Page 35 of Healing Conviction
Shoot. He’s pissed.
“Look, I know I went a little rogue in there, handsome. I’m sorry I used your knife—”
“You think I give a fuck about that?”
“If not the knife, then what are you so mad abou—”
“He almost touched you!” She clamped her lips closed as Drake shoved away and paced. He swiped the back of his hand over the sweat prickling on his pale forehead and used his other hand to cut the air, emphasizing his points. “I can handle the flirting. I can even handle it whenyoufucking touchedhim. Buttheycannevertouch you.”
“Jesus, Drake, it’s all good—”
“No!” In a flash, his face and eyes and body and hands and lips were all only a breath away before he tripped back just as fast, as if his mind was too chaotic to know what to do with the rest of him. “No, because, did you see him, Nora? Before my coma, I was never smaller than anyone, but this guy was bigger than me. Hell, I wasrelievedwhen you armed yourself, because all I could think was, ‘What happens if I can’t beat this guy?’”
She stilled as his words sank in. The sweat on his brow, his white knuckles and sickly pale forehead. He was exhaustedandterrified for her.
“That’s why you went for the knockout instead of leaving him behind and alert.”
His movements were frantic as he pointed at her. “And what if next time I can’t do that, and it’s someone I can’t beat hand to hand? What if theytakeyou again, huh? Do you think I’ll survive seeing you get hurt? Do you thinkanyone elsewill survive if you get hurt? Because I swear to God, Nora, what I did to that fucker in there will be a goddamnmercycompared to what I’ll do if I have to kneel, helpless on the ground, andwatchyou get stolen from me again. Do you understand?”
Nora gulped back emotion. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath. The rage in his eyes had devolved into the type of despair she’d only seen in the worst of survivor cases.
“Yes.” She huffed out the word on a nod and reached for his hand. He met her halfway before staring down at their connection. Something like a mix of pain and relief washed over his face. Never letting go, she tugged him closer and leaned into his chest at the same time. He wrapped his free arm around her and palmed the back of her head, hugging her against his heart.
“Yes, Drake. I understand.”
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
The drive to Shanna’s hotel was short, but Drake didn’t let go of her hand. It felt like a promise on both sides. His promise to keep her safe, and hers to give in a little. It might not have been much to anyone else, but in her mind, with her smaller grip brushing against the freshly forming calluses of his much larger one, the symbolism felt huge.
Nora tried not to think about what that meant for them. Forher. Merely holding his hand was more intimate than she’d ever been, let alone opening up emotionally. The drive was thankfully short enough that she didn’t have time to get lost in the chaotic, continuous monologue in her mind that played like a radio without an off switch.
It wasn’t until they were parked in front of Room 1F that he let go. He didn’t acknowledge what they’d been doing, so she didn’t either. When she knocked on Shanna’s faded-blue door, Nora cleared her mind of the moment entirely, instead remembering the little details she’d memorized from Shanna’s file as they waited for her to come to the door. And waited.
And waited.
Nora stepped back to look around the extended-stay hotel. From what she could tell, the building used to be white with blue accents, but the paint was peeling and what was left was more beige and faded blue than anything else. The parking lot behind her had potholes and divots in nearly every space.
“When you said our hotel was the best you could find, you weren’t kidding. It’s practically palatial compared to this.”
Her words were low, for Draco’s ears only, and he grunted his agreement. Nora knocked again before placing her ear close to the door to see if she could hear anything.
“Maybe she’s not home,” she murmured, trying not to get the attention of the gawkers loitering around a group of cars. The cool metal of the door shared no noises from within and she was about to call it quits when three loud booms vibrated her skull.
“Anyone in there?” Drake pounded another set of knocks on the door.
“Shh! Shh, shh, shh!” Nora clung to his forearm like a sloth until he stopped. “Dude, we’re tryna keep a low profile.”
“We don’t got all damn day, and I’m starting to fade. I need to get some exercises in and rest for the remainder of the day.”
She winced. “Shoot. You’re moving around so well it makes me forget sometimes.” The sound from the parking lot party had quieted, and she chanced a look to see that all eyes were on them. Moving her perusal to double-check the safety of their truck directly behind them, she pretended to pick off a piece of lint on Drake’s shirt before turning back to the door. “I’m glad you got a good parking space.”
“Better to leave with, my dear,” he muttered only loud enough for her to hear.
She snorted. “Got that right. Never know what a crowd will do.”
Drake positioned himself beside her as she knocked again, seemingly able to see on every side and pounce to protect her if someone jumped out from behind the door.
“Hey, Pix.” Drake’s low voice made her shiver in the heat. “I’ve got a question.”