Chapter 12
TWELVE
My heart feels full.
Slipping the yellow bracelet I made into my jacket pocket, I lean down to kiss Joshua’s forehead.
I got ready quickly and quietly so I didn’t wake him.
He looks so much younger with his eyes shut, sound asleep, nestled between the light pink sheets, and hair tousled. I’m so madly in love with this one, more than I ever imagined I could be.
Suddenly, thoughts of Clay and Xander cross my mind. I shake my head.
Get a fucking grip.
I scribble a note and place it on the sweater Joshua left on the floor, then head out and take the subway to Harlem. The train rumbles through the tunnels, the city’s energy humming around me as I make my way to the shelter.
Thankfully, the shelter isn’t far from the station, so it doesn’t take me long to get there. I’ve been away too long and don’t know how he will take it. We have never gone so many days without seeing each other before.
“That looks cozy,” I say, sitting on the edge of Howie’s bed.
He’s seated on the floor in front of it, leaning against it. “Kid,” he grunts, not even glancing my way, and I’m taken aback by his coldness.
“Here, I got you something,” I tell him, offering him a burger and a Coke.
“Thanks,” he mutters, still avoiding my gaze.
“Everything okay?” I ask, leaning back on my hands.
My head is swirling with possibilities. I can’t have him mad at me.
He turns to give me a sharp look. “Two weeks, Lina. Two weeks without a word from you. And now you just show up as if I wasn’t out of my mind with worry?
You could’ve been hurt or in the hospital, for all I knew.
I understand you’re in love and happy, and I’m glad for you, but a little update would’ve been nice. ”
My eyebrows rise in surprise. “You really do care about me,” I whisper.
His accusatory gaze hurts, and guilt settles in my stomach.
“You’re unbelievable.” He sighs, looking back down at his hands.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come by sooner. But to be fair, I really was in the hospital for a week,” I explain, hoping he’ll understand that making him worry wasn’t on purpose.
His head snaps up. “What? Why?”
“I fell down the stairs and hit my head.” I shrug nonchalantly, but the memory makes my blood freeze, and my stomach suddenly feels sick.
“You fell? Of course you did. Lina, this has to stop. You can’t go back there. I know some people here who can help, even if they’re a bit shady. We could leave the state and start fresh,” he urges, his tone growing more agitated by the second.
“We?” I ask with a hint of a smile. “You’d leave this warm new bed and the 7-Eleven for me?”
“This isn’t a joke, Lina,” he lectures, crossing his arms over his chest, and I feel bad for teasing him.
“I appreciate your concern,” I state, touching his shoulder.
“But it seems like the problem is halfway solved for the moment. Chiara and I are staying with my boyfriend’s sister for now.
She has two guest rooms, and we don’t have to pay rent.
This way, I can still support Roberto without having to live there and risk running into him. ”
“Boyfriend?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Your advice seemed to work.” I shrug, dropping my gaze and smiling down at my hands.
“Just make sure he doesn’t take advantage of the situation,” he warns, finally unwrapping his burger.
I have to suppress a laugh. “He’s not like that. He’s a—”
“A cop, I know. When he turns on you, no one is going to believe you,” Howie interrupts, speaking with his mouth full.
“That’s not what I was going to say,” I mutter, frowning at him.
I understand where his concern is coming from, but I also know that I’d never have to fear this possibility with Joshua. Or Clay, for that matter.
“But it’s true.” He shrugs, and we finish eating in silence.
Discarding our trash, I pull out the yellow bracelet. “Give me your hand,” I instruct.
“Why?” he asks, but he extends it anyway.
I wrap the bracelet around his wrist and secure it, making sure it’s tight enough. “Merry Christmas,” I whisper with a smile.
“What’s this?” He examines the bracelet, giving it a gentle tug.
“It’s a friendship bracelet. I made it for you,” I explain with a small smile, and again, I am tense, waiting for someone to tell me my gift is silly.
