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He reaches up, cups the side of my face, and leans down to press his lips to mine. My body ignites, and tremors shoot through me. He leans back, his lips barely touching mine.
"It doesn't change anything," he whispers, with a voice full of need.
My age doesn't, but the rest of the truth might.
After changing outof my gown, I come down to the training room. Training with Rhett for the last hour helps relieve some of the anger, but not all of it. He stands in front of me, pads attached to his hands as I bounce between punching each one. I hit harder than I should, but he doesn’t complain.
“Lily,” he finally says, as I land a jab into his right pad. “Stop for a second.”
I’m out of breath, and stand straight, hands on my hips while he undoes the Velcro and takes the pads off, throwing them across the room.
“Rhett, don’t.” My tone is harsher than I want, but the look in his eyes confirms he knows it’s not personal.
“I’m not going to ask you any questions. I just want you to listen.”
I nod, and he takes a deep breath, shoving his hands into his back pockets. It’s a nervous gesture he only does when he’s trying hard to find the right words to say. Rhett was Army Special Forces, so his tells are minimum. Ten years with him and this is the only one I’ve picked up on in that time.
“We all know you’ve been hiding stuff. The shaking, the nightmares— “
“How the hell do you know about those?”
He smiles sadly. “You had them when you stayed with Jameson and I that summer. We used to take turns sitting in the hallway at night. We know it didn’t help, but we figured if you ever came out of that room and wanted to talk about them, well, we just wanted to be there for you.”
“You and Jameson can be a real pain in my ass, you know that?” I roll my eyes and pace in a small line.
“We love you, Lily. All of us. Dresden, Vlad, Hayato, Sammi. They love you too. We know you love us too, even if you never say it. So, I just want you to know that whatever it is you’re hiding, you can tell us. We’re your family, woman. Doesn’t matter what hell you’re stuck in, inside that head of yours, we’ll help get you out.”
I stop moving and stare at him, tears burning in my eyes. Rhett goes to walk past me, and gently reaches out, touching my shoulder before heading out of the training room.
I appreciate that man more than he knows.
After’s he gone, I sit on the weight bench, and run through tonight's events again.
In the end, my feelings won't matter. Blake is attractive and sweet, but there's no future with him. His touch may not send me into a full-blown seizure, but I'm no less broken. No man wants a shattered woman, and that's all I can give him.
The training room door clicks open. Sammi stands just inside with her arms behind her back. The softness in her eyes is back, and I smile weakly. All this time, I thought only Jax knew, but here she is, keeping my secrets too.
"Can we talk?" She walks toward me.
I nod, as she stops in front of me and sinks to the floor. I gaze down at her, my insides twisting and pulling, a lump forming in my throat.
"There's a lot of information missing from your files. You know I won't say anything, but I need to know the truth."
"Sammi . . . I can't . . . I've never— "
"Lily, I know it's hard, but please, just answer a few questions, and I promise I'll never bring it up again."
“You can’t just pull a Rhett and not ask me shit?”
She chuckles. “I’m not Rhett, and he’s too nice for his own good, especially with you. Just a few questions, Lily, I promise.”
"Okay."
She slides closer, picking at her nail polish. "How long had you been in when Jax found you?"
I run my hands over my face. "Nine years."
"Dear god," she whispers. I lift my head and meet her gaze. "Why would you agree to do this?"