Page 56 of The Redemption of Alex Cade
“You’re okay,” I said again, guiding him out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. “Come on. Let’s get you into bed.”
I found a T-shirt and a pair of soft, worn boxers. His movements were sluggish, as he let me dress him as though he were a doll. When I finally got him into bed, I crawled in next to him. He curled into me immediately, winding his arm around me, hooking a leg over mine.
“Don’t leave,” he whispered. “Please, Alex. Don’t leave me.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” I brushed my fingers through his damp hair. “I’m right here.”
He clung to me until exhaustion finally overtook him. His grip loosened, his body sagging as he drifted into sleep as I lay wide awake.
I ground my teeth hard. Kelvin was going to pay for what he’d done.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
ALEX
I woke up early, after I’d finally fallen into a deep and heavy sleep. Kit was curled up next to me, and I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake him. Making myself a coffee, I went out to the frost covered garden.
Beneath the tree at the end of the garden was a mound of muddy raw earth. Buster’s pitiful, messy little grave.
The back door opened, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“I woke up, and you weren’t there. I thought you’d gone.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Don’t you realise that by now?” He offered me a smile. It was small and weak, but it was there, and for that I’d be forever grateful. “How are you?” It was a stupid question because his pale skin and the dark shadows under his eyes told me exactly how he was.
His gaze found the grave; his eyes glistened but the tears didn’t fall, not this time. Instead he sniffed and nodded his head. “Okay. I think. Calmer, as in not hysterical.”
I put my mug down and wound my arms around him, andhe sighed as his body pressed in close to mine. “I have to go soon.” Instantly, Kit’s muscles stiffened.
“No. Please. Stay with me today. I promise not to be an hysterical mess.” He looked up, his eyes begging me to stay. And I wanted to, Christ knows that’s all I wanted. Just us, the door locked and the whole shitty world kept at bay. But I couldn’t, not after what had happened.
“I can’t leave this, Kit. You know I can’t.”
He was trying to formulate an argument against me doing what I had to, but there was no argument, we both knew it. Nodding in defeat, he began to turn away, but I caught him by the hand.
“Kelvin won’t be back?—”
“How can you be so sure?” A spark of fear flared in his eyes, a spark I had to douse.
“Because I know him. I know how he operates. You have to trust me, Kit.” I squeezed his hands tight, adding emphasis to my words. “I want you to go back to bed and get some more sleep because you look fucking awful.” He snorted and his lips twitched, which was enough. I led him back inside, out of the cold and out of sight of the raw reminder of what had happened. “I have to go now, but I’ll be back later.”
“You promise?” His tired, red eyes gazed hard into mine.
I pulled him into my arms and closed my eyes, feeling his warmth and the weight of him, feeling his heart beat.
“I promise,” I whispered, as I held him close, not wanting to let him go but knowing, for now, I had to.
I was back at Euphoria, where everything had started, and where everything would end.
Sunday, the one day of the week Kelvin laughingly calledour day of rest. I’d had a hunch this was where he’d be, when I set off from Kit’s. If he wasn’t, then I’d hunt him down. But I didn’t have to, because I’d seen his car. Not the SUV he’d used to stalk and terrorise Kit with, but his big, solid Volvo. My guts had churned, when I saw it, and so had my fury, but where it had been a raging fire the night before, now it was ice.
I let myself in, ready to disable the alarm if Kelvin hadn’t reset it, but the light on the panel failed to pulse. The club’s silence pressed against my ears. No thumping bass, no laughing or shouting clubbers raising their voices to be heard, no press of sweat slicked bodies grinding against each other. The place that had always heaved with life, that had been hard wired into my DNA, felt like an alien, former life that had nothing to do with the man I was now.
Pushing through the Staff Only door by the bar, I climbed the stairs making my way towards the office where I’d find Kelvin.
Voices, muffled but unmistakable.
My steps faltered. What the…? My whole body tingled, and sweat pooled in my armpits as Kelvin’s deep voice was joined by another, one that made my gut clench: the oily tone of Mehmet Aksoy.
