make their way as best they could without having parents or family nearby or any adults at all that had the ability to take care of them. It was a dark secret lingering in the shadowy alleys of this vibrant, musical city; the displaced children, newly orphaned with nowhere to go, so many of them turned to whatever refuge they could find. In Olivia’s case, it appeared the refuge she found was as the exploited property of selfish, twisted villains.

Villains who were honestly not all that different from the sick fucks I had been sent to the desert to deal with. Just like Olivia wasn’t all that different from the women I failed to help while I was there.

“How many of them are there?” Skye asked.

“My pimp works for a guy who works for a guy,” Olivia said vaguely. “The big man owns a house in Lake Shore. He runs everything from there. They’ve been keeping me in a house in Dixon. I’m not allowed to leave unless I’m with my pimp or unless I’m on a job. I don’t have a phone. My friend let me use hers. I’ve tried to leave before. I’ve tried.” Her voice broke again, and Ruth stroked Olivia’s hair off her back and over one shoulder. “I’ve tried. They always got me. They’re gonna get me again.”

“They willnot,” Skye said firmly. “You’re with us now, and they’ll never come anywhere near you again. I promise. I want you to leave with us today. Are you okay with that?”

Olivia nodded. “Please.”

Skye stood up and held out her hand. “Let’s go get your stuff, okay?”

Olivia gave Gunner another firm rub before taking Skye’s hand and leading her to a room, and Chloe followed them.

I offered my hand to Ruth, and she took it as she stood.

She looked up with me wearing a smile, but it quickly fled from her face. She immediately stood right in front of me and threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly and with purpose.

We’d become pretty close over the past month or so, but I’d never gotten a hug like this from her. It was so unexpected and intimate that nerves rushed through me, and every muscle in my body tensed up. My hands traveled to brace against her back on their own accord. Under my palms, she felt solid and strong, but somehow also delicate and soft, and this suddenly felt like the best thing that would ever happen to me.

“You okay, Ruth?”

“I’m fine, but areyouokay?” Her hands firmly rubbed my back where my shoulders met my neck; right where the burn was always the worst. “You feel like you’re overheating, and you’re shaking.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah.” Her hands rubbed again. “Right here is especially warm.”

My brows quirked together as it suddenly dawned on me thatshecould feel the burn that wasallegedlyall in my head. “You can feel that?”

“Yeah, and you’re…” Her cool, dry, smooth palms pressed flat against the base of my neck, and it felt like fuckingheaven. “It almost feels like you’re vibrating.” She made a noise like a little dove’s coo. “Oh,friend.” She wrapped her arms tight around my neck and squeezed me. “Bless you and your good,goodheart. I’m so sorry.”

This still felt like the best thing that ever happened to me, but it was simultaneously freaking me the fuck out. “Sorry for what?”

“Just that you made so many sacrifices that they still hurt you like this.”

A lump lurched in my throat out of fuckingnowhere, but I swallowed it. “I appreciate that.”

Yeah, Ireallyfucking appreciated it. It was all I ever wanted my ex-wife to do. Was it really so much to ask for someone to justacknowledgethat I didn’thaveto be this broken-down, used-up, shell of the man I used to be, and I did this to myselfwillinglyfor the betterment of other fucking people?

Apparently, it wasn’t for Ruth.

She just validated the exact things that had been ruining my life for a long time. If I hadn’t already fallen in love with her weeks ago, this would’ve been the moment it happened. One hundred percent.

And since that had already happened, and she now was holding her absolutelygloriousbody against me, and validating my God-awful experiences, I was fuckingdone for.

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