by Kate Dunbar
He rubs a hand down his face. “I knew something was wrong immediately. I mean, there was no way my girl was leaving one of her shoes behind.” He laughs sadly and looks at me.
I don’t move.
“Anyway, I took off running to my car and came to your apartment to see if you were there. I knew you weren’t. Deep in my gut, I knew something was wrong. But it was the only thing I could think to do.” He drops his head and stares at the floor. “I was terrified I’d lost you. I pounded on your door for five minutes yelling your name, and I knew—”
“I heard you,” I mutter.
“What?” His mouth drops open, and his eyes go wide. “You heard me?”
Nodding, I look at the window and then back to the ceiling. There’s no mirror here.
“Yes, I heard you from where he had me chai … from where he had me. I tried to yell or be loud enough to get your attention, but he stopped me.”
“Damn,” Trevor murmurs. “You heard me.”
“It was the best sound. In a moment of feeling alone and desperate, your voice cut through it all, and there was at least one moment of hope.” I hiccup through a dry sob and rub the palms of my hands into my eye sockets. Watch the stars bloom behind my eyelids.
“Sabra, we can talk about this later.”
“No, I want to know.” I grab his hand again and tentatively smile at him. “I’m okay.”
“You’re better than okay. You’re here, but—”
“Trevor,” I bark at him. “I need to know.”
He raises his hands in the air with our hands still beautifully entwined. “Okay … so while I was at your apartment, Micah called your parents without me knowing. Something she said must have triggered your dad. Personally, I think it was the shoe.” He smiles and nudges me, trying to make light of the dreadful situation. “He called the police.”
“When I realized I wasn’t getting anywhere at your apartment, I remembered Officer Toliver. I had his card in my wallet, so I pulled it out, called him, and told him what was happening.” Trevor pauses and shakes his head at me. “The man jumped into action. He’s partly how we figured out where you were. He asked me to come to the station, so I went and met with him. I had—” Sadness crosses his face. “I had to tell him everything I knew, Sabra. I’m sorry. But I had to find you.”
My mouth falls open. “But my parents.”
“They don’t know it all. I made sure of it.” He leans in closer to me. “It’s your story to tell them, no one else’s. But you were missing, Sabra. I had to do anything I could to bring you back to me.” His fingers tighten around mine with a squeeze. He waits for me to respond with a look of desperation on his face. “Please try to understand.”
I close my eyes and nod. Count to ten. “Go on,” I urge him with my eyes still closed and imagine Trevor sharing my secrets with the stoic Officer Toliver.
“As I was leaving the police station, your parents walked through the door. I remember they were holding hands.”
I open my eyes and look at him with curiosity.
“It’s funny the things you notice in time of crisis, I guess. Anyway, they stopped Officer Toliver and said they had information to give regarding a missing woman by the name of Sabra Valentine.” He grunts. “It took everything in me to stand still and introduce myself to your dad instead of shake him and throw a punch into the wall.” He looks at me sheepishly and ducks his head. “I was scared out of my mind, and I knew right then your brother was involved.”
“It seems your mom had been trying to call you both for the better part of two hours with no response. As soon as Officer Toliver heard that information, he found out where Lucas lived so he could send a unit to go check it out. But when your mom said he’d moved into your apartment complex a couple of months ago, everything clicked into place and the precinct flew into action.”
“She said she had been trying to tell you, but you would never call her back, and she wanted to tell you over the phone. To talk to you instead of tell you over email.” He shrugs and gives me an apologetic look. “I don’t know what to say.”
“What else is there to say? Nothing can change it.” I twirl a piece of my hair. “What happened next?”
Trevor stands and sits back on the edge of the bed. “They took your parents into a room to try to call Lucas again while Officer Toliver left with a couple of other police cars to head to your apartments. I stood there not knowing which way to go for a minute or two. I didn’t want to get in the way.” He reaches over and brushes his fingers down my cheek. “And then I thought ‘Fuck it’ and jumped in my truck to follow.”
“She talked to him.” My eyes find his and hold. “He was talking to her on the phone when I decided to fight.”
“I’m so sorry, Sabra. I’m sorry you had to go through any of this. But I’m glad you made the choice to fight.” He leans down and brushes a kiss to my forehead.
“I had something worth fighting for. A lot of things.”
His eyes soften.
“The fight was for more than me.”
He looks at the door and back at me again. “I should let you get some rest.” He cups my face in his hand and rubs his thumb along my cheekbone before standing. “I’ll be in the waiting room if you need anything. Try to get some sleep.”
“No.” I grab his hand. The shaking starts back up. “Don’t go. Please,” I beg and tug his hand to my chest. “I don’t want you to leave me.”
“Oh, Sabra.” He sighs and pulls himself back onto the bed, lying beside me. “Babe, haven’t you figured it out yet?” His hand tangles in my hair, and he places a small kiss against my mouth. His breath lingers there warming my skin. “I’m never leaving you again. You’re stuck with me.”
A small smile quirks my lips on one side. I snuggle into his chest, and his arms tighten around me once more. My hands grip his shirt between us.
