“Okay,” I murmur. “But tomorrow, I want to help.”
Theo nods, and I step back and close the door. I towel dry my hair and then put on the sleep clothes Theo brought me. I wore them both nights I slept in Marcus’s bed over the weekend, and as I slip the tank top on over my head, his scent tickles my nostrils—clean and fresh, with a hint of something like rich leather.
It’s an addictive aroma, something that I’ve come to associate purely with Marcus. As I breathe in the lingering smell of him, tears I haven’t allowed myself to cry yet burn behind my eyes.
Please. Please, Marcus. Don’t be fucking dead.
I blink hard, clinging with everything inside me to the last scraps of hope I have, then hang my towel up and step back into the bedroom.
Theo is sitting on the bed, and I start a little when I see him. I expected him to be back downstairs with Ryland by now, but he’s obviously been waiting for me. He stands up when he sees me, stuffing his hands into his pockets and tilting his head slightly.
“Anything else you need?”
“No. Thank you.”
He nods, then crosses to the window and closes the curtains, turning the room gray and semi-dark. He tugs back the covers on the bed and gestures for me to get in.
The second my body hits the mattress, my eyelids start to droop. I’ve been going on pure determination and adrenaline for a long time, but I’ve got nothing left.
Theo tugs the blankets up to my shoulders, then leans over and presses a kiss to my temple. “Sleep tight, Rose.”
He straightens back up, but before he can step away, my hand reaches out from beneath the covers, snagging his.
Theo pauses, looking down at our tangled fingers before glancing at my face. I can see the question in his eyes, and the answer comes easily to my tongue.
“Stay,” I whisper. “Please.”
There are a million reasons why he might say no. I’m being needy right now, and I know it, my defenses and layers of armor broken down by everything I’ve been through this weekend.
But Theo doesn’t say anything at all. He just kicks off his shoes and crawls beneath the covers beside me, looping an arm around my waist and pulling me into the warm cradle of his body.
My head tucks under his chin, and the last thing I’m aware of before sleep claims me is the soft, steady drum of his heartbeat.
Chapter 5
Pain sears through my body, radiating from the three points where the bullets pierced my flesh. Blood pools around me, warm and wet, and my vision goes in and out of focus as I stare at the three figures above me.
Marcus, Theo, and Ryland.
Marcus’s face hovers over mine, concern hardening his handsome features as Theo and Ryland flank him on either side. His sentinels. His partners. His brothers.
Earth and air churn violently as those beautiful, mesmerizing eyes gaze down at me. He’s speaking, but I can’t hear the words. I can’t make out what he’s saying.
I open my mouth, trying to speak back, but all that pours from my lips is a trickle of blood.
I have to talk.
I have to tell him.
I have to warn him.
He cups my face with one large hand, calloused fingers threading through my hair, and then he lowers his face to mine and kisses me.
It’s everything.
Pleasure.
Pain.
Hope.
Redemption.
Destruction.
It’s a promise made and broken at the same time, and I kiss him harder, ignoring the coppery taste of blood that lingers between our lips. My right arm lies useless on the cold pavement, nerves and tissue already fraying, but I palm the back of his head as our kiss deepens.
Pop, pop, pop!
Three sharp sounds pierce the night air, and Marcus’s body jerks three times. His body goes limp, his weight growing so heavy that it feels like it might crush me to dust.
But I keep trying to kiss him, lips and tongue moving against a mouth that’s gone lax.
Unresponsive.
Dead.
“No,” I mutter against his lips, my voice raw. They’re still warm. They’re still full and soft. But he won’t kiss me back. “No, no, no. Please.”
His head slumps to one side of mine, our cheeks pressed together, and I wait for the feel of his breath to tickle my ear and stir my hair. But it never does.
Blood pours from his wounds, mingling with mine on the pavement beneath us. My fingers clutch at his hair, holding tightly to the rich brown strands as my own heartbeat slows.
“You promised,” I whisper. “You promised you’d never let me go.”
* * *
A harsh, ragged sob jolts me from sleep.
I suck in a gasping breath, and as I do, I realize the sound came from me. Another sob follows it, wracking my lungs as it tears out of me.
“Breathe, baby. Breathe, Rose.”
Strong arms wrap around me from behind, a body curving around mine as I curl into a ball. Theo keeps whispering soft words into my hair as I cry, rubbing his hand gently up and down the remainder of my right arm. He doesn’t try to stop me from crying, just holds me until the heartbreaking terror of the dream subsides a little.
My throat is tight and scratchy, and my head hurts again—although nowhere near as bad as it did earlier.
It’s hard to catch a full breath. Every time I inhale, the exhale turns into another gasping sob, but finally I’m able to let out a shaky sigh.
We lie like that for a while, Theo’s body still tucked around mine, the warmth of him seeping into my cold bones.
It’s barely light outside. A few soft rays creep in through the cracks in the curtains, and I’m pretty sure it’s morning sunlight. That means I’ve slept for over twelve hours. Did Theo stay with me the whole time?
I burrow deeper into his
