“Look at me, Liv.”
If she did, he would see her every vulnerability, every fear, every aching desire to be the best mom, best sister, best agent, best wif—
“Please,” he said, rearing his head back to see her.
It took the last dregs of her courage to lift her eyes to his.
“If you had not helped Claudia, she would likely be dead or severely injured. Protecting people, that’s who you are. That’s who they”—he nodded at the two sleeping forms on the bed —“love.” His voice lowered even more. “Who I love.”
She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, swallowing back the clump of emotion pushing into her throat. Her chin wobbled, and she was afraid to breathe for fear of releasing an ugly, sobby noise. Her fingers dug into the material of his shirt, and she held on until the tumult of her emotions passed.
They didn’t.
All of her effort couldn’t hold back the ugly sob.
Zeke’s arms went around her, holding her until her body stopped trembling. Despite her initial outburst, she released all her tension, all her anxiety, in silent tears against his chest.
“Come,” Zeke said, “let’s get you cleaned up. I have something to show you.”
Liv turned back to her son and sister, reluctant to leave them. Other than adjusting to new everything in his room, he would come out of this unscathed. Not so for Callie. Her baby sister was strong and resilient, but for a few hours she hadn’t known if she would live or die. And if she lived, what horrible acts she would face.
Callie had assured her that neither man had sexually assaulted her, but she refused to tell Liv what she’d done to set off Sam Rogers. From the wet patch beneath her sister, the scent of urine, and the man’s furious handwashing, it didn’t take a physicist to figure out what went down.
Good for her.She hoped the bastard scrubbed his hands to the bone for the rest of his life.
“I’m worried for her,” Liv said.
“Detective Schuler gave her a number to call if she needed to talk about what happened. She’ll call when she’s ready.”
No doubt Regina would have a legion of specialists lined up as well.
She turned back to Zeke, grasped his neck, and pulled him down for a kiss. It was neither chaste nor passionate. But it consumed, it reassured. It promised.
Callie’s sleepy voice interrupted them. “Would you two get a hotel room already? All that sucking noise is disturbing our perfectly good sleep-in.”
Liv smiled, leaned over her grumpy sister, and pressed a smacking kiss on her cheek. The contact elicited a frustrated groan from Callie right before she swept the covers over her head.
Sliding her fingers between Zeke’s, she followed him from the room, relinquishing mind, body, soul, and heart into his keeping.