Page 74 of The Vegas Rerun
She nods her head.
“Yes. They said you won’t be charged.”
“I’m fine. You’re the one I care about,” I tell her. I exhale and turn to face her. She mirrors my movement, and I press my forehead against hers. “Molly, I need you to leave work. Just for a little while. Please.”
Her eyes flicker.
“Joshua …” she starts. Her tone tells me she’s going to say no so I cut her off quickly before she can.
“I mean it.” My voice cracks a little as I speak. “I’ll take care of everything. You, Autumn. Whatever you need. Just don’t come back here. At least not now. Not after this.”
She’s silent for a moment. I feel her pull back slightly, searching my face.
“You think I’m scared,” she says quietly.
“I know you’re scared. I am too. You almost …” I stop myself, shaking my head. “I can’t go through that again. I can’t watch you walk into danger just because you think you have something to prove.”
Her eyes harden.
“It’s not about proving anything. I tried that today by sending you out to a meeting and look what happened. I’m done with trying to prove a point to Sarah. It’s not about her anymore. It’s about living my life.Our life. She doesn’t get to take this from me. My job. My identity. My normal. I won’t give her that.”
I want to argue. I want to shout and beg and lock her in a room where no one can touch her. But I don’t. Because this is who she is. Strong. Fierce. Unshakable. And I love her for it. Even when it terrifies me.
“Ok,” I whisper. “Ok. You win.”
She smiles, soft but determined.
“I wasn’t trying to win. I just need you to trust me.”
“I do.” I pull her into my arms again, holding her tight. “But here’s the deal. This was meant to be a surprise, but I gave up my apartment and bought a house. I wanted to ask you and Autumn to come and live with me. If you don’t want to, then please come, just until Sarah is safely locked away and …”
She’s smiling. Her beaming smile that lights her face up.
“We’d love to move in with you,” she says.
We kiss then and for a moment, I’m lost in Molly, and I forget all the bad stuff that’s happening, but I can’t lose sight of what I was saying so I pull away gently.
“The deal is, I’m going to be upgrading the security system at the house. And you’re not walking anywhere alone. Ever.”
“Deal,” she murmurs into my shirt.
We hold each other for a moment and then Molly speaks again, her voice so quiet I have to strain to hear her.
“I don’t think I realized how close it was,” she whispers. “One more second …”
I take one of her hands in both of mine.
“You don’t have to think about it now.”
“I keep seeing her face. That look in her eyes. Like she really believed it was my fault. Like hurting me was going to fix her life.”
“It wouldn’t have. People like that …” I shake my head. “They’re already broken. You didn’t break her, Molly. You just reminded her of everything she’ll never be.”
She rests her forehead on my shoulder.
“I hate that she almost won.”
“She didn’t. And she never will.” I release her hand and slide my arms around her, my voice low and rough. “You’re here. You’re alive. And you’re still the strongest damn woman I know.”
