He immediately lifts me into his arms, my legs circling his waist before he collapses to his knees, holding me so tightly that I can hardly draw in a breath.
Total disbelief has me in a chokehold and I’m heaving around the sobs pouring from my throat. They rack my body so profoundly that my bones rattle from the force.
“I’m here, little mouse, I’m here,” he chants. “Fuck, you’re so cold.” His voice breaks, and he rocks us both, vibrations rolling through him as he fights to keep it together.
Piece by piece, we both crumble, the chips falling around us in a waterfall of anguish. And I just know that when Zade picks up our scattered pieces and stitches us back together, we’ll be forever entwined.
He places soft but urgent kisses on any surface of my body within range. My head, cheeks, neck, and across my shoulders, while his hands roam mindlessly, heating my chilled skin, though it feels more like he’s worshiping.
I don’t know how long we stay there, but eventually, my weeping dies down, yet Zade never stops holding me.
“Addie?” a voice calls softly. My eyes widen, and my head snaps up, seeing Daya’s face peering down in the hatch. Her smooth dark brown skin is wet with tears, and her sage green eyes are flooded.
“Oh my God, Daya,” I croak, once more overcome with disbelief.
“Let’s get you up, baby,” Zade urges. “It’s cold, and the place is still swarming with people looking for you.”
I sniff, wipe my nose, and nod. He boosts me up, and Daya grabs onto my hands, helping me out of the trailer. When I climb out, she immