Page 111 of Gravity of Love
“I know.” She nuzzled her face into his neck, and he felt her smile against his skin. “But you’re lucky I like you anyway.”
“Good, cause Iloveyou.”
Her body tensed for an eighth of second before she relaxed, really relaxed, and melted into him. “I love you, too. Always. It was always you.”
Those words were the sweetest Liam had ever heard. No matter what else happened, as long as that was true, as long as he had Frankie in his arms, and she loved him… that was all he needed.
31
His sleep shattered like glass—firsta crash and then a clatter. Liam surfaced from oblivion slowly reluctantly. It was instantly familiar, his body recognized being dragged from REM, and he knew he was in the on-call room. He opened his eyes, expecting to see a nurse or resident in a doorway. Instead, he blinked as the room revealed itself with moonlit geometry, slashes of pine shadows on the ceiling, and the faint pink glow of embers still smoldering in the hearth. His senses came to life one by one, the scent of vanilla and citrus, his arm heavy with the weight and warmth of Frankie’s body, and the delicate sprawl of hair arcing across the pillow like a spilled ink stain.
There was another knock, this time a full-bodied thud that jolted the bedframe beneath him. Frankie stirred, murmured something unintelligible, and burrowed deeper under the quilt. Liam’s body tensed as he slid his arm from beneath her, doing his best not to disturb her. The third round of knocks was even stronger still—warning that this was not a casual, neighborly knock. Someone wanted in, badly. He sat up and glanced at his phone, plugged in on the nightstand, it showed zero missed callsand no messages. He checked the time—3:45. Whatever this was, it wasn’t good.
He cursed under his breath, the sound muffled by the thick log walls, as he stood. The cold hit his naked skin instantly, the mountain air even sharper at this hour. He found his sweats by the woodstove and tugged them on as he padded, half-blind, to the door.
His groggy brain was still waking up as he flung the door open. Outside, the porch light illuminated a single male figure. Frankie’s brother, Niko, stood alone. His mouth was working, trying for words, but his hands were shaking, and his lips were cracked from the wind. Liam didn't let him inside. For one thing, he didn’t want Niko to see Frankie. For another, the energy radiating off Niko made Liam want to brace himself.
He took in Niko's behavior with a kind of surgical detachment, an ER doctor’s triage of a scene that didn’t compute, because Niko had never shown up at Liam’s door looking like terror had hollowed him out from the inside. He felt a small, sour jolt of dread, he’d never seen this kid look anything but arrogant and invincible, not in all the years he’d known the twins. He catalogued Niko’s shallow breaths and the adrenaline glaze in his eyes. This was an imminent crisis, not drama.
“What is it?” Liam’s voice came out rougher than he’d intended, like a threat rather than a question.
Niko met his gaze for half a second before looking away again. “Something happened,” he said, his voice cracking.
Liam’s brain, still catching up, flicked through possibilities.
“Is it AJ?” he asked, panic already beginning to ignite.
Niko shook his head, jaw clenched so tight it seemed fused. “It’s your dad.”
It was a phrase he’d heard Niko use at least a dozen times with Tristan depending on the situation, sometimes as a lifeline to get them out of trouble when Dr. Sterling showed up on thescene to save the day when they’d done something stupid, or as a warning of the noose that would hang them when they’d fucked up and broken a rule and Dad came home early. Only this time Niko didn’t say it with familial fear or schoolboy idiocy. He said it like a nuclear bomb had landed, and there was nothing left of the house but ashes and glass.
“My dad?” Liam heard himself repeat.
“Mom said when they got back to the cabin after the reception, he complained about being tired and said he wanted to lie down. She went to take a shower, when she came out, he was on the bed. She couldn’t wake him up.” Niko’s voice quivered around the words, and for a split-second Liam saw Niko as a little kid, the one who used to build Lego fortresses and eat nothing but string cheese and grape juice. “She called an ambulance. They took him to Pine Ridge. She went with him. I had to… We kept trying to call you, but it kept going to voicemail. We thought you were at home, but you weren’t. I drove back here because…I didn’t know where else to look.”
Liam’s fingers curled into fists at his sides, the cold slicing into him, the wind so brittle and sharp it made his eyes water. “He’s gone. He’s dead.”
“No. What? No!” Niko shook his head. “They said it’s his heart. They’re doing tests, but my mom wants you there. Tristan needs you there. He needs you.”
The world compressed to a single axis, Niko’s voice the only thing tethering Liam to earth. He felt dizzy as he inhaled and swallowed, his throat prickling raw. “Okay.”
“Do you know where Mouse is? We went to her cabin. Everyone’s trying to find her. Mom is freaking out. We’re trying her phone but—” Niko looked over Liam’s shoulder and Liam watched all the color drain from his face.
He glanced back and saw Frankie’s dress hanging over the chair with her underwear and bra beside it.
Fuck.
Liam moved to the side, blocking the doorway with his body out of pure instinct, but the damage was done. Niko’s jaw flexed and his eyes narrowed, and for a moment Liam wondered if he was going to say something, but Niko just glanced down at his feet and then met Liam’s gaze again.
“Everyone’s at the hospital,” he said, his tone detached, businesslike. “If you want a ride?—”
“I’ll drive,” Liam’s answer was immediate.
Niko nodded again and then turned and started down the steps. He glanced over his shoulder. “You shouldhurry.”
The porch light bounced off the dusting of frost on the walkway, the hush of the mountains all around. Liam didn’t watch Niko leave. He closed the door as quietly as he could and felt the sudden vacuum of cold air in the room. For a moment he just stood there, heart pumping a thick, metallic panic, before the rest of his body caught up.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Frankie sit up in bed. “Was that Niko?” she managed, pulling the quilt tighter around herself.
