Talk about awkward… No wonder people had sex just before falling asleep. It removed the uncomfortable moments afterward, when people had to talk about what had happened or stupidly pretend it hadn’t happened.
It seemed Kit and I would go with the second option.
“I’m not taking you back,” Kit said, his voice low.
At that, I swung my gaze toward him.
He didn’t look at me as he matched my pace, walking beside me. “The Warden sent Deacon and I after you, but I wouldn’t bring you back. I came because I needed to see you, to be with you, to ensure your safety.”
“What about your daughter?”
“We live long lives. Once I’m certain you are safe, I’ll go back and get her. For the moment, she is at much less risk than you are.” He swallowed hard, then added on, “I thought you would be more relieved that I wasn’t going to take you back.”
“I never thought you would.”
“Then why did you throw me?”
“You charged me,”I signed, then added on,“Sorry,”at the end.
“Don’t be sorry. If anyone—including me—makes you feel unsafe, I’d expect you to do the same thing. If anything, you held back. I’ve seen what you can do when you want to truly hurt someone.”
His words made me shy and uncomfortable in a way that made my heart speed. That was nothing compared to my reaction when he paused and caught my chin, forcing my eyes to his. “You have to protect yourself. It doesn’t matter who your enemy is, you need to use all your sills to keep yourself safe. Tell me that you understand.”
I nodded. The response wasn’t because he’d forced me from any command in his voice. Instead, I agreed because of the honesty in his voice, the way he meant every word of it.
I’d responded to his threat because he’d startled me, because a part of me had worried I’d pushed him too far, but the moment I’d had time to think, I’d never suspected he’d take me back.
Kit leaned in, his lips softer than before, less frantic, as if he’d tamed that side of himself.
“Seems you found our runaway siren.” Deacon’s voice caught me off guard and I jerked back from Kit’s touch.
When I turned to find Deacon there, his face carefully blank, I struggled to meet his gaze. All I could see was his expression when I’d shut the door in his face, when I’d left him behind.
If Kit was angry, it couldn’t compare to Deacon, right? Deacon had stood only feet away from me, had begged me to not leave him, and I’d done it anyway.
When he came forward, I flinched, worried about his reaction. I didn’t think he’d hurt me, but I couldn’t bear to have him hate me. Instead, his strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me against his solid, familiar chest.
The steady thumping of his heartbeat eased me somehow, and I hadn’t realized how much I missed it, how much I needed the reassurance. I inhaled, breathing him in, letting his soothing smell wash over and through me.
He didn’t kiss me, didn’t pull away, just held me tighter as if he needed it as much as I did.
I went to respond, but Deacon only tightened his grip around me, cupping the back of my head with his large hand to keep me against him. “We’ll fight later, Hera. Just let me hold you for a minute.”
And that sounded fine with me. Despite all the times we’d told each other that, when we’d tried to push off our problems, it had never seemed more important than right now.
I shuddered, relaxing into his embrace, into the fact I had him back, that no matter how long it lasted or where things went, I could touch him again.
A sound caught my attention and made me jerk my head in that direction. Neither Kit nor Deacon moved, but then again, I could hear far better than either of them.
The sound was the firing of a tranquilizer gun, the soft pop different than a regular bullet, and it came from the direction of the church. It would be far too quiet for anyone else to notice.
I shoved away from Deacon’s chest, and he let me go. When I took off, the two men followed—no complaints, no hesitation. Even if they couldn’t hear, even if they didn’t know what was going on, they still trusted me enough to come without question.
Before we reached the church, I found Wade, Brax and Knox at the van, packing their things. The car Bowen had given us was parked about half a mile from the church. They all stood straighter upon seeing Deacon and Kit, but my expression must have made them realize those two were not the cause of my panic.
An angry shout to get down from someone in the church drew everyone’s attention, now that we were close enough for them to hear it as well. It was the sort of command we all knew well, the tone of a person used to saying such things, used to others obeying.
Which meant Larkwood had tracked us to the church, and I sure as hell wouldn’t leave Bowen and the others to fight them in my place.