And I definitely didn’t imagine the fierce expression he shot me when he pulled back again. His hands moved to settle low on my back. “Are you fine to drive?”
I nodded.
One of those hands moved to squeeze my hip in a way I wasn’t even sure he knew he was doing it as his gaze roamed my face. “Buddy?”
“Hmm?”
“I want you to know… Amos is going to want to kill you.”
That was probably the only thing that could have made me laugh then, and I did. Then I told him the absolute truth. “That’s okay. I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
Chapter 22
Everything hurt.
Literally, every single part of my body ached in some way. From my poor toes that felt like they were bleeding, to my calves that were traumatized, to my exhausted thighs and butt cheeks. If I focused hard enough, my nipples probably hurt too. But it was my hands and forearms that suffered the most on the drive home.
Those one hundred and twenty minutes were spent with me clutching the steering wheel for dear life, holding my breath more often than not.
If I hadn’t just spent the last few hours terrified, my body might have been capable of summing up genuine fear at the rocks and ruts that I drove over. It was only because I was so focused on following Rhodes and not driving over anything sharp, that I didn’t lose my shit as we drove painstakingly slow. And if I hadn’t been so tired, I might have cheered when we finally made it to the highway.
It was then that I finally managed to exhale, deeply and completely, from the bottom, bottom of my gut.
I’d made it.
I really had made it.
It had to be the relief that kept me from shaking on the rest of the drive. But the moment after I turned off my car, that was when it hit me. It was a backhand to my face when I wasn’t expecting it.
I blew out a breath a split second before my entire body started shaking. In shock, in fear.
Leaning forward, I pressed my forehead against the steering wheel and shook hard from my neck down to my calves.
I was fine, and that was all that mattered.
I was fine.
The door to my left opened, and before I could turn my head to the side, a big hand landed on my back and Rhodes’s gruff voice spoke inside the car. “I’m here. I’ve got you. You’re going to be okay, angel.”
I nodded, my forehead still there even as another harsh shiver racked my body.
His hand stroked farther down my spine. “Come on. Let’s get inside. You need food, water, rest, and a shower.”
I nodded again, a knot forming in my throat.
Rhodes reached behind me, and a moment later my seat belt loosened. Rhodes guided me to sit back, letting the seat belt snap back into place. I glanced toward him right as he leaned forward, and before I knew what was happening, his arms slipped beneath me, under the backs of my knees, the other under my shoulder blades, and he hoisted me up. Against his chest I went, cradled.
And I said, “Oh” and “Rhodes, what are you doing?”
And he said, “Taking you upstairs.” He closed the door with his hip before beginning to move, carrying me like it was no big deal as we made our way to the garage apartment. The door was unlocked, so all it took was a quick flip of his wrist to open it before we were going up.
“If you help me, I can do the stairs myself,” I told him, taking in the silver-brown facial hair covering his jaw and chin.
His gray eyes flicked to me as he took one step after another up. “You can, and I would, but I can do it.” And like he was proving a point, he squeezed me tighter to him, closer to that broad chest that had been the biggest relief of my life when I’d spotted him coming out of his car.
He’d come for me. I pressed my lips together and glanced down at my hands, which I was holding against my chest, and felt more tears spring up in my eyes. That same familiar fear that I’d suppressed the entire drive home flared up inside of me again.
Another shiver raced through me, strong and potent, coaxing a few more tears into my eyes.
I could feel Rhodes’s gaze on my face as he kept on climbing the stairs, but he didn’t say a word. His arms held me even closer somehow, his mouth dipping closer too, and if I hadn’t closed my eyes, I was pretty sure I would have seen him brush his mouth against my temple. Instead, all I did was feel it, light and more than likely an accident.
I sucked in my breath and held back a choke as he lowered me to the bed and said, quietly, “Take a shower.”
Opening my eyes, I found him standing almost directly in front of me. A frown took over his mouth as I nodded.