Page 106

The other person is closer now, though I still can’t make out what they’re saying.

“I don’t give a fuck if it’s not private property. Who the fuck are you to question me?”

Confused and relieved, I hear the man climb back down the trailer, assumingly standing off with the intruder.

I try to listen past the loud heartbeat in my ears, but I can’t make out a damn word.

Their shouting increases, though most of it seems to derive from the man who came very close to finding me.

Just when it seems it’s about to get physical, it goes deadly silent for a beat, followed by a sharp sound of metal pinging off of metal. A bullet? I didn’t hear a gunshot, but it’s so hard to hear past my roaring heartbeat.

It sounds like a man says, “Fucker,” though I can’t be sure.

Eyes wide, I stare up at the hatch, my nerves in tatters as I hear someone jump back up on the ladder of the trailer.

Oh, no.

No, no, no, no.

He’s back.

A sob rackets up my throat, muffled by my hand as I hear the man loudly approach the hatch.

If he wants me to come out, he’s going to have to come get me, and there’s no way I’m going without a fight.

I would sooner slit my throat than go back to that house. Go back to Xavier.

&nb

sp; The hatch creaks open, and vomit rises up my throat. I’m on the verge of fainting, until I see his face.

My eyes widen further, the fear quickly replaced with disbelief.

One blue eye so light, it’s nearly white, with a wicked scar slashing straight down through it. And one brown eye so dark, it appears obsidian. I can still see his features clearly, even with the black hood drawn over his head. And right now, utter relief is staring right back at me.

“Zade?”

“Fuck, baby, stay right there. Don’t you fucking move.”

“She’s in there?” a female calls out urgently, her footsteps climbing the trailer now as well. But I’m too blinded by shock to pay attention. Zade drops down into the trailer a second later, his weight reverberating throughout the heavy metal.

A whimper bursts from my throat, nearly choking on relief as I stumble towards him, colliding in a tangle of limbs.

He immediately lifts me into his arms, my legs circling his waist before he collapses to his knees, holding me so tightly that I can hardly draw in a breath.

Total disbelief has me in a chokehold and I’m heaving around the sobs pouring from my throat. They rack my body so profoundly that my bones rattle from the force.

“I’m here, little mouse, I’m here,” he chants. “Fuck, you’re so cold.” His voice breaks, and he rocks us both, vibrations rolling through him as he fights to keep it together.

Piece by piece, we both crumble, the chips falling around us in a waterfall of anguish. And I just know that when Zade picks up our scattered pieces and stitches us back together, we’ll be forever entwined.

He places soft but urgent kisses on any surface of my body within range. My head, cheeks, neck, and across my shoulders, while his hands roam mindlessly, heating my chilled skin, though it feels more like he’s worshiping.

I don’t know how long we stay there, but eventually, my weeping dies down, yet Zade never stops holding me.

“Addie?” a voice calls softly. My eyes widen, and my head snaps up, seeing Daya’s face peering down in the hatch. Her smooth dark brown skin is wet with tears, and her sage green eyes are flooded.

“Oh my God, Daya,” I croak, once more overcome with disbelief.