Page 28 of You've Got The Love
A voice calls out through the door—low, male, speaking Dutch. I can’t understand the words, but I don’t need a translation to hear the threat in the tone. It makes my skin crawl.
Bastiaan moves like a shadow to the window, peering out cautiously. My heart hammers in my chest so hard it hurts. I know I should stay still, but the panic is crawling up my throat, filling my head with static.
What if they get in?
What if Dad was right, and this is the end?
Images flash in my head—guns, dark water, Bas bleeding—and my breathing stutters out of control. I bite my lip to stop a sob, tasting blood and salt.
Bas signals me to stay put as he edges toward the door, but all I can do is shake and press my forehead to my knees. My ears are ringing, but I still hear the metal clank of the door handle testing under someone’s hand.
They’re trying to get in.
Tears blur my vision. I’ve never felt so small, so helpless. Then a warm, calloused hand is suddenly on my cheek, and I flinch—until I realise it’s him. Bas kneels in front of me, his voice low and steady, a lifeline cutting through the fog of my fear.
“Amber. Look at me.”
I lift my head, swallowing hard.
“I won’t let anyone touch you. Understand?” His dark eyes lock on mine, fierce and unshakable. “Not while I’m here. You’re safe as long as I’m breathing.”Who is this man?
Something in his tone anchors me. The trembling slows, just enough for me to pull in one real breath. I nod, gripping his shirt with shaking fingers, and he presses a quick kiss to my forehead before rising, gun in hand, moving back to face the danger at the door.
The knocks stop.
The silence is worse.
The silence stretches so long that my ears start to ring. I count the seconds in my head, afraid to even breathe. The canal water laps softly against the hull of the barge, and somewhere in the distance, a bike bell chimes faintly.
Then—nothing.
No more footsteps. No more knocks. No muffled Dutch voices slipping through the wood. Whoever they were… they’re gone.
I collapse against the sofa cushions, my limbs shaking like I’ve run a marathon I never signed up for. My chest heaves as all the tension starts to release, leaving me weak and light-headed.
Bas stays still for a long moment, listening. His shoulders are tight, jaw sharp, the gun steady in his hands. Then, finally, he exhales and turns to me.
“They’re gone.” His voice is soft but edged with something primal. Protective.
I nod, but my throat is thick. My hands feel like ice. I can barely move, like my body doesn’t know how to exist after all that adrenaline.
Bastiaan crosses the small space in two strides and sinks down beside me, pulling me straight into his chest. I don’t hesitate—I curl into him like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this exact place, this precise moment. His warmth seeps into my chilled skin, and for the first time in what feels like hours, I start to feel… safe.
“It’s okay,liefje,” he murmurs against my hair. “You did good. I’ve got you.”
His heartbeat is steady against my ear, and I focus on it, letting the rhythm chase away the lingering panic. Slowly, the shaking eases. I clutch at him with both hands like he’s the only thing keeping me tethered to the earth. Maybe he is.
We end up stretched out on the sofa together, the small space forcing me to lie half on top of him. He tucks the blanket from the back of the sofa around us, and I feel him relax bit by bit as the night settles into quiet.
“Tell me something,” he says softly after a while, his fingers tracing lazy circles on my arm. “Anything. Keep me awake.”
I sniffle a little laugh. “You want random facts?”
“Anything about you,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “I want to know all of it.”
So I talk. About Bentley, my horse. About how I got my dream flower shop. About my best friend daring me toskinny dip once, and me chickening out at the last second. He laughs quietly, and the sound rumbles through his chest under my cheek, grounding me more than words ever could.
Then he talks. About his favourite books, about the summer storms that flood the canals, about the time Sander almost sank this barge trying to impress a girl. He makes me laugh until the fear starts to feel like a shadow of another life.
