25. Alaric
ALARIC
Me: Little devil, if you’re just waking up, I wanted this to be the first thing you see. It’s no replacement for holding you, but I’ll fix that soon when I pick you up for work.
The sky is still dark when I text Lilith. Knowing she’s still asleep, I pocket my phone and pack up.
Wallet. Water. My keys and the ones to Fraser’s car. His phone.
Everything goes into my backpack and pockets as I get ready for the trip upstate. I only make those trips when a VIA—very important abuser—ends up in my storage unit.
Since they’re the kind of assholes people start looking for right away, I have to play it extra safe.
That’s why, yesterday morning, after I brought him here, I emailed his assistant from his phone and told her to clear his schedule because he’d had too much to drink the night before.
It’s why, today, I’m taking his car, turning his phone back on once I’m somewhere remote, and walking to the nearest train to head home.
All to make sure nothing leads back to me.
As I cross my living room and head to the front door, a nagging concern pulses at the back of my head. One that’s never been there before.
What if I get pulled over?
They’ll charge me with carjacking first. Once they start looking for the owner, it won’t be long before they put two and two together and lock me up for good.
Being taken away from Lilith would be worse than anything I’ve ever been through. Worse than opening up about my fucked-up childhood over dinner last night.
The memories themselves don’t touch me anymore. It’s the idea of being perceived as weak when I’m supposed to be Lilith’s protector.
But Lilith proved I had nothing to worry about.
Her eyes, her voice, the warmth of her embrace held no pity. She kept looking at me like I was her hero. Like I was the same solid man she could lean on.
As if surviving my parents made me stronger in her eyes.
My angel.
Focus.
“Everything will be okay,” I say to myself, my sharp tone reaching into my chest, convincing me I’ll be fine. “You haven’t been pulled over yet. It won’t happen today.”
I’m at the door, phone in hand, ready to remove the SIM card, when a notification flashes on my screen.
Her.
And just like that, heat and need take over, making my sweatshirt and jeans cling to my body.
Another message arrives before I can read the first one.
My patience is already snapping as I unlock my phone and open her texts.
Lilith: Good morning, Dr. Lockwood ;) Before you ask, no, I didn’t wait up. Just couldn’t sleep well without you curled around me. Anyway. How are you after last night? Are you going to bed? Tell me everything.
Lilith: Oh, and Hope approves. Welcome to the family!
My lungs expand, my lips twitching.
Happiness. It spreads through me like wildfire.
Briefly.
Suspicion kicks the fuzzy feeling out, drenching me in darkness.
Normally, one of her first questions when we take lunch breaks together—whenever possible—or when we meet after work is, How are your patients?
I told her I was going to the hospital, and yet she hasn’t asked about them.
A cold shiver slides down my spine.
Does she know?
I shake my head. Groan in frustration. Run a hand through my hair.
The pull on the roots is what finally yanks me out of the never-ending loop of does she, doesn’t she.
Enough of this shit. This is the last time I consider this crazy idea.
I’m done questioning her. Fucking done.
She’s my sweet, innocent Lilith, dammit. She isn’t a threat.
Hell, I even plan on confessing to everything one day.
Me: Thank Hope for me. And Lilith?
Lilith: What?
Me: Go to bed. Catch some sleep. We’ll be together again before you know it.
Three dots dance across my screen. Stop. Dance again. Then—
Lilith: I love you.
That one I love you seeps into my bloodstream and cleanses me.
I allow myself to smile. To text her I love you too.
Before the SIM card comes out and my phone goes dark.
The drive to my destination went exactly as planned.
I wasn’t pulled over. Fraser’s assistant answered almost immediately after I emailed her again earlier, assuring me—as in, Mr. Robinson—that no one would bother me while I enjoyed a stress-relieving break upstate.
I didn’t bother asking about Steven because Fraser wouldn’t care. His assistant confirmed my suspicions when she didn’t send a report about him.
Now, after the train ride back, I’m handling the last task before heading to Lilith’s and later to the hospital.
Crouched beside the chair in the storage unit, a wrench in hand, I lock the last leg into the concrete, knowing the soundproof walls swallow enough noise that no one will think twice about it.
Fraser’s miserable gaze has been darting between me and the door the entire time I’ve been at it. Hope glimmers in his bloodshot eyes, as if he has a chance of being saved.
He doesn’t.
Must be a bitch to be on the receiving end.
“Almost done,” I say without a shred of cruelty in my voice.
I hate him and everything he represents. I hate the damage he did to his son.
I hate the world for ignoring the six healed fractures I saw on Steven’s X-ray.
But I’m not interested in fucking with Fraser this morning.
It’s Lilith I want.
It’s Lilith I miss.
Even more so now, after wrapping up the tasks I needed to check off my list, with the worry of getting caught no longer at the forefront of my mind.
In its place is the memory of how Lilith tasted on my tongue last night.
How she came on my mouth. How hard I was for her. How pissed I was that I couldn’t spend the night, in case Fraser tried that shit again, before I had to head out and dump his car upstate.
My cock strains in my jeans. My heart pounds like it’s about to crack my ribs.
Suddenly, it’s as if my body has had enough of being patient. It starts rebelling at the idea of being a gentleman, picking her up, then settling for a kiss until the evening. I can’t wait hours to have her all to myself.
Can’t.
So, painfully turned on and fully obsessed, I give in to the urge.