Chapter 54 #2
“You didn’t make me do anything,” he says. “It was our way out. You were right. There’s no way of knowing what he would’ve done to you if you’d killed me. Probably would have been so mad he’d have killed you, too.”
He kisses my forehead, then my cheek, then catches the corner of my eye with his lips. Every touch feels like he’s trying to absorb my pain through his skin.
“You were so convincing…” He closes his eyes, and when he speaks again, I can barely hear him. “I was so scared I killed you.”
“I was so scared you were dead.”
His mouth curves into that big smile that I’ve only seen a handful of times, the one that makes him look young and unguarded and so beautiful. “I told you. I’m not easy to kill.”
“Obviously,” I say, wiping my tears with the heel of my hand.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he whispers. “In the hospital. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was you. I was scared I’d never get to see you again.”
Another ugly sob escapes me. I was so convinced that I’d used up all my luck surviving Stanley Daniels, then Caine, then Morrow, that there was no way the universe would let me keep him, too.
His fingers thread through my hair with this possessive gentleness that makes my stomach flip. Our noses brush.
“I wanted to do this for real,” he says. “I haven’t been able to think of anything else.”
He kisses me.
It’s messy and salty from our tears. His mouth is warm and gentle and searching against mine, nothing like the desperation from the Game Master’s playing area, and I kiss him back fervently, pouring every word I want to say into the press of our lips.
He pulls me closer, which shouldn’t be possible since we’re already plastered together, but somehow he manages it.
We break apart for half a second to breathe, and then we’re crashing back together like we can’t stand to be separated for even that long.
I can feel him grinning, feel his smooth teeth against my lips.
A throat clears.
We break apart and look up to see the rest of the team watching us from down the hallway. Zoey’s got her hands shoved deep in her pockets. Benji studies the ceiling. Griffin is leaning against the wall with the biggest smirk I’ve ever seen on his face.
“Get your asses back in those chairs,” DJ says, hurrying toward us. “You two are going to hurt yourselves.”
Nico looks like he wants to argue, but he lets DJ steady him as he pulls himself back up into his wheelchair with all the grace of a sack of potatoes. Griffin moves to lift me. Nico shoots him a glare.
Griffin holds his hands up. “Oh my God, fine, relax. I will never touch her again.” He grins. “If I find her out of her chair in the middle of the night, flat on her face in the kitchen in front of the open refrigerator, I promise, I will step over her.”
“Griffin,” Nico warns.
“Uh oh.” Griffin looks at me. “He used his team leader voice. I’m going to get in trouble.”
I snort a laugh.
“I’ll show you my team leader voice,” Nico says, smiling too.
“What a sexy threat,” Griffin says. “You know what? This explains so much.” He points at me. “Eden, is this why you—”
“Can you please help me into my chair?” I cut him off.
As soon as both Nico and I are settled, Benji launches himself at Nico, wrapping him into a hug so enthusiastic it rolls his chair backward.
“I missed you,” Benji says into Nico’s shoulder. “I was really worried.”
Nico pats his back, and I can see him trying not to wince. “I missed you, too, kid.”
Griffin claps Nico gently on the shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, brother.”
“Good to be back,” Nico says.
Zoey nods at him from where she stands by the wall. Nico nods back at her. I can tell he’s trying to keep his control, fighting to stay serious, but now that I know him, it’s so easy to see how much he loves them.
“I organized all the documents you’ll need in the office,” Benji says. “Donny made sure the transition would be seamless.”
Nico’s face hardens, and I get a sudden pang of ripe hurt for him, followed by another realization: with Donny gone, Nico isn’t just Donny’s second anymore, or just our team leader.
He’s our boss.
I guess it was true in the hospital, but it feels extra real now, with papers waiting and no Donny to step out of the room and envelop Nico in a hug.
“I know what a big responsibility this is,” Nico says, straightening his shoulders. “I know I’m not Donny, but I promise that I’m going to do everything in my power to continue what he started.”
“We were waiting until you got home to say goodbye to Donny,” Benji says. “DJ suggested we do it tomorrow?”
Nico nods.
“Okay, enough of this somber shit,” Griffin says. “Bring it in, you guys.”
“What are you—” I start, but Griffin’s already moving, getting on his knees between the two wheelchairs and splaying his arms wide.
“Group hug,” he says.
Zoey steps backward. “Nope.”
“Come on, Zo, don’t leave me hanging here,” Griffin says.
“I’ll leave you hanging from a noose before I hug you,” Zoey says, but she wavers, then reluctantly kneels next to Griffin. He beams.
“Regular hugging can lower cortisol levels.” Benji gets on his knees on the other side of Griffin with this sleepy smile on his face.
“While cortisol spikes can actually curb inflammation in short periods, chronically high stress slows the healing process. Eden and Nico need to keep their cortisol levels down.”
“I can think of some ways they’re planning to keep their cortisol levels down,” Griffin says, and DJ smacks him over the head as she kneels across from him.
Nico reaches out to grasp my shoulder, and suddenly we’re all tangled together.
Nico’s wheelchair bumps into mine. Benji looks mildly overwhelmed but more happy than not.
Zoey is clearly hating every second but doesn’t pull away.
Griffin has this proud grin on his face.
DJ is smiling through sniffles, and for once in his life, Bob isn’t barking at anyone.
Nico is looking at all of us like he thought he would never see us again.
I look around at these people, my team, and for the first time in eight years, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
I’m home.
Griffin claps, and we untangle ourselves.
“Well, that was adorable,” he says. “Now onto more pressing matters. What are we doing for dinner?”