Page 53 of Hayes
Lilith
“You should try to sleep,” Gage says from the corner chair of my bedroom.
Over and over I pace back and forth, unable to clear my mind or rid myself of the nervous energy thumping through my veins.
“I can’t.”
Gage doesn’t tell me to sleep again, but his eyes watch me pace. His gaze cuts down to his phone screen every few seconds.
“What are you looking at?”
“Security camera feeds. I have eyes on all of the Retribution Kings.”
I raise my eyebrows as I continue to walk. “Any sign of Hayes?”
Gage swallows hard. “Hayes will be fine.”
“How do you know that? He betrayed them. They’ll kill him for it.”
Gage shakes his head. “Hayes is far too valuable for them to ever kill. Titus made him his number two for a reason. He’ll be punished for his disobedience, but that’s it.”
“That’s it?” I stop, shooting daggers from my eyes toward Gage. “Being punished doesn’t mean he’ll survive.”
“Hayes always survives. He’ll be fine. And so will you. But you’ll be more useful to Hayes if you sleep.”
I scoff and continue pacing. Burying my nose in Haye’s T-shirt I’m still wearing, I take a deep breath to inhale his scent.
“I still can’t believe Hayes did that. He didn’t need to protect me. It wasn’t that bad. I wasn’t really in any pain. It was torture, yes, but nothing I couldn’t endure. He should have known…”
“Should have known what?”
I pause, my eyes snapping to Gage. “That Hayes being punished on my behalf would be far worse for me to endure than any physical torture.”
“You love him?”
My heart flutters to a stop. I shrug. “I promised to never love someone I could lose again.”
Gage nods. “Wise, and yet it appears you’ve broken your promise.”
I stare at the floor as my legs tremble, resuming my pacing. I can’t keep this up much longer. I’ve been pacing for hours. I should sit, but I can’t—not when Hayes is enduring god knows what.
“What about reading or watching TV in bed? Or soaking in the tub if you won’t sleep? Hayes will tell you everything when he returns—the plan for revenge, the…”
“I don’t care about any revenge plan unless it includes revenge for Hayes.” I stop, shocked by my own words. It’s the truth. Right now, imagining all the horrible pain Hayes could be in—all I want is revenge for Hayes. Everything else can wait.
Gage narrows his eyes at me and nods.
I walk over to him, not sure what I’m doing. Gage grabs my hand and pulls me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me in a hug.
I shatter in his arms—tears falling freely and my body shaking with fear.
“He’ll be okay. He’ll survive this. And you’ll get a chance to tell him how you feel.”
The tears fall harder and uncontrollably. I feel his hand running up and down my back, trying to comfort me, even though I know this isn’t who Gage is. He’s not the one people seek out for comfort. He’s the one people seek out for information. He knows Hayes’s location, and what’s happening to him, I know it.
I wipe my tears on the shoulder of his shirt.
“Tell me where he is.”
