Page 102 of Whispers of You
“Yes, I want to hear it.”
His eyes glittered in the low light of the cabin. “You want to hear that I failed you? Again.”
I gave his chest another hard shove. “The only time you fail me is when you disappear! When are you going to get that through your thick skull?”
“When are you going to realize that you deserve so much better than me?”
The pain in Holt’s voice tore at me with tooth and nail. Tears gathered in my eyes. “How can’t you see what an amazing man you are? It doesn’t matter what I deserve or don’t because I wantyou. You’re all I’ve ever wanted. So let me make up my own mind. Don’t steal my choice from me.”
Holt moved into my space, wrapping me in his arms again. “I love you, Wren. I can’t lose you.”
“You have me. But you can’t keep worrying our life away. We have to live in the here and now.”
“I know. I’m trying. This just scared the hell out of me.”
Of course, it had. I leaned into Holt, ignoring the pain it caused. “I’m sorry.” I pressed my lips to his throat. “But I’m okay. It scared the hell out of me, too, but I fought. You know why?”
He stared down at me.
“Because I was fighting for you. For us. For all the time we wasted.”
Holt’s eyes blazed, and his hand slid along my jaw. “I don’t want to waste any more time.”
“No more hiding from me?”
He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. “I can’t hide from you, Cricket. You’reinme. In my marrow.”
His words buried themselves deep in my heart, and I opened my mouth to tell him. To give Holt those three little words, but his phone let out a series of beeps before I could.
He cursed and pulled the phone from his pocket. In a flash, his expression turned to granite. “Someone’s here.”
35
HOLT
My entire bodywas strung tight as the video came into focus—a figure wearing a black hoodie prowling around the tree line of the forest. My jaw locked. “Call 9-1-1, then Law.”
“Who is it?”
“I can’t tell.” I slid the phone back into my pocket and then pulled the gun from the holster at the small of my back. “I want you to stay here. Where would you feel safest?”
There weren’t enough good options. I didn’t give a damn what Wren had to say about it, I was building a safe room in this cabin as soon as this nightmare was over.
Wren lashed out, grabbing hold of my shirt. “You’re not going out there.”
My free hand came up to cup her face. “I have to. He’ll run the second he hears a vehicle. This is my chance to end this. To give us that freedom.”
Tears brimmed in those gorgeous hazel eyes. “I can’t lose you either.”
I ducked down, bringing us eye-to-eye. “You’re not losing me. This is me making sure of that.”
Because I was done. Whoever had been terrorizing us and this town would be stopped tonight.
“Holt…”
There was so much in Wren’s eyes. Words she hadn’t said but that I’d never stopped feeling. Those faint whispers of her that lived in me no matter where I went.
I squeezed the back of her neck. “Tell me when I get back.”
