Total pages in book: 260
Estimated words: 245483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1227(@200wpm)___ 982(@250wpm)___ 818(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 245483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1227(@200wpm)___ 982(@250wpm)___ 818(@300wpm)
“No you’re not.”
“I could have seen you sooner,” he admits. “After the fight. I thought if I put you out of my mind, the time would pass quicker. It was bullshit. And by the time I got over it, you had stopped coming.”
“I felt too guilty to come. I couldn’t look you in the eye knowing what I’d done.”
“I’ll look you in the eye any time,” he says, and I finally let myself melt into his arms.
“Will you be able to do it in the morning?” I question. I don’t know if I’d be able to, if I were him. I might get up and walk out like he did that first night he stayed.
“I’d look at you any damn morning, Hellcat. I don’t care what happened.”
“Yes you do, Cill.”
“I care. But I only care because it’s you. I want you to be okay.”
Deep, even breaths are all I’m able to focus on and the warmth of his chest against my back. I listen to his heartbeat for a while. A long while maybe, his arm a comforting weight around me, holding me close and refusing to let go. His breathing steadies long before mine does.
“That’s it,” I tell him. “I didn’t do anything else while you were gone. I hope you can believe me when I say that.”
“Hmm?” Cill asks sleepily. I blink up at his face. It’s mostly hidden in the dark, but I’m pretty sure his eyes are closed.
“I’m glad you came back,” I whisper, and then I curl up against him and fall asleep too. “I love you, Cillian.”
Kat
Cillian and Reed sit close together at a new kitchen table Reed brought over this morning and the two of them put together in silence while I slept. Cill’s still in his gray sweatpants and a white tee. Reed’s at least dressed in jeans and a dark navy Henley.
With sleep still in my eyes, I came down to see the two of them putting the last screws in. Reed can barely look me in the eye and the only thing he’s said to me is that he’s sorry he didn’t answer last night. He had a lot to think about.
There’s a sadness between us that doesn’t fit right but I’ve tried to swallow it down all morning.
I made them coffee an hour ago and I know for a fact it’s cold by now. Neither one of them seems to have noticed. They just keep talking in low voices that make it impossible to hear a damn thing.
I should be grateful that they’re both there, sitting side by side, not murdering each other.
“More coffee?” I ask, holding up the pot. I’ve had two cups and it’s still not enough to make me feel awake enough for whatever’s going on.
They don’t answer. I pick up the two mugs. They don’t notice. I dump them out in the sink. Still nothing.
“Are you going to let me in on what you’re planning? I know it has to do with Cavanaugh.” I fill up the mugs with fresh coffee and take them back to the table.
“I don’t think this is something you need to be a part of, Kat,” Reed says, accepting his coffee and still not looking me in the eye. I fucking hate it.
Blowing out my frustration, I close the cabinet door carelessly after putting the sugar back and say, “Cillian, if you’re going back to the Crest to deal with your uncle, I deserve to know about it.”
“When it’s all said and done, Hellcat,” Cill answers, blowing across the top of his coffee. He doesn’t look me in the eye either.
I bang my fist on the table between them. It finally makes Reed shut up. “Tell me,” I demand. “I don’t know what the hell you two think you’re doing. You didn’t tell me shit back then, but you’re going to tell me everything right now or I’ll fucking lose it, Cill. You too, Reed. What the hell is going on?”
Cill’s lips pick up in a smirk. “Well good morning, Hellcat,” he murmurs, his pale blue eyes piercing right through me in a way that’s sinful.
I’m caught for a moment as he sips his coffee.
“I thought you could hear us, Hellcat.”
“How could I possibly hear you when you’re whispering?” I bend down and kiss his cheek, leaving both palms on the table and leaning down low enough that I’m more than sure he can see right down my baggy sleep shirt. “Tell me. Now.”
Reed and Cill share a glance that would piss me off if I wasn’t sure I had their attention. “We’re figuring out what to do with him,” Reed says.
“Who?”
“My uncle,” Cill says. Pain flashes in his eyes as fear engulfs me. “We’re comparing notes. Figuring out what really happened.”
Reed stands up from his seat before Cill is finished speaking. “I’ve got to go call someone. I’ll be back in a minute.”