I learned painfully that day that he had died at the scene of the accident, and as much as I wished otherwise, they wouldn’t be transporting him to the hospital. No, they would be pronouncing him dead at the scene and taking him directly to the morgue.
Watching the ambulance drive away that night without Gage in the back was hard enough to accept. Knowing that I would never see him or talk to him again was a painful reminder that life can change in an instant. Nothing is guaranteed, and in a moment, it can be taken from you.
All this time I felt regretful for what happened to Gage, feeling like it was my actions that put him on the road that night. It was my reckless behavior that made him have to come get me and if it wasn’t for me, he would’ve never been there. He never would’ve got into that accident.
Now it’s a painful reminder that life is too short.
“I don’t know what I’d do if something would’ve happened to you,” I say, the thought of losing her causes my voice to crack.
It’s now that the tears that were threatening to fall begin their slow descent down her soft cheeks. Wrapping my hands around her face, I press a deep kiss against her lips and hope that without words she feels every emotion pouring out of me and into her. I hope she understands everything I want to say but just can’t find the words because I’m so overwhelmed, I just want to hold her. I want to remind myself that she’s here with me, and even though we haven’t talked about it, I want to believe she’s mine.
When our lips break apart, she wraps her hands around my wrists and we just sit here with our foreheads pressed together. Our warm breaths mix together, reminding us that we’re both here and alive.
“Will you take a shower with me and then hold me tonight?”
I want to wash away the smell of dirt and exhaust from our bodies and lie together, with her wrapped in my arms.
“Of course,” I say, grabbing her by the hand and leading her into the bathroom located off my bedroom suite.
We don’t say a word as we both help undress each other. With every piece of clothing that is stripped away, I feel like every wall that’s been built up between us falls away too.
Standing here together, under the water steadily falling from the shower, I wrap my arms around her and just appreciate the feel of her skin against mine.
Halle presses a soft kiss against my chest, just over my heart as she circles her arms around my waist. When she peers up at me now, it’s like my heart stops beating for a moment, when I see the love on her face shining back at me.
Then when the words that follow pass her lips, I want to fall to my knees and wrap my arms around her waist, just thanking God and heaven for this woman.
“I love you.”
I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve her. I don’t deserve her one bit. Her light and her goodness, she’s everything that’s right in this cruel world.
When I tell her I love her back, I kiss her with so much passion I let myself believe for a moment I do deserve her. Lord knows, I wish I did. With every ounce that’s left in me, I wish I deserved her, and I vow to spend the rest of my life trying to prove to her I do.
23
Halle
* * *
A soft grunting sound pulls me out of my sleep, jolting me awake. I stare wide-eyed around the room. My dream is blurring with reality and for a moment, I find myself disoriented and unsure of where I am until Graham’s arm tightens around me.
“You okay?” His warm breath feathers over my ear, a piece of hair draping over my face.
Turning in his arms to face him, taking in the sleepy look on his face. His hair is mussed, and his facial hair has grown in longer than he normally wears it, giving him this rugged look that is so very sexy.
“I’m better now.” I smile, running my fingers through his wayward hair. His eyes droop, relaxing.
When we were younger, Graham would often sneak in through my bedroom window when my parents were asleep. While it certainly wouldn’t have made them happy had they known, there was always a sense of peace that fell over me having his arm wrapped around me. Waking up this morning in his arms is the same. Even with the events of this past week, there is still a calmness I feel being with Graham that I’ve never been able to find anywhere else.
“You doin’ okay after last night?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Graham’s long eyelashes feather out over his face as he blinks. Even as he looks back at me with a warm smile, I can tell his mind is somewhere further away.
“I was thinking last night when we were lying in bed,” I sigh. “What is it about you that has Krate so hell bent in pissing you off?”
Graham moves his arm, rolling onto his back. Shoving the pillow up, he drapes his arm underneath his head looking up at the ceiling.
“Couldn’t tell ya,” he responds curtly. His tone is completely different than it was just a moment ago.
Rolling onto my stomach, I sit up and face him, my eyes blazing into the side of his face not buying it for a second.
“You have no idea why he would try to chase us down and practically run us off the road?”
His eyes dart over to me out of the corner of his eye, before closing them and letting out a heavy sigh.
“You’re going to make me do this, aren’t you?”
“Graham, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Shortly after I got into town, I got a call from Detective Keller.” The mere mention of his name has me sitting up. Folding my legs under me, I pull the blanket over my lap as Graham wraps his hand in mine.
“He called me and asked me to stop by the station. I figured it had to do with Gage, but I hadn’t been expecting what he had to tell me. Around the time the accident happened, Gage had been working on a case. Do you remember how news broke about the big drug sting that landed Isaac Krate in prison?”
He must read the question on my face, as I nod my head. What do Isaac Krate and Gage have to do with the accident?
Graham pulls my hand toward him, pressing a soft kiss against my palm before resting our joined hands against his chest.
“It turns out Gage had been taking the lead on the case. Maverick and I have been digging into it and we found out Gage had been the one who had been by to question him. He was helping build the case against him. Anyway, after he was caught and put away, it pissed some people off. Turns out the sting brought down some of their biggest men. Marc clearly didn’t like how Gage had been coming around. It’s unclear what all he had on them, but they think the accident was done out of retaliation. Maverick and I believe he may have been trying to cover something up, but we can’t be certain.”
“You think Marc is who’s responsible for the hit and run?”
“According to Keller, that’s what their leads have come to, but they don’t have solid evidence built around it yet.”
It’s all piecing together now. It’s starting to make sense why Marc has been warning Graham and his guys to stay away from him. They are looking for something on him.
“Graham, don’t you think if he’s willing to risk hurting Gage that he’s willing to do more to get you to leave him be? You should leave it alone. Let the cops handle this.”
I can hear the panic in my voice just thinking about Graham being on the receiving end of the same fate. I won’t lose him, not again.