“Promises, promises,” I whisper into the hollow of his throat before I plant a kiss there and drift off to sleep listening to his heartbeat.
SEVENTEEN and TWENTY
I stare straight ahead at the back of my brother’s head. My mom sits next to me with tears running down her face, her shoulders shaking, while my dad sits on the other side of her, his jaw tight and expression hard. The wooden benches in the courtroom are uncomfortable. It takes everything in me not to squirm or reach up and twirl my hair while we wait.
The judge walks back into the room and all eyes go to him. Lucas and his attorney stand in front of us. The room goes deathly silent. My hands shake in my lap. I see the judge’s lips moving but can’t compute what he’s saying over the ringing in my ears.
Lucas’s head drops as I hear my mother gasp. “Ten years?” She turns to my father and throws her hands up. “Ten years!”
“Becca.” He stands to talk to the lawyer before a police officer walks over and places handcuffs around Lucas’s wrists. It’s the second time I’ve watched this happen now.
Six months ago, on a dark, cloudless night, I put this plan into motion. He had too much cocaine in his possession that night between what they found in his pockets and what was in the trunk of the car. Add to that an assault on a police officer, and he’s going away for a long time.
A peace washes over me. I feel like I’m watching everything happening from above. My hands still in my lap, and I breathe deeply.
Lucas turns around and stares at me as the officer leads him away. His eyes never leave my face while he’s walking across the front of the room to a side door. He turns his head to look over his shoulder, and I stare back at him.
There are no tears in my eyes as he walks through the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“That’s the last of the boxes.” Trevor’s voice booms through the door, and I look over my shoulder. He walks into my apartment with his shirt off. Rivulets of sweat drip down his chest.
It’s been a long three months living with my parents while I recuperated and healed, and I’m ready to move on with my life.
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br /> “How are you feeling?” He walks over to me and takes my hand in his.
I turn to look at him with a broad smile splitting my cheeks. “Free. Happy. Right.” I shrug. “All those things.”
He smiles back at me and pulls me to his chest. “I’m proud of you, babe. And I’m seriously ready to get out of here and have you where you belong.”
“Oh, yeah? And where would that be?” I wrap my arms around him, palming his ass cheeks.
“Home with me.” He picks me up and swings me around in a circle. My squeal rings through the empty living room. “But I’d also settle for in the shower, on the couch, and in my bed.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me and gently settles me on my feet, making sure I have my balance. “I don’t care as long as it’s with me.”
“We should get going. It sounds like you have big plans for us tonight.” I turn to walk through the door and head to our overstuffed cars, but he grabs my hand and tugs me back to him.
“Sabra,” he says softly. “In all seriousness, are you doing okay? You’re good?”
“I’m good,” I assure him and drop a kiss on his cheek. “It’s been hard. Between physical therapy, having to really talk to my parents, and trying to pick up the pieces of my career because I missed out on the movie deal. It’s been a lot, of course. And I know there’s some ways to go with my parents, especially my mom, but I’m still good.” I reach up to cup his face and scrub my palm against his scruff. “There are still amazing things on the horizon.” I sweep my arms out, indicating the empty apartment in front of us. “And this is the beginning of all that.”
Trevor moves back into my space and runs his fingers through my hair. “And you’re sure you want to move in with me? You can handle this?” One of his hands leaves my locks and points at his body.
“Trev, I can handle anything you want to give me. I don’t know why I always have to tell you that.” The smile that splits his lips and the wicked gleam in his eye are all the answer I get before he picks me up and spins me around, pushing my back against the wall.
“We’ll see about that, babe,” he breathes against my lips before his own come crashing down on mine.
I wrap my legs around his waist and hold on tight. Open my mouth as an invitation for him to take the kiss deeper. Tongues tangle. Hands roam. I lose myself in him. Every taste of him is never enough.
Trevor’s hands slide under my t-shirt when a voice breaks through our moment.
“Oh my lord, get a room.” Micah’s cackle reverberates through the empty room. She walks down the hall to check my bedroom one last time.
Trevor quirks an eyebrow in my direction and helps me down. My body slides against his since he doesn’t back up to give me room. He’s such a pain in my ass sometimes.
“Are you sure you want to keep her as your best friend?” he mutters into my ear.
“I heard that,” Micah yells, walking back into the room. “Just remember, bonehead, she was mine first.” She pauses and puts her hands on her hips. “No kidding, I will hurt you if you hurt her.” She glares at Trevor and points her finger at him. “And I’ll enjoy it.” She flounces out of the apartment and trips on the doorjamb.
“Stop laughing,” she hollers from outside before we hear her clamoring down the stairwell.
“Come on, babe.” Trevor grips my hand in his, pulling me to the door. “Let’s get you out of here.”
I take one last glance around and let him lead me to the door to close a chapter of my life for good.
Trevor’s hands snake up my front as I’m locking the door and brush against me.
“Are you going to be this handsy all the time now?”
“Maybe.” He turns me around. “I can’t help it if I like you. And you wore these little black tight thingies with this t-shirt.” He leans down and kisses me again. “You started it.”
