Page 87 of I Don't Need Your Protection

“No,” I whisper, my teeth chattering. “Be strong. Survive until the rain lets up.”

My eyes flutter shut, but I force them open. I want to survive this. Ineedto survive this. But how tempting it is to just give in…

“Addilyn!” someone calls.

My eyes open to slits. Is someone calling my name or am I hallucinating?

“Addilyn,” the voice gets a little louder. “Addie.”

Strong arms scoop me up toward a strong, warm chest. I recognize his scent immediately. My eyes flutter open. “Caleb?”

Through the heavy rain, I see him staring down at me with concerned eyes. He pushes my face to his chest and secures me in his arms. “I’ve got you, Addie,” he murmurs as he stands and walks away with me in his arms. “You’re safe.”

“I…I didn’t think…you’d come,” I say through chattering teeth. “I thought I would…die.”

He stops walking and stares down at me with the most intense eyes I’ve ever seen on him. “I will always find you.”

He wraps me as tightly as he can to keep me warm. I feelhis heart racing in his chest. It’s obvious he was very worried about me, and that touches me in a way I’ve never been touched before.

“Caleb,” I say.

“Shh,” he says softly. “Preserve your strength until we’re in the car. But stay with me, Addie, okay? I can’t lose you.”

I snuggle in his arms, trying to suck in as much warmth as I can. My body is still shaking like crazy and I still can’t feel my limbs.

Caleb reaches the car and shifts me in his arms to reach for the back door. He gently lays me down on the back seat, and then disappears. For a second, I freak out at the lack of his presence, but then I hear the trunk open and shut. A second later, Caleb returns and throws a blanket over me. He leans into the car to stretch the blanket up to my chin, then tucks it underneath me, ensuring that every part of me is warm and cozy.

“I thought they liked me,” I whisper as tears seep out of my eyes. “I thought we were having fun.”

Caleb brushes the back of his fingers across my cheek, his expression still full of concern. But also relief. He says in such a soft voice that I barely hear him, “I thought I would lose you.”

“How…how did you find me?” I ask as I continue to shiver. Caleb rubs his hands over my shoulders and arms to warm me up. “How did you know where to look? Did you secretly implant a tracking device into my arm?”

“No,” he says softly as he continues to sweep his fingers over my cheek. “When I saw the girls return to the room andyou weren’t with them, I confronted that witch and demanded she tell me where you were.”

My eyes pop open. “But, Caleb—”

“I know. It was a risk I needed to take. I needed to know where you were.”

“Caleb?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. You saved my life.”

He bends forward and presses his forehead to mine. “Please don’t thank me for looking out for you. I would take a bullet for you.”

“I wish I could hug you, but my arms are trapped in this cocoon.”

He leans forward and, as soft as a feather, he sweeps his lips across my forehead. “We should head back to school and get you in a warm bath.”

He gets out of the backseat and slides into the driver’s seat. On the ride to school, he keeps me engaged in conversation because he’s scared what would happen if I fall asleep. Once we get back to school, he somehow manages to get me past the guards and into my dorm. I’m half-sleeping, so I don’t really understand fully what’s going on around me, but I’m sure the guards who work for my grandfather and are undercover help him sneak me inside.

He puts me under his blanket as he runs a hot bath. Did he put me in his bed and not mine because he doesn’t want my bed to get wet? But what about his?

He returns and carries me to the bathroom. Once heunwraps the blanket from around me, I fling my arms around him and hug him so tightly, I feel every muscle in his torso.

I don’t have to say anything to show this wonderful person how much I appreciate him. I know he knows. He’s pretty soaked, too, which doesn’t exactly help with my trying to get warm, but I don’t want to let go. I wish I could stay in his arms forever.