43. Nicolette
Nicolette
M y body still ached something fierce when Riot pulled up his rental car to the house. His truck was going to be in the shop for quite some time, thanks to Brennan’s last joyride.
As I limped into the house, I instinctively moved toward the sliding glass door.
“Nuh, uh. Where do you think you’re going?
” Riot wrapped a hand around my elbow, pulling me against his chest. I looked questioningly between him and the lanai.
He leaned in and I was dizzy, maybe it was the painkillers or maybe it was the intoxicating scent of him .
“I’m not letting you out of my sight for at least a year.
” He pushed a lock of hair behind my ear.
“You’re staying in my room,” he whispered and a peaceful swoon took me willingly.
My lips curled in a shy smile. “If that’s okay with you, of course. ”
I bit my bottom lip to try to mute my stupid grin. I nodded. “Yeah, that’s okay with me.”
With the brightest smileI’dseenyet, Riotdroppedmy bag andscoopedme into his arms. Iwasaware of the dull ache in my spine but somehow his armssupportedme in all the right places.
My face flushed with desire. He laid me down on his bed. He moved to leave, but I grabbed his hand, pulling him back down to me.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Igavehim a suggestive smile andfrownedplayfully, turning his own words on him.
“Nic, you almost died. Less than a week ago. You’re not even approved to drive a car right now, let alone—”
“Riot, I was down there for what felt like weeks. The thought of seeing you, touching you, being near you — it was all I held on to. I swore if I ever saw you again I wouldn’t waste a minute being afraid or cautious. Please. I need you.”
A few weeks ago I wouldhavebeenmortified, ashamed, even, tohavebehavedthis desperate toward a man. But the unending waves of relief and warmth to be back in his bedweresooverpoweringI couldn’t think of anything other than the weight of him on top of me.
He wavered and groaned. I saw his eyes drag down my body. He crawled into bed next to me, laying on his side, propping his head on his hand.
“You know even with hospital head, you’re still the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.” He grinned, and I blushed. A wave of sincerity darkened his eyes. “I love you.” The words made him smile and all the blood rushed to the center of my body.
Igrazedmy palm across his cheek, running my thumb over the scar on his chin beforeweavingmy fingers through his hair.“I love you, too, Riot Asher.”
Riot kissed me through his smile, running his fingers gently over my body. His tongue explored my mouth, and I relaxed into his bed, feeling as though maybe I really had died and this really was Heaven. I pouted when he pulled away.
“I love you,” he repeated. “I love you so goddamn much and that’s not going to change.
So, we can afford to wait a few days until you’re stronger.
” My bottom lip stuck out childishly. He bit it playfully before wrapping my wrecked body in his arms. It felt intimate.
Real. Honest. It felt final. I didn’t know what that meant for us tomorrow or any of the tomorrows after, but I was content to let this be for today.
The days thatensuedwerea whirlwind of statements and conversations, unanswered questions and frustrations .
Geoffrey Brownwasin the wind. The night Iwasfoundalive he emailed in his resignation to the water authority andtookoff. After the allegations oftamperingwith the clinical drug trial, the SECcamecalling for him with charges of insidertrading.
With the power of the SEC behind it, Ihadno doubt the search for Geoff Brown would turn him up soon.
Of course, it would be a long trial and he might only getslappedwith fines.
Therewasno way to prove heknewthat the Chimera addicts would skew the clinical trial.
Itburnedme that he still wouldn’t face charges for what he did to Grace Asher.
Or to me for that matter. But the rumorswerealready flying and in the court of public opinion, Riot’s guiltwascalledinto question.
Still, he wouldn’t beexoneratedfrom his mother’s death. There simplywasn’tenough evidence to overturn the conviction. But he did receive a new parolehearing.
The day he was scheduled to be in court, we were almost late. That morning, after spending an hour pinning him to the bed and touching every inch of his skin, we heard a car door slam.
“Hello?”Brennan’s voicerippedus both out of our sweaty afterglow.
Riot jumped into sweatpants faster than I’d ever seen him move. I was still moving slowly but managed to pull on an oversized shirt of Riot’s.
When I emerged from Riot’s bedroom in nothing but his t-shirt, Riot was still embracing his older brother. Brennan’s eyes popped before his face morphed into a sneaky grin like he caught his brother stealing extra cookies. His eyes darted between the two of us. Giggles erupted from his throat.
Ihadbeenright about the federal agents. They didn’thaveany interest in a small-town manslaughter charge.
But they did have interest in the person whose IP address had been identified as a national security threat after it hacked into a federal UAS airfield and hijacked a drone.
They took him in after that same IP address popped on their radar when he emailed the audio file to the police.
They knew the IP address was linked to Riot’s property but they weren’t sure which of its three residents it belonged to.
After they took us all in for questioning, it was abundantly clear it was Brennan.
They spent the next few weeks vetting him to make sure he wasn’t already part of some terrorist organization.
When they were satisfied that he was just a brilliant nerd with no social skills from podunk West Virginia, they offered him a job.
“It’s incredible!” I’d never seen Brennan so animated and I had to work to hide my amusement. “It’s a new program with twelve people in my class and they’re all just like me! Can you imagine it? A room with twelve of me ?” He grinned expectantly but I just pressed my lips together with a smile.
Ilookedat my watch.“I’msorry to break up the reunion but, Riot, we really need to get to thehearingon time.”
Brennan didn’t come with us. Wethoughtone Asher brother would be enough for the town to handle.
As I sat in the room while Riot made his case, I studied the parole board. They didn’t seem convinced one way or the other and in reality, they appeared bored. That irritated me. When he was done, the head of the committee turned her focus toward the back of the room.
“Does local law enforcement have anything they’d like to add?”
I spun around to find Jeremy glowering in the back and I saw Riot’s chest deflate. I grabbed his hand encouragingly and squeezed it twice.
Jeremy took a few steps forward, narrowing his eyes, drinking in the attention. My stomach turned. How was Riot ever expected to have a life when his future was in the hands of the guy I had rejected for him?
Jeremy’s gazefellto me and Iwithheldmy instincts to scowl at him. Instead, Ilookedat him with hopeful, pleading eyes.
“Riot Asher has had some pretty serious run-ins with the law.” The balloon in my chest popped. “But his intentions have always been good. There are people in this very room, important people, who wouldn’t be here today if Riot Asher hadn’t gone to heroic attempts to save their lives.”
The air left Riot’s body, absorbing the shock of Jeremy’s endorsement. Once again the sting of joy warmed my eyes.
“Furthermore, more evidencehascome to the department’s attention that suggests Riot neverreceiveda fair investigation.
And while thereisnothing we can do in retrospect to rectify that, I think it’s only fair to advocate for his complete and total clearance of all future parole and probation sentences. ”
My jaw dropped. I eagerly watched the woman who held Riot’s life in her hands listen to Jeremy intently. When he was done talking, I held my breath.
“While I don’t particularly like the suggestion that aclosedcase’s sentence couldhavebeenmishandled,”sheshota disapproving glare at Jeremy,“wearerelatively blind in these areas and rely on the recommendation of the community and its law enforcement to advisewhat’sbest for its future.”
She scanned the room before looking Riot in the eye.
“Congratulations, Mr. Asher.Grantedyou stay out of trouble, you face no more parole restrictions. Next case, please.”
Riot stood there, stunned. I grabbed his arm, but he was frozen solid, his eyes fixed on some distant thought.
He whispered to no one in particular, “Jeremy fucking Blackwell.”
I wrapped my arms around him and heard the smile crack his lips. He embraced me, lifting me off my feet and spinning me around. I winced in pain but didn’t care because now our future was infinite.