Page 112 of Illicit Games

The morning Kian told me ofDadu’spassing replays every time I shut my eyes. I had been numb and in stark disbelief as he drove me to my parents’ house. Everything that happened next was a blur, as if I were living someone else’s life. In a matter of hours, mydaduwas nothing but ashes in the ground.

Is this how fickle life is?

Dread grips my bones as I wonder who I'm going to lose next. My mom? My dad? Kian? It’s dawning on me just how mortal we all are.

It’s terrifying.

Panic bubbles up inside me, my lungs constricting.

I need Kian.

After he had shown up, the four of us had a simple meal. There was swift relief in Kian’s metallic gaze as I finished my entire plate. I made sure he did too, earning a secret smile from my dad. It’s safe to say he accepts my new boyfriend.

Pulling me aside after the dinner, he told me thatDaduwould give his blessing too, if he were here. It made us both emotional.

Throwing off the covers, I sit up against the headboard as I force myself to take deep breaths, like Kian taught me to do during panic attacks. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I unlock it and hover my thumb over his number. I hate to disturb him, but the longing to hear his deep voice wins.

As if he was waiting for my call, he picks up on the first ring.

“Rainbow, you okay?” he demands, high on alert. “Bad dream?”

I open my mouth, only for an ugly sob to escape.

“Don’t cry, baby,” he says, sounding in pain. “Talk to me.”

“I-I can’t sleep. I’m-m scared.”You’re too far away.“I’m missing you. I can’t stop imagining bad scenarios. It’s all too much.”

I hear rustling on his end, a clicking noise, then a door snapping shut. “Come outside.”

“What?”

“I’m outside your house.”

My pulse kicks up as I jump down from the bed and race downstairs. How is he here? He left hours ago. Or did he?

Grabbing the house key from the hook, I fumble with the lock in my haste, but manage to quickly get it unlocked. Wrenching the front door open, I step onto the porch and there he is.

Standing across the street and leaning against his shiny black SUV. He’s still in the same clothes, minus the suit jacket and the tie, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He straightens as I run to him barefoot and catches me in his arms.

“You’re here,” I cry out, clinging to him. The anxiety disappears as I’m enveloped in his heat and strength. “You’re okay.”

He squeezes me tight, massaging my back in soothing circles. “We’re both okay, Rainbow. I’m right here.”

Twisting around, he perches me on the hood. I keep my arms and thighs locked around him, needing the contact. Cradling my face, he bends and kisses my tears away before pressing his lips against mine in the sweetest kiss ever.

I return it earnestly, loving the calm that spreads all over me at his touch and closeness. “I was missing you so badly, Kian.”

“I was missing you too,” he murmurs back, tucking a wayward strand behind my ear. “I hate being apart from you, especially knowing you’re sad and hurting.”

“Having you by my side, taking care of me… it’s helping me more than you know.”

“I know you stay strong in front of your parents, but you can lean on me when it’s just us. I haven’t lost a loved one, but if anything ever happened to you, it’ll be the end of me. So, take however long you need, I’m here for you.”

I caress the back of his neck and skim a palm up his chest. “I know you are, love. It means the world to me.”

“What made you scared tonight?”

“That life is so fragile. I don’t know if the pain of losingDaduwill ever go away. How do people keep going after something like this? I was lying alone in my bed and the thoughts became too much. I couldn’t quiet my brain. You were not beside me and I-I became frightened.”