Page 61 of Hold Me
“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” he whispers. The clicking noise of the door behind me makes me jump, and we break apart.
I don’t have time to react when a man points his gun at me, but before he can pull the trigger, two bullets hit him in the chest and he slumps to the ground. Glancing above my shoulder, I see Caleb holding Raphael’s gun.
A moment later, Victoria burst through the door and immediately raises her hands. “Whoa, don’t shoot. We’re here to help.”
“She’s with us,” I say to Caleb, who lowers the gun, but doesn’t let go of it.
“Is that...?” Victoria crouches next to Raphael’s body.
“Yeah,” I say.
“Good.” She gets to her feet. “All Raphael’s men are down.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief, and Caleb snakes his arm around my waist.
“I can’t believe it’s finally over,” I say.
“Me neither.” A small smile tugs at his lips, and I turn to him, pressing my hands against his chest. We just look at each other for a moment, and I can see a mix of joy and sadness in his eyes. But when he lowers his lips to mine, I wrap my hands around his neck and kiss him like it might be the last kiss we’ll ever share.
It takes weeks to deal with the aftermath of what happened, but the cops have managed to take care of it... mostly. Raphael’s men have successfully destroyed most of the computers that held information about his business, but many of his accomplices have been caught. When my doorbell rings, I get up from the couch and go open it. My lips stretch into a smile when I see Caleb.
“Hey.” I pull him into my arms and press my lips against his. “How was work?”
“Fine.” He shrugs, then we start for the living room. Caleb has gotten a job as a waiter at a restaurant and rented an apartment not far from here, but he still comes to see me when his shift ends. I’m really happy and proud that he seems to be doing so well, Raphael’s shadow no longer hanging over him.
“The cops called me,” he says.
“Oh?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
“They’re closer to finding Jade’s family, but they still can’t figure out anything about mine.” His voice is calm and steady, and I think part of him is relieved about that, although I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe he still believes Raphael’s words about his family not wanting him are true.
“That’s good,” I say. “How is she doing?”
“She’s pretty excited.” He grins. “Oh, and she’s thinking about going to college one day.”
“Really? That’s awesome.” Jade’s decided to live with Caleb because the apartment is big enough for both of them, and Caleb doesn’t want to be alone at night.
“Yeah, she just needs to pass some tests first, but she’s smart. She’ll manage.”
“I’m sure she will.” I lean my head on Caleb’s shoulder and sigh, but as his hand starts to slide under my dress, I tense.
“Is something wrong? You’re...” he says quietly.
“No, I just...” I pull back to look at him. “I need to ask you something.”
“What is it?” His face goes serious, and I regret mentioning anything.
“We’ve been taking things slow, and I... I just want to be sure that this is what you want... us... I mean, the circumstances under which we met... and if you think you owe me something... you don’t.”
He just watches me for a moment, then shifts so he can dip his mouth toward mine. I part my lips, but he doesn’t kiss me.
“For the first time in my life, I’m truly happy, and I know what I want... and I want you,” he says. “If you want me too...”
“I do,” I say softly.
“Then how we met doesn’t matter,” he says. “I’m grateful to you for what you did, yeah. But I’m grateful to Lloyd, Victoria, and everyone else, and I don’t want to kiss any of them.”
A smile spreads across my lips, and I tip my head forward. His fingers slide into my hair and his tongue slips between my lips for a long kiss, exploring and demanding. When we break apart, we’re both panting, but then I fist my hands into his shirt and lie down, pulling him on top of me.