Page 8 of Save Me

Ian touched my shoulder. “You need to breathe.”

I didn’t want to be here anymore.

I wanted to feel safe.

I wanted to go home.

I didn’t have that anymore.

All I had now was an empty house to return to.

The only place that felt remotely like a home was when I was over at the guys’ house.

The guys.

Their faces popped into my head. If they were here, Colt and Creed would hold me while giving me words of encouragement, Keelan would say something to make me laugh, and Knox would push my buttons. Thinking of them, I was able to suck air into my lungs.

“That’s it,” Ian said, rubbing my back. “Deep breaths, kid.”

I ignored him. He wasn’t helping. If anything, his presence was making things worse. I kept my thoughts on the guys. “I want to go home. Now,” I forced out.

Ian stood from his chair. “I’ll see what I can do to speed things along,” he said, heading for the door. Just before stepping out into the hall, he looked back at me. “For what it’s worth, leaving you was probably the hardest thing Logan’s ever had to do.” As he walked out, he added, “You’re all he has, too.”

3

My whole bodysagged the moment I walked through my front door after Ian dropped me off. I had felt relieved when he had told me that he was going back to the airport after he took me home. That man could sniff lies out better than a polygraph and I didn’t want to spend any more time with him than I had to.

Dragging my feet, I went to the wall where the alarm was to put in the code. I froze, fingers hovering over the keypad, when I realized that it wasn’t going off. I had set it. I always set it before leaving, yet it was disarmed.

Fear surged through my exhausted body. I moved to the coffee table and grabbed the gun that was taped underneath. Doing my best to be quiet, I pulled back the slide on the .40 caliber, cocking it. I winced at the loud sound of the gun clicking as a bullet moved into the chamber and the slide snapping back into place.

I need to leave. I need to run, I told myself as I crept and peeked into the kitchen. It was empty. I moved toward the hallway next. My heart pounded so hard in my chest it hurt. As I was about to reach the hallway, I leaned against the wall, gun clutched in front of me. Slowly, I peeked around the corner and down the hall. The spare bedroom door was open, as I had left it. The spare bathroom door was open, as I had left it. The panic room was closed, as always. My gaze landed on my room all the way at the end of the hall last. The door was open, as I had left it. I hadn’t known I was holding my breath until I saw who was sleeping in my bed. It was Colt and Creed. I exhaled, relieved, and pulled back from peeking down the hall to rest my head against the wall. My knees gave out on me and I slid down to the floor.

My eyes burned as my adrenaline crashed. I sat there for a little while, focusing a great deal on breathing.

When I was able to pull myself off the floor, I put the gun back under the coffee table. Careful not to wake Colt and Creed, I got into the shower. As I washed, I noticed a few bruises I had gained thanks to Jacob. There was a really sore one on my thigh where he’d stuck me with the needle.

Wrapped in a towel, I entered my room to get dressed. Colt was sitting up against the headboard. He was shirtless. Both of them were. “Hey,” he whispered as he rubbed an eye tiredly.

“Hey,” I said back quietly, my voice sounding vacant even to my own ears. He noticed, too. I could tell by the way his tired eyes instantly became focused on me. I turned away from him and busied myself with pulling an oversized shirt and a pair of underwear from my dresser. Then I went into my closet to put them on.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” he asked.

I slowed my dressing for only a breath. “Not right now.”

“Can you at least tell me how you’re feeling?”

After I was dressed, I stepped into the doorway. Meeting Colt’s eyes, I leaned against the frame with my arms folded across my chest. “Too much,” I answered honestly. “I’m feeling too much.”

“Is there anything I can do?” he asked, concern furrowing his brow. “Do you need anything?”

A cigarette? Alcohol? A long run that will allow me to outrun what I’m feeling?I wanted all three, but I wouldn’t tell him that.

Creed let out a tired groan. “What she needs is to get her butt in this bed so I can hold her.”

I definitely needed that. Pushing off the wall, I walked over to Creed’s side of the bed. Before I could attempt to clamber over him to get in the middle, Creed sat up and hooked an arm around my waist, pulled me off my feet, and laid me between them. His arm never released me as I got under the covers and settled on my side, facing Colt. Both of them scooted closer. Creed molded his body along my entire back side. Colt grabbed the back of my knee and hiked it over his hip. His pelvis pressed against mine, sandwiching me between them. Colt moved his head close enough to press his lips to my forehead and stayed there.

“We missed school today,” I said randomly. Even though I’d been unconscious all night thanks to the drugs Jacob had shot into me, I was still exhausted. It was comfortable lying between them, and I felt safe enough to relax, but my brain wouldn’t let me.