Two days later…

Bianca was sitting up in bed when Grayson stepped back into the room. He’d only left her for brief periods of time in the last forty-eight hours, only long enough to shower, change clothes, grab something to eat.

He smiled when he spotted her. She looked a hundred times better this morning. He took two strides to her side, perched on the edge of the bed, and grabbed her hand. “You look so much better today.”

“I feel better. My head is still pounding.” She touched the bump on her forehead.

“It’s going to take a while for that nasty bump to go down. How did you hit your head? Do you remember?”

She rolled her eyes. “I wish I didn’t. One of those assholes was holding me up by the neck at about forty-five degrees from the floor, and he dropped me.”

Grayson winced. How could any human being be that cruel and fucked up? Grayson hadn’t questioned Bianca about that day. She would tell him on her own time. He didn’t want to pressure her to reveal the details from her viewpoint. If she never wanted to talk about it, that would be fine too. He didn’t need many words to understand the gist.

The state of her body when he’d found her had spoken volumes.

She grabbed his hand, flipping hers over so that she could thread their fingers together. “Get me out of here.”

He nodded slowly. “When you’re ready.”

“I’m ready.”

He swallowed, knowing now was the time to broach the subject of their next stop. “Okay, where do you want to go?”

“To join the rest of the group, of course.”

He pursed his lips for a moment. “How about we go a different direction instead? Maybe Miami or Alaska or something.” Something so far away that no one will bother hunting us down. “We can still ask for new identities. It’s not too late.”

She frowned at him and narrowed her gaze. “Is that what you want? To run?”

“What I want is for you to be safe and to feel safe and to sleep at night knowing no one is going to drag you out of bed and stuff you in the trunk of a car.” His voice rose. He was being dramatic, but he meant every word.

She shook her head. “So this is about me? ’Cause it sounds more like it’s about you.”

“How is it about me?” He sat up straighter. “I want you to be safe.”

She tugged his hand to her face and then kissed his knuckles. “Gray…”

“What?” She had him squirming inside with that tone.

“Hon, we’re not going to run. We’re going to go to the safe house and join the rest of the team and do our part to ensure everyone is safe. Not just me. Believe me, I’ll feel much safer with the team than hiding in Miami on the beach.”

He glanced at his arm and lifted it slightly. “Okay, maybe Miami wasn’t the best idea. There probably won’t be too many beaches in my future. Have you noticed the tone of my skin?”

She giggled. “You are rather pale.”

He smiled at her, loving the sound of her voice when she laughed. “Are you sure you don’t want to start over somewhere else?”

Her face sobered. “I don’t want to take a new identity and run from our problems. I want to fix the problem instead.”

He nodded and glanced away before facing her again. “There’s something else you need to know.”

Bianca frowned. “What’s that?”

“Your mother told the police she wants to make contact with you.”

For a moment she stared at him without even blinking, and then she sighed. “I guess I should have expected that.”

“You don’t have to make any decisions about her right now. I just thought you should be aware. Take your time. It’s up to you. I’ll support whatever you decide.” He knew it would be hard for her, or perhaps impossible.

She shrugged. “I need time before I consider the idea. Lots of time. There is no way I’m in any kind of mental place where I could wrap my arms around her, forgive her, and welcome her into my life. I don’t know if I’ll ever be close to that place.”

Grayson leaned closer, cupped the back of her neck, and gripped her thigh at the same time. “Whatever you choose, I’ll support you.”

“For right now, I choose to fix our current problems so we can live happily ever after.”

He chuckled. “Happily ever after, huh?”

“That’s what it feels like when I’m with you.”

He swallowed, emotion welling up, making it hard to form words. Finally, he leaned down and kissed her lips gently. “I want to be that. I want to be your happily ever after.”

“You already are.”

He closed his eyes slowly and then opened them again, deciding to take a risk. “I love you.”

Her face lit up. Totally worth it. “I love you too.”