Chapter 31
HALLIE
The sound of a video game battle filtered in from down the hall. Grae just shook her head as she tucked her legs up on the couch. “They get vicious.”
Aspen grinned. “I just hope Drew doesn’t end up teaching Cady the F-bomb. She’s already calling me bruh.”
A laugh bubbled out of me. “It drives Lawson nuts, but I think it’s kind of cute.”
“You and my brother seem pretty close,” Grae said in a falsely casual tone.
Heat hit my cheeks. “We’re together a lot.”
Aspen grinned into her mug of tea. “He watches you whenever you’re in the same room.”
My heart picked up its pace. “He was worried about me today.”
“Not just today,” Aspen argued. “At dinner the other night. Even the day he first introduced us.”
I worried the inside of my cheek, unsure what to say. Just hearing Aspen’s words had that fickle hope flaring to life in my chest again.
Grae sighed as she turned to face me. “Do you like him?”
“Of course.”
Her gaze narrowed on me. “I mean want-to-rip-his-clothes-off like him.” She made a gagging noise. “That is so sick to say about my brother.”
My face burned now. “Grae…”
“Good, I’m taking that as a yes. Then you have to make the first move.”
I blinked a few times. “Grae—”
“Trust me,” Grae said. “My brother hasn’t dated for a long time. He clearly has feelings for you, but it’s going to be hard for him to make the jump. The fact that you work for him will only make that tougher. He’s a rule follower.”
Aspen nodded. “You need to tempt him into making the jump.”
I bit my lip hard. “I’m not good at that sort of thing. I don’t have a ton of experience, and—”
Aspen reached over and squeezed my hand. “I don’t think you have to do much. He already looks like he’s ready to crack.”
I averted my gaze as my lips tingled at the memory of the kiss Law and I had shared in the basement.
Aspen jerked upright, nearly sloshing her tea. “Something happened already.”
I buried my face in my hands. “We might’ve kissed.”
Grae let out a hoot. “Then now it’s time to just sit back and watch him crumble.”
I lifted my head. “I don’t want him to crumble. I want him to choose me.”
Grae and Aspen went quiet.
“Hallie,” Aspen said softly. “He is. I see it every time you guys are together.”
Grae set her mug on the coffee table. “He’s been through a lot.”
I nodded. “I know Melody hurt him, and that he blames—”
Grae’s eyes went wide. “He told you about Melody?”
I glanced between her and Aspen. “Yes…should he not have?”
“He’s never even spoken her name to me,” Aspen said, “and we’ve been friends for years. The little bits I know are from Roan.”
Grae grabbed my hand. “That kind of trust and vulnerability? It’s him choosing you.”
My throat burned. I so badly wanted that to be true.
A key sounded in the lock, and the door opened a second later.
“It’s me,” Lawson called as he plugged in the alarm code.
“We should go,” Aspen said, leaning forward to give me a hug. “I’m always here if you need to talk about anything.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, a burn lighting behind my eyes. This was the kind of friendship I’d dreamed of but had always felt was just out of reach.
“I am, too,” Grae echoed, giving my arm a squeeze. “Well, except the sexy stuff with my brother because that’s just gross.”
I choked on a laugh. “Fair enough.”
As the women stood, Lawson entered the living room. One look at his face told me something had gone terribly wrong. My skin went clammy, and my blood ran cold.
“We found Adrienne.”
I hovered in the hallway, listening as Lawson read Charlie a bedtime story. It was such a simple and pure thing. All about the runaway bunny and the shenanigans he got up to. So different from the cloud I knew was hanging over him.
I hadn’t gotten much information about Adrienne before the kids descended. I’d heated up some leftovers for Lawson while Charlie chatted about his day, and Drew and Luke stuck close. There hadn’t been a single moment where I could talk to Lawson alone. But I needed to.
Lawson’s deep, gravelly voice faded, and then the light switched off. As he stepped out of Charlie’s room and spotted me, he stilled. He held up a finger, and I nodded.
Lawson poked his head into Drew’s room and then Luke’s, saying goodnight. His eyes locked on me as he walked in my direction, so much swirling in those dark depths—emotion and need.
I swallowed hard, but Lawson didn’t give me a chance to say anything. He wrapped an arm around me and guided me down the hall to the other side of the house. He didn’t stop at his office but kept going toward his bedroom.
Once we were inside, he shut the door. The moment it clicked shut, he pulled me into his arms.
Lawson held me tightly, breathing me in. “Just need a second.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist, my fingers fisting in his uniform shirt. But I didn’t say anything. Whispers of apologies didn’t come close to being enough.
“Need to know you’re safe. Feel you breathing.”
My heart broke for this strong, beautiful man with the best heart.
“I’m right here, Blue. I’m right here.”
He pulled back, his thumb ghosting along my bottom lip. “You are, aren’t you?”
“What happened?” I whispered.
Shadows played across his eyes. “I don’t want to tell you. I know I need to. But, God, I don’t want to.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. “I can take it.”
“She was held. Dressed in a white nightgown. Had a brand on her hip.”
My body began to shake in the same staccato rhythm of my heart. “He’s back.”
My words were barely audible, but Lawson heard them. He pulled me back into his arms. “We don’t know anything yet. This could be a copycat. It could be the man we arrested today. We’re searching for DNA, and we’ll test him when we find it.”
“What if it’s not him?” I croaked.
“Then I’ll find the bastard and put him away.”
My eyes burned. “I don’t want him to hurt you.”
“He’s not gonna get to me. I promise.”
But Lawson couldn’t make that vow. No one could.
He held on to me, stroking my hair and surrounding me with his warmth, until my shaking subsided. Slowly, he loosened his hold to meet my gaze. “Stay with me tonight?”
My lips parted on an inhale.
“Just need to hold you. That’s it. Need to feel you close and know you’re safe.”
I tugged on the corner of my lip with my teeth. “What about Charlie?”
“He hasn’t had any nightmares since you moved in.”
My brows lifted. “Really?”
A corner of his mouth kicked up. “You put him at ease.”
God, I loved that.
Lawson stared down at me, gaze heating. “Stay?”
“I’ll stay.”
His shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Do you need to get changed or…?”
I glanced down at myself. I already had my pajamas on with a large hoodie over the top. “I’m good, I just—” I took off my sweatshirt.
Lawson grinned, moving closer and tugging at my top. “I like the polka dots.”
I ducked my gaze. “They make me happy.”
His fingers caught my chin, lifting it. “Anything that makes you happy.” Lawson brushed his lips over mine in a featherlight touch. “Get in bed.”
My skin flushed, heat at the contact rushing through me, but I forced myself to move toward the mattress. I slid under the covers, inhaling Lawson’s scent that clung to them.
He moved to his dresser, unbuttoning his uniform shirt as he went. I watched in fascination as he shucked it and tossed it into the hamper. Then he pulled off the white T-shirt beneath. His back and shoulder muscles bunched and flexed.
I knew I should look away, but I couldn’t.
Lawson opened a drawer and grabbed a pair of flannel pajama pants, laying them on the top of the dresser. As his fingers went to the fly of his pants, my mouth went dry.
I still didn’t avert my gaze.
He pulled down his pants and boxer briefs in one smooth move. All I could see was a tight, round ass. My fingers itched to touch it. To know what his skin felt like against mine.
Lawson pulled on the flannel pants and turned toward the bed. He didn’t say a word as he rounded it and climbed in. His arm encircled mine, and he gently tugged me against him. “You like watching, Little Minx?”
My breaths came quicker. “You?”
“Yes,” he growled.
“Always.”
Lawson’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “You’re going to be the death of me.”