Page 28 of The Saviors: Part One

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to get my shit together. Iknowhe won’t hurt me. I can feel it in my bones that he would never lay a hand on me. But this is bringing everything rushing to the surface, and I can’t stop it.

“My ex,” I whisper. I hear him moving and open my eyes. He’s sitting back on the side of the bed, back ramrod straight.

“Your ex?” he repeats and scrubs a hand down his face. “Chelsea, please tell me he’s in jail.” I shake my head, and he cusses under his breath. “I need a name.”

“You can’t touch him. His dad is a judge.”

“I don’t give a fuck. Either you tell me who he is, or I find out on my own.” That brings me out of my panic.

“Sean, you can’t do anything to him. What are you even going to do? Kill him?”

Something flashes across his face, but he hides it quickly. “Of course not. I just want a name.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Even to my ears, my voice sounds weird and detached.

Sean opens his mouth, but his phone rings before he can say anything. He jerks it out of his pocket.

“What?” he answers. He listens to whatever is being said. “Now is not a good time—” He quickly glances at me. “Yeah, I fucking get it. I’ll be there in a little bit.” He disconnects the call and slowly stands up like he’s afraid of spooking me again. “That was our boss. We have to go.”

My heart sinks. If he leaves now, there’s no way he’s coming back ever again. Not after this exchange and seeing how fucked up I really am. I nod and give him what I hope is a smile. The frown on his face shows that I didn’t pull it off.

He walks until he’s standing in front of me, then slowly reaches for my face. He cups my cheeks and turns my face up to see his eyes. “I’ll be back later, okay?”

“Okay,” I whisper. He kisses my forehead, lingering just a little too long. I want to reach out to him, but my arms are frozen at my side.

“Call me if you need me.” He slips from the room, and I blow out a breath.

I have no idea what to do with myself now, so I start pacing the room. Sean’s face when he said he wasn’t going to kill Brady is running through my head. Even as he said it, I could tell he was lying. There’s obviously a lot to him that I don’t know yet. That’s the whole point of dating. You get to know each other and tell each other your secrets. But what if his are more than I can handle too? He wasfuriouswhen I walked out of the bathroom. His normally smiling face was hard and unforgiving.

My phone pings on the nightstand, so I walk over and yank it up, swiping open the chat screen.

Sean

I miss you already.

My heart starts thumping in my chest. Could he really still want me after this? Can I let my walls down enough to tell him what happened? I’m not a coward, I’m cautious, but this just makes me want to hide in a hole and never come out. I search deep for the Chelsea I was before Brady and type out a message.

I miss you too.

If we get done with work in time, can I bring dinner over later? Maybe talk? I feel like shit for having to leave.

Work comes first. And yes, I’d like to have dinner with you.

I’ll see you later then, Gorgeous.

Okay.

I head downstairs in search of caffeine, and that’s when I see the coffee has already been made, and my cup is sitting there waiting to be filled up. Did Kai make me coffee again? Sean didn’t have enough time before he took off, so it had to have been him. I smile despite the stressful morning and make another decision. I pull up Sean’s message screen.

Is Kai coming?

Do you want Kai to come?

Is it shitty that I want him to come too? Now that my head is clear, I know the conversation with him and Sean really did happen. And I have to admit having them both here made me feel good and safe.

If he wants to.

He’d love to, Gorgeous. Message me and tell me what you want to eat. We’ll bring it.