Chapter l234

Chapter 0234

I was surrounded by a feeling of warmth and safety. I blinked open my eyes, and I found myself pressed

into a hard, masculine chest. Beneath my ear, I heard the steady thumping of a strong heart. Lifting my

head, I looked up at Nicholas.

He was carrying me through my bedroom toward my bed. I couldn’t remember how I got here. I had

ave out. been crying. Had I fallen asleep? My eyes were sore and my chest heavy. Maybe my b*dy just gave

“Nick”

He shushed be gently and tilted his head. Following the length of his gaze, I saw Elva resting peacefully

on

he bed. Her arms were stretched out above her. Her leg was kicked half–out from under the covers.

She was snoring softly.

I would have hated to wake her.

Nicholas lowered me down onto the bed, I moved myself under the blankets. He helped lift them over

my b*dy. Then he started to pull away.

I reached out and grabbed his wrist before I knew what I was doing.

He glanced at where I held him, then looked at me with a raised brow.

Volce low, I said, “Please stay.”

I was still shaking from what I’d seen and experienced earlier in the evening. I had Elva here, which was

I

a comfort, but what if Jane came through the door again while I slept? What if she brought a knife this

time?

What if she pressed it to Elva’s throat instead of mine?

Guards were posted at the door, but they’d failed last time. What if they failed again?

“Just for tonight,” I whispered. “Please.”

In the morning, I could go back to being capable and strong. I could pretend like my life as it was, was

good enough and I didn’t need anything or anyone else.

But here in the dark of night, with my trauma fresh, I could only be selfish.

“I need you,” I said.

The question smoothed from his face. He looked almost… sad looking down at me. For a moment, I

thought he might turn me down, and my broken heart cracked further still. But then he nudged me over

Nicholas laid down on top of the blankets near the edge of the bed. He turned toward me. When I turned toward Elva, he slowly inched up behind me and draped his arm around my waist.

The movement transported me to a past three–years prior, when cuddling like this had been the norm. Lost in time, I was able to close my eyes again and find peace, even if only for a few hours.

When I awoke again, my shoulder was resting back against Nicholas’s chest. Elva had curled toward me

in the night and snuggled up against my arm.

For a moment, I felt nothing but contentment, surrounded by warmth and the people I loved.

But then, the memories returned. Jane had showed me her resentment last night, and I’d felt her hatred seep down into my bones, scalding me to my core. I felt irrevocably changed, like a piece of myself had

shriveled up and died, never to return.

Nicholas brushed his hand up and down my arm in long soothing gestures. He must have been awake

too.

I couldn’t see his face, the way I was positioned, half–resting back against him, but I heard the concern in his voice as he whispered, “Do you want to talk about it?”

By now, the dawn was creeping in through the cracks in the curtains. Soon, I’d have to face the world

again.

“I don’t know what to do now,” I admitted, keeping my voice soft. Elva continued to sleep beside me. “I

still want to bring down the organization, but…”

It hurt to think about. With Jane twisted into the organization so tightly, I couldn’t save her. She didn’t want saving. But without her help, our options were limited, especially with the sealing of the tunnel. We couldn’t exactly sneak over to Terry’s mansion to look for information without it.