Chapter 16 #2
Archie’s eyes are intense, almost terrifying. I’ve only seen him look like this once, and that was when I walked through the door after being nearly strangled to death. But right now, his gaze is fixed on Thorne, who just got in and is now sitting at the table with his hands folded.
The room is tense, but that’s not really much of a surprise.
Leaf gave Thorne the quick version of events, and then Thorne tried to examine my throat, which Archie was not having.
He’s positioned himself between us so the former FBI agent can’t physically touch me, and now he’s waiting for some kind of answer.
‘I need all the info you have on former stalker,’ Archie demands.
Thorne quirks a brow and looks at me. ‘You didn’t tell him?’
I feel a curl of shame in my stomach. ‘I was hoping it wasn’t him. Or that it would just go away.’
Thorne gives me a look. ‘Denver.’
‘I know, I know.’ I shoot Archie an apologetic smile. ‘It was just a lot, okay? Too much. After the hearing, I stashed away all the case files. I didn’t want to remember any of it.’
Archie turns his back on Thorne and gently cups my cheek. ‘You did nothing wrong,’ he signs between us.
That’s technically true, but I certainly didn’t help this situation either. But I’m trying now. We’re here, and if anyone can remember every detail in exact order, it’ll be the man sitting across from Archie.
‘Thank you. And you can trust Thorne, okay? He’ll tell you everything, and he’ll keep his mouth shut.’
Archie looks over at Thorne, who nods stiffly, his brows furrowed in thought. ‘I can tell you everything I remember. And I have no loyalty to anyone but my friends.’
Archie studies him for a long moment, then nods, his jaw tight. ‘Need a name. Anything to go on.’ He turns to me and brushes a touch over my jaw to get my full attention. ‘Your paperwork where? Apartment?’
‘I think so.’ I had it…somewhere. I don’t have a safe, but it was probably shoved into an old stiletto box and is rotting at the top of my closet. ‘We can go look.’
Archie shakes his head slowly. ‘You stay home. I’ll go.’
I want to argue, but I don’t really know that I want to go back to my place right now.
Or to do anything besides lie in bed and wait for all the pain to ease up.
Now that I’ve been able to unburden myself to a couple of my friends, I feel much better, and I think maybe I can sleep without nightmares.
Thorne reaches into his pocket and slides his phone across to Archie. ‘Put your number in, and I’ll send you what info I can get.’
Archie eyes him. ‘Don’t mention me.’
Quirking a brow, Thorne nods. He looks curious, and he probably wants to know why, but he also knows better than to ask. When he doesn’t push it, Archie takes the phone and puts his number in without any kind of hesitation.
A strange, white-hot pulse of jealousy courses up my spine. I don’t have Archie’s number. And while I know for a fact that Thorne isn’t flirting with him, it bothers me that he has something I don’t.
God, my emotions are all over the place.
‘I want to go now,’ I sign.
Leaf doesn’t look surprised by my blunt declaration, and neither does Archie. Thorne looks worried, but he takes his phone back and nods.
‘Please take care of yourself, and text us if you need anything.’
When I get up from the table, Leaf tugs me into a hug, which is nice, but those aren’t the arms I want to feel, so I don’t allow it to last long. ‘Feel better,’ he signs with small, soft movements.
I nod and try for a smile, but it doesn’t reach my eyes. ‘Thanks.’
Archie seems to sense my shift in mood because it doesn’t take him long before he’s pulling me away from Leaf and doesn’t let me say a real goodbye to Thorne.
Instead, he shuffles me out the door and down the driveway, his arm around my waist, taking some of my weight as we head back down the path to his place.
The pain and fatigue have turned into one big foggy haze, and by the time we make it through his front door, I’ve lost track of how long it took us to get here. Archie stops me in the entryway and tips my chin up to look at him.
‘You need sleep.’
He’s not wrong. The myth of people with concussions not being allowed to sleep is just that: a myth. I’m dead on my feet, and I want to curl up, close my eyes, and sink into the dark silence.
‘You stay in my room,’ Archie signs stiffly.
I can tell it’s not up for discussion, and frankly, I don’t want it to be. He links his fingers with mine and tugs me down the hall and then down the stairs until we’re back in that cozy, warm space that smells like him.
He stops me in front of the coffin and looks down at it for a moment. ‘In here?’
My heart jumps in my chest. I have been curious, but I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. I shake my head and wait for him to look disappointed in me, but he doesn’t. He leans in and runs a kiss along my jaw before pulling me to the bed.
As we get settled beneath the sheets, his careful, tender hands tug at my clothes until I’m stripped down to my panties. Brushing a touch over them, he strokes the silk over and over as his eyelids start to droop.
He stops and tucks the blankets around us, but just when I think he’s going to get up and leave, he curls around my back and begins to brush fingers through my hair. It’s something I didn’t expect.
The feeling of his weight gives me an almost vicious thought. If I hadn’t met Archie and somehow survived the attack last night, I would have been on the couch at a friend’s house, cared for but entirely alone.
My throat feels hot, and my eyes are watery, and it only takes a mortifying second to realize that I’m crying.
Archie stiffens and tilts me backward so I can see him ask, ‘Crying why?’
I shrug. ‘I don’t know. Feelings too big.’
He nods. ‘Understand. Want to scream?’
I almost laugh and touch the side of my throat, where the bruising hurts the worst. ‘Can’t.’
Archie’s eyes flare, and he dips his head a little lower, his signs smaller, sharper. ‘Don’t worry. When I’m finished, bad man will never be able to scream again.’
I want that to scare me. I want to know I haven’t lost all sense of moral principle. But in this moment, his threats are like a love sonnet. No one has ever cared enough to die for me, let alone kill for me.
And I realize right then, I never want to leave this man.