But he tilts his head to look at me, studying my face, then his expression softens, and he tells me in a soft, earnest tone, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
When I enter Sophia’s lab, she’s sitting behind her desk, typing away furiously.
My eyes drift to my desk, where there’s a bouquet of assorted flowers, and I’d bet there are twenty-two stems. I walk over, a smile lighting up my face, then take out my phone and snap a picture, sending it to Joshua.
I love them. Thank you.
Joshua
Welcome back to work. Can’t wait to see you later.
I was a bit worried about getting back here. I can’t even pinpoint why, but this little gesture just made my entire day.
I don’t deserve him.
“Everything okay?” I ask Sophia, but she dismisses me with a quick hand gesture that has me lifting my eyebrows in question.
“Yes, just use today to catch up on the cases I’ve handled over the past few days. We’ll tackle a new one tomorrow,” she states without looking up.
“All right,” I grumble, settling into my chair and booting up the computer.
Maybe she hasn’t had her tea fix today.
A few hours later, the door swings open, and I hear their laughter before seeing them. Joshua and Clay both stride in, looking incredibly sexy in their uniforms. Clay smirks at me, causing a flutter in my stomach.
Nope, we’re not going there.
I rise from my seat as Joshua stands in front of me, planting a kiss on my temple. A swarm of butterflies erupts in my belly, but they have the same intensity as the flutter Clay just caused inside me.
Fuck, this is not good.
“How are you feeling? Is your head all right?” Joshua murmurs against my temple, prompting me to tilt my head to meet his gaze.
“Way better, thank you.” I smile at him.
He bends down, grabbing the back of my thighs to lift me onto my desk.
He then nudges my knees apart, positioning himself between them.
Taking my face in his hands, he whispers, “Good, then this shouldn’t hurt,” leaning in for a kiss.
He tilts my neck back, deepening it, and my stomach tingles like crazy.
I can’t help it and get carried away, humming into the kiss.
“We get it. You missed her,” Clay remarks, his voice tight.
Joshua continues to kiss me for a moment longer, and then he pulls away, giving me one last peck and a grin. “Watch out, Clay, your jealousy is showing,” he teases, shooting Clay a look while helping me down from the desk.
What is going on?
“Anyway, we brought you something,” Clay adds, coming over to me.
“Do I need to pinch your nipple again? I think I got more than enough presents lately.” I huff, crossing my arms over my chest.
If he really thinks he can just shower me with stuff now, he’s going to get an earful.
“True, but you can’t make friendship bracelets for all of us and not have one yourself. That’s not how it works, kitten,” he explains, taking my hand.
He wraps a larger, multicolored friendship bracelet around my wrist, made from all the colors I used for theirs. It’s a beautiful chaos, and I feel my nose starting to burn.
“Did you make this?” I ask, surprised.
“He bribed Chiara to do it.” Joshua chuckles.
“Bribed her with what?” I raise an eyebrow. I swear if he just gave her something expensive, I’ll…
“Our Netflix password,” Clay admits with a shrug.
“I haven’t even given you guys yours yet,” I muse, to which Clay looks guilty. “What?”
“I saw Xander’s bracelet and got jealous. He mentioned you made one for all of us, so Josh and I just helped ourselves.” He grins, showing off the red bracelet on his wrist. Joshua then rolls up his sleeve to show the blue one on his. “Thanks, by the way. We love them.”
“How did you know which color was for whom?” I ask, glancing between the two.
“Come on, kitten,” Clay boasts as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“What?” I question, still puzzled, but Sophia cuts in.
“Can we go eat? I’m starving,” she complains, letting her head fall to one shoulder and lifting her gaze to the ceiling.
“I—” I start, but Clay grabs my left hand at the same time Joshua takes my right.
They have a kind of stare-off, but Clay lets go, and Joshua pulls me to walk. “You need to start eating regularly again for your stomach,” he lectures quietly.
“Okay,” I give in, still not understanding what just happened between those two.
Once we reach the cafeteria, Clay and Joshua decide to grab plates of spaghetti for all of us, so Sophia and I sit at the usual table.
“Are you okay? You seem a bit off today. Want some tea?” I ask her.
Considering her usual demeanor, it doesn’t sit right with me how her bubbly personality is dimmed, and she is way too quiet.
“I’m just frustrated, that’s all. Don’t worry about it.” She shrugs, not easing my worries the slightest with her answer.
“Did I do something wrong?” My insecurities bubble up, and I find myself holding my breath.
Am I the problem? Maybe she already has enough of us in her home. Chiara feels way too at home for my liking, letting her stuff lay around everywhere. I need to talk to her about it.
“No, I’m genuinely happy to have you back, Lina,” she reassures, reaching over to grip my hand.
“Then what—” I begin with a relieved sigh, but I’m interrupted.
“Oh, look, how cute. Costa’s fucking the whole family. Maybe she reminds them of those fat Buddha statues they worship in China,” Del Moro sneers to his partner, both standing behind us.
“Does your ass ever get jealous over all the shit that comes out of your mouth?” I ask flatly.
“Buddhism originated in Nepal, I’m Korean, and you’re an asshole,” Sophia snaps.
“Who would have thought China has a backbone, or are your hormones out of place? Is your pussy bleeding, baby?” he asks Sophia, tone husky.
I rise from my seat, positioning myself between Sophia’s chair and Del Moro. “Don’t talk about a woman’s hormones if you can’t even make a whore moan.”
“You fat piece of shit,” he barks out, grabbing the front of my hoodie and yanking me toward him.
A spike of fear hits me, but in the next second, Joshua is there.
He twists Del Moro’s arm, forcing him to release me, and steps between us, pushing him back.
My fear spikes again, but this time for Joshua, who jabs a finger into Del Moro’s chest, leaning into his space.
“Touch her one more time, I fucking dare you,” he warns, so furious like I have never seen him.
“Josh, stop that shit. We’re at work, goddammit!” Sophia says, rising from her chair, but Joshua doesn’t seem to listen, still standing chest to chest with Del Moro, clenching his fists. “Clay!” Sophia yells over to the register, but I can’t take my eyes away from the stare-off.
The next second, Clay turns me to him to check in. “You all right?” I nod, and he then stands beside Joshua, arms crossed. “Easy, Josh. These fine gentlemen were just leaving, weren’t they?”
My worries ease a bit now that Clay’s here, making the playing field even and trying to defuse the tension, but Del Moro pushes away Joshua’s hand, causing Joshua to step even closer, their faces inches apart.
Clay places a hand on each of their shoulders, urging them to step back.
He glares at Taylor and growls, “Get your partner in line, or he’ll get both of you rookies fired. ”
Taylor nods, grabbing Del Moro by the collar. “Let’s go,” he urges.
Del Moro shoots me a final glare as they leave and spits on the floor near Joshua’s feet.
I am grateful that the cafeteria is only occupied by a few other people, mostly office or lab staff, given their lack of uniforms, and they all return their attention to their meals after watching our little show.
The whole encounter leaves me trembling. Del Moro is a sick fuck, but this whole thing just escalated way too quickly. If we carry on like this, there could come a day when Clay and Josh get in trouble for defending me.
“What the hell, Josh?” Clay asks with a concerned frown.
“What were you thinking?” Sophia chides.
Instead of answering, Joshua turns and pulls me into a hug. “You okay?” he murmurs, his voice muffled by my hair.
“I am. I’m sorry,” I breathe out, trying to pull away, but he holds me tighter, his body trembling, and I wrap my arms around him in response.
“No one will ever hurt you again,” he promises, planting a gentle kiss on my head.
“I know,” I reassure him, rubbing his back. “You’ll make sure of that.”
After a few deep breaths, he releases me. By now, Clay sits next to Sophia, and plates of spaghetti are set out on the table. “Feeling better?” he asks, looking at Joshua, who simply nods.
He guides me to the opposite side of the table, and once I’m seated, he pulls my chair closer to his. Without another word, he begins to eat, and I follow suit.