Page 111 of Erik's Salvation
Without warning, she was lifted from her feet. She yelped.
“You’re staying in bed.”
She laughed as she skimmed her hands over his shoulders, feeling every ridge and muscle beneath the shirt. “Really? And will you be staying with me?”
“After last night, I’m not leaving your side for a fucking month.”
In his bedroom, he lowered her to the mattress. He was about to rise, but she pulled him back down. “Hey. You said you weren’t leaving.”
“I need to get food into you, Angel,” he said softly. It was the only soft thing about him.
He was right. She needed to eat something. She also had some calls to make. Firstly, to Reuben. But right now, she needed something else. “Kiss me first.”
CHAPTER33
Hannah grinned as she hung up the phone. Two weeks had passed since Angelo’s visit, and the listings had not stopped rolling in. Every day she got more homes to sell, to the point she was having to offer some to Taylor and Reuben. And they weren’t small homes. They were big, expensive, make-months’-worth-of-income-in-one-commission kind of homes.
Christmas had come and gone. It had been a quiet holiday with her still recovering from everything that had happened. In a few weeks it would be her birthday, so they’d decided to do a bigger celebration then. His family had even invited her over for dinner. She couldn’t wait to celebrate with a real family for the first time in…God, forever. It had always just been her and Nico when she was young.
Even though they hadn’t celebrated Christmas, Erik had still given her a gift in the form of a car. Yes. A freaking car! Her eyes had almost fallen out of her damn head when he’d taken her outside and shown her. And not some cheap, secondhand car. A brand-new Genesis G70. He’d claimed it was a safety thing.
A knock sounded on the door of her office, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see her boss leaning a shoulder against the frame. “How are you doing?”
“It’s nonstop,” she said, the excitement no doubt evident on her face. “It’s great.”
“Good. Remember, if it becomes too much, just ask for help.”
Reuben had been great since everything had gone down with James, Marco, and Angelo. Offering her days off, insisting she take it easy, and shouldering the workload when she needed help. “Thank you. I got more inquiries today, so I’ll probably direct a few more your and Taylor’s way.”
“Got it. Also, I’ve put out an ad for a replacement for James.” Pain laced his quiet words. She knew he tried to hide it for her sake, but the two men had been friends. He’d trusted James. And a part of her thought he felt guilty, like he should have seen what was going on.
“Sounds great, Reuben.”
He nodded. “Okay. I’m going to grab a coffee. Want anything?”
“No, thanks. Erik will be here any minute with lunch.” And hopefully a coffee too. She was dying for some caffeine.
“Say hi to him for me.”
He’d just stepped out when the text dinged on her phone.
Erik: Leaving Black Bean now. Rita threw in some pancakes and Norman forced an iced latte into my hand. That’s in addition to the lavender oat latte I already have. Hope you’re ready.
Oh, she was ready for all of that. Hell, she was salivating just reading it.
Hannah: Get your ass here now, Hunter.
Word had spread around town pretty quickly that she’d been attacked in her own home and almost drowned. Erik’s family had come over to check on her, and she didn’t think she’d ever received a hug as hard as Jennifer Hunter’s embrace that night. They’d slipped her into their family so easily, and there wasn’t a day that passed that she wasn’t grateful. She hadn’t had a family for so long, it felt foreign. The good kind of foreign. The kind you grabbed onto with two hands because you didn’t want it to slip away.
She swallowed at the memory of telling Brigid and Henry what had happened with Marco. She’d never seen their eyes so wide.
Then, after the shock, she’d seen something else in Brigid’s eyes…fear. No doubt fear for James and what would happen to him. They’d been together for over four years. Of course she was worried.
Hannah hadn’t heard anything about James, and if she was honest, she hoped she didn’t. He’d either continue running or he’d be caught, and that was on him.
With a sigh, she turned to her computer and responded to a couple more emails. When she rose and moved to her filing cabinet, slotting in some papers, an arm slid around her waist.
She gasped—then recognized the scent. Familiar and woodsy and home. Yeah, he’d begun to smell like home.
