“What?”
“It was my gun in the glove box of your Jeep,” he says, and I feel my eyes widen and my stomach knot.
“What?”
“After the cops left my parents’ place this morning, we went to the bar and Mom ran back the tapes from the weekend, just to see if there was anything out of the ordinary that would lead us to who broke into the storage unit. That’s when we saw Lisa break into your Jeep early Sunday morning. The cameras were far away, so there wasn’t a clear image. We didn’t know what she was doing in your Jeep, but we knew she did something. Seeing that, we called the cops to let them know what happened. That’s when I found out from the detective who was handling my case that an arrest had been made. When he told me who was arrested, I knew exactly why Lisa broke into your Jeep.”
“She set me up?” I ask in disbelief, watching his body get tight and his jaw tic.
“I hate myself for having brought this shit into your life. For not protecting you from her.”
“She set me up?” I repeat. “I had a gun pointed in my face and was arrested not even an hour after I watched two men carry my dead grandmother out of her room,” I grit out, not noticing his body go still or his scary energy fill the room. “Why? Why would she do that?”
“Your grandmother?” he chokes, and I focus on him. Seeing the look in his eyes, mine close. He didn’t know. Then again, how could he? I didn’t even tell Nat. I was so freaked out about being arrested that I didn’t want to think about Grandma until I had time to process her loss.
“You didn’t know.”
“No.” His voice sounds rough as he gathers me closer against him. “Tell me.”
“Right after you left, Elizabeth called to tell me,” I say, and his arms tighten. “I tried to call you.”
“Fuck, baby, I should have fucking been here.”
“She’s gone,” I whisper, and the tears I have been holding back spill over. “Just like that, she’s gone.”
He pulls me up his body then rolls us so my back is to the back of the couch and his leg and arm are over me, cocooning me and making me feel safe and protected. It’s like the world will never be able to touch me, because he will always be right there, waiting to take on any threat.
“Let it out.” His fingers sift through my hair as I cry and let it all out with my face against his chest.
Holding onto him, I let go of everything until there is nothing left. When my tears have finally dried up, I pull my face out of his chest to look up at him, and he dips his head while his eyes meet mine.
“I wish I could take this all away.” I know he does. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”
Closing my eyes, I press my forehead into his chest. “You’re here now,” I say, and his lips rest against the top of my head and his chest expands. Keeping my eyes closed, I eventually pass out from exhaustion.
“I don’t give a fuck,” I hear Colton say, and I blink my eyes open to find myself alone on the couch with the TV on and the volume low. I pull my hair out of my face and sit up. Looking over the back of the couch, I see Colton is in the kitchen shirtless with his back to me and his phone to his ear. “Yeah, Dad, I get that, but when the woman I love needed me, I wasn’t fucking there for her, she couldn’t even get a hold of me since I left my fucking phone here in a hurry to get to you. Top that shit off with the bullshit Lisa pulled, and you can see why that’s fucking with my head right now.”
Love? He loves me? My heart starts to thunder against my rib cage and my stomach feels funny, like it’s too full.
“We won’t be in tomorrow, and she probably won’t be in for a while unless it’s just to hang out. I want her to look for somewhere else to work.” What? “Yeah, tell Mom I love her too. See you guys tomorrow, and tell her I said thanks for calling Ned and Nina to let them know about Genevria. Yeah, later.” He hangs up and I see his back muscles expand as he takes a deep breath, then his arm muscles flex as he runs a hand through his hair.
“Did you just tell your dad that I won’t be working at the bar anymore?” I ask, instead of asking if he’s in love with me, and he turns around, his worried eyes meeting mine.