Page 19 of Shattered Souls
I take a proper breath for the first time since Grayson drove her away from her apartment. She relaxes into me, her body melting into mine, melding until we become one.
With her in my arms, it’s the closest to peace I can achieve these days.
The back of her head rests against my shoulder, and lifting it, she looks up at me, her bottom lip between her teeth. “Say the words.”
The grin that gradually grows across my face is effortless and pure. She’s asked this of me several times in the last few weeks, and honestly, I can’t get enough of it.
Lowering my neck, I kiss the tip of her nose before looking her in the eyes and giving her what she wants, “I love you.”
She sighs, like those words are all she needs to sustain herself, and I tighten my arms around her, pulling her in closer. My lips brush against her temple, and I just breathe her in.
“How was your game tonight?” she asks. “I’m sorry none of us could be there.”
Sighing, I glance away as I rub the back of my neck. “I didn’t go. I went with Royce instead.”
“Logan,” she chastises, although she’s not really angry.
“My head wouldn’t have been on the ice anyway,” I admit to her. In all honesty, my head hasn’t been on hockey all week. I’vebeen physically present at practice, but my mind is elsewhere, and Coach said if I didn’t get my head in the game not to bother showing up tonight. So I didn’t.
I mean, how can I be focused on hockey—a fuckinggame—when my fuckinglifeis in pieces. Aurora might not be mine, but Ifeellike I’ve lost a daughter or at least a friend, and I like to think Aurora and I were friends.
“I couldn’t have been there when I needed to be here,” I tell her. “Iwantedto go with Royce. I’d do anything to get Aurora back. To bring her home.”
Shifting so she’s sitting on her knees between my legs, Riley cups the side of my neck and presses her forehead to mine. “I know. You have no idea how much that means to me. What you’re doing—what you’realldoing. But you can’t lose out on your future because of this.” She smiles, but it’s watery at best. “What will I tell Aurora when we get her back, and you’ve been kicked off the team? I’ve been talking you up and promising to take her to a game. It won’t be the same if you’re sitting beside us instead of out on the ice.”
I bark out a laugh even as I sniffle. “Shortcake, you can bet your ass I’ll be on that ice when Aurora comes to her first game. You think I don’t have the entire team practicing for their next pre-game entertainment show? I’ve got them learning all the moves toLet It Go. It’s going to be epic. Aurora will love it.”
Tear tracks streaking down her face, Riley chuckles. “She will,” she agrees as I brush away her tears.
Gathering her into my arms, I stand before stepping out of the tub. Grabbing a towel, I wrap it around her before capturing her lips with mine. I intend for it to be a quick kiss, but just like every time I touch her, I’m incapable of pulling back.
Riley presses onto her toes, her body flush against mine as her lips part, and she deepens the kiss. One hand falls to her hipswhile the other slides into her hair as I give myself fully to this woman who already owns every piece of my heart.
Clinging to one another, our tongues tangle in a kiss that speaks of salvation, of the dreams we both hold dear and the futures we hope to see play out.
And I swear I’ll do everything possible to ensure Aurora is front and center in that future.
6
RILEY
“I’m really not in the mood for this,” I sigh, reluctantly climbing out of Royce’s truck in the gravel parking lot at The Depot on Tuesday morning. It’s been seven days since that awful day. Seven days where I haven’t spoken to my daughter. Seven days of worrying whether she’s okay. If she’s even alive.
I haven’t dared to voice that last thought aloud. To put it out in the atmosphere. It feels like tempting fate, and with the cards life has been dealing me recently… yeah, I’ll keep those dark thoughts to myself.
Still, it’s like the guys automatically know when my thoughts veer in that direction and dive in with various distractions. All three of them talk about Aurora with absolute certainty that she’ll be coming home.
And not just home to me, but home tothem.
The number of tears I’ve shed listening to Logan talk about Aurora attending his games and the spot he’s reserved for her in Hot Shot Huskies, Royce including Aurora in hypothetical future plans like her presence in our lives is an inevitability. Even Grayson’s excitement at introducing her to the family business—or, as he phrases it,her legacy.
“I know.” Royce’s deep voice breaks through my wayward thoughts as he rounds the truck and walks beside me toward the large warehouse where The Depot is situated. I don’t think I’ve ever been here during the day, and looking at the large metal structure, you’d never know it was a heaving dive bar and fighting ring when the sun goes down. It blends seamlessly with the countryscape around us—the open fields that stretch as far as the eye can see. “But with Bertram out of prison, learning self-defense is in your best interest. We’d all feel better about you walking around campus if you knew a few basic moves. Especially…” He sticks his tongue into his cheek, his jaw hardening.
Especially after what happened with Ben.
That’s what he was going to say.
It’s precisely why Tara has organized this mandatory self-defense session for all the girls who work at Lux and why she has pushed for increased security and protection for all staff members with the new club owner. I haven’t been at work since everything with Aurora went down, but I’ve heard about the new bouncers and stricter rules from her text updates.