“First,” I say, pushing on his chest. “These are leggings, not tight thingies. And second, I’m disgusting right now, so this is all on you. You’re obviously a pig.”
He laughs and drops kisses along my jaw. “Yes, I am. And it’s a good thing you like me dirty.”
“Ohmigosh.” I swat his arm and pull away from him. “Let’s go, caveman.”
“Yes!” He pumps his fist in the air and follows me. “It’s about time I have you around all the time to cook and clean for me.” He swats my ass after stepping off the last stair and takes off running to his truck. “Last one home has to clean the bathroom,” he hollers before leaping in the driver side and starting the engine.
I get into my red Mustang and can’t keep the giggles and joy from bubbling and overflowing into the quiet of my car.
Everything’s going to be okay.
I’m going home.
“That was delicious.” I moan and fall back on the blanket we’ve placed on the floor in the middle of Trevor’s—our—living room. A half-eaten pizza sits in the box on the corner of the blanket, and Trevor lies next to me, rubbing his belly. “I was starving.”
We’re surrounded by boxes on every side of us. It reminds me of when I was little and would use boxes, furniture, and blankets to create a fort in my room. The coziness of it all and Trevor by my side makes me feel safe and warm.
Trevor leans on his elbow and looks at me. “I’m still hungry.”
“What?” I laugh at him incredulously. “You ate five pieces of pizza.”
“I’m not talking about that kind of hungry.” He reaches over, grabs my waist, and slides me closer to him. The blanket under us drags with me on my side.
“I thought you were exhausted?”
He answers me by rolling over and taking me with him so that I’m lying on top of him. His hands grip my thighs and spread them until I’m straddling him. I push on his chest with my hands and look at him.
This man is everything I have ever wanted. Patient. Caring. Irreverent and funny as hell. Driven. Unrelenting and insatiable. Gentle. Kind. Loving. All of it makes up the man perfect for me.
I rub my body against his and drop a slow, hot kiss below his left ear.
“It seems I’m not as tired as I thought I was,” he murmurs before sliding his hands over my sides and into my hair. His lips capture mine and begin a slow exploration. Tongues tangle together before he rolls us back over again.
Trevor takes his time dragging his lips down my neck and across my collarbone. Sucking and nibbling. Every once in a while, he glances up to find me watching him go on his journey across my body. He scoots down and raises my t-shirt to sprinkle wet kisses across my stomach before sliding back up again, and I prop myself on my elbows to get a better view. There is nothing better than seeing this man feast and get his fill.
He looks at me with tender eyes and brings his lips back to mine. “I’m so glad you’re mine, Sabra, but I want you to know something.” He pauses and presses his hand to my face. “You’re yours, too, Say.”
I still underneath his touch and wait.
“I love you.” His fingers touch my opening mouth. “No, I’m not finished.” He smiles and replaces his fingers with his mouth.
After a sweet kiss, he pulls back and takes a deep breath. Trevor sits and pulls me into his lap with my legs on the outside of his. Chest to chest. Face to face.
“When you were missing, I felt it in here.” He taps his chest over his heart and leans down to kiss me over my own. “You complete me, Sabra. And I want to walk through this life with you.”
“I want that, too, Trevor. With everything in me.” My eyes roam over his face.
“I know.” He smiles. “I know you love me by the way you look at me. I can feel it in your touch and hear it in your voice. The fact that you feel for me even a fraction of what I feel for you sends me soaring and makes me feel like I can conquer the world.” He rubs his hands back and forth over my arms.
“But I also want you to know the love I feel for you is deep enough and strong enough for me to respect you. To let you make the right decisions for you. You’re mine, but you’re yours
.” He gazes into my eyes. “It’s important to me that you get that. I’ll never control you or ask you to do something you don’t want to do because I love you.”
He leans back on his hands and waits while I ponder everything he’s said to me, biting my lip.
“Babe,” he groans after a couple of minutes go by. I feel him getting harder beneath me. “You can’t sit on me, biting your lip all sexy like that, and not say anything.”
“I’m sorry.” I laugh. “I was trying to find the words that would express everything running through me right now. The joy I feel. The desire and love.” I lie on his chest and squeeze his sides before sitting back up on him. “I’m afraid if I move too quickly, a seam might burst, and it will all float away into the stars above. Out of my reach.”
“I’ll always be right here, Sabra. You only need to take hold when you want me.” He grasps my hand in his and places it over his heart. “This is yours. All of me is yours.”
“I know. I’m home when I’m with you.”
He wraps his arms around me and leans back, taking me with him. His kiss starts slow and gentle before quickly moving to hot and needy.
We lose ourselves as clothes fall away and lips whisper sweet nothings. Moans fill the room. Our bodies cling to each other through shaking hands and quaking muscles. The fire burns between us, but this time it’s different. Molten lava slowly glides through my veins.
This is what love that can’t be quenched feels like. The desire to meet another’s needs before yours. Their own desire to do the same. The act of choosing them in every situation and placing them above you without demanding to be served. This is true love.
“Trevor.” Fire rips through me and stars burst behind my eyes.
He smiles and watches me break apart.
Walls fall around me. Love lights up the room.