I giggled before growing serious. “Have you been keeping up with what happened?”
“How could I miss it? It’s been everywhere. I’m sure the elders are freaking the hell out.”
“We did it,” I whispered. “We exposed them.”
“You did it, Sage,” he said softly.
“Are you coming home?”
He paused. “I’m sorry about your dad. I know how close you were to him.”
“I’m okay.” I took a shaky breath. “I really am. I’m sad he’s gone. But he’s not in pain anymore. This week has been hard though.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you.” Regret filled his voice. “I’ve been busy.”
“It’s been three months since you left,” I stated.
“I know.”
“My feelings for you haven’t changed,” I murmured, recalling his words from the last time I saw him. “I still miss you.”
Glancing at the clock on the stove, I jumped from my chair when I realized it was almost nine. I was supposed to pick up a platter of sandwiches at nine o’clock for the memorial service. After smoothing out my black dress, I grabbed my jacket.
“You still there?” Niko questioned.
“Yeah. I’m sorry.” I grabbed my purse from the hall table on my way to the front door. “I have to be somewhere.”
“I can call back—”
“No,” I cut him off. “I can talk and drive.”
I tugged open the door, only to freeze. My purse slipped from my arm and fell to the floor. I lowered my phone as I stared at him. He was leaning against the doorframe, his green eyes brightening when he met my gaze. A light stubble covered his jawline, and his black hair was longer than it used to be. He was wearing black slacks with a matching jacket and a crisp white collared shirt underneath.
“Mornin’, sunshine,” he murmured, putting his phone in his pocket without looking away from me.
“Niko,” I choked out as I flung my arms around his neck.
He picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around him as he walked into the house. Not even bothering to close the door, he pressed me against the wall. I didn’t want to let him go. Being in his arms was everything I’d been wanting for the last three months.
We stared at each other before his gaze traveled down my face to my lips. Hesitation brewed in his eyes, and I frowned, not understanding what he was thinking.
“Part of the reason I left was to give you a chance to see how you really felt about me,” he explained quietly. “So much had happened in those six months. I wanted you to have a slice of normal again before I came barging back in.”
“You could have left for a year and my feelings wouldn’t have changed.” Pulling my hands from his neck, I grabbed his face in both of them. “I want you. Now. Tomorrow. Forever. I missed you. It felt like a piece of me was gone.”
He grinned for a split second before I pulled him closer and crashed my lips to his. I melted into the kiss as one of his hands went to the back of my neck. His taste was exactly like I remembered, and my craving for him only intensified. I understood why he wanted to give me a chance to live without him after everything that had happened. The thing was, I didn’t want to. He was what I wanted.
He pulled away after a while, catching his breath. “I thought you had to be somewhere.”
“It’s fine. People can live without sandwiches.” I glanced at the clock on the wall, making sure I still had a couple of hours before I needed to leave to get to the church on time. “Did you come back for the memorial?”
Setting me down, he glanced down at his suit. “I didn’t want you to be alone.”
“Then don’t leave again,” I mumbled under my breath, terrified that it was what he planned on doing. “How did you find out about it?”
“I was in Chicago yesterday. I met with Kiara.”
My mouth fell open in surprise. “She didn’t tell me.”
“I know. She knew I was going to surprise you.” He chuckled. “When I first saw her, I thought she was going to arrest me.”
“She wouldn’t,” I said quickly. “She knows what you did to help me—”
“I know that now. Plus, I’m more useful to her when I’m not in prison.”
“You sent her another book from the society.” I stated what we both already knew.
A month ago, another leather book ended up on Kiara’s desk. On the outside, the book looked identical to the one I had taken from the house up north. But the pages revealed a whole new set of victims, names, and burial sites. From states that were up and down the East Coast. One page had been ripped out of that one too. That was when I realized what Niko had been up to when he left.
“I did. And I gave her three more books yesterday. That’s why I went to see her. And she told me about your dad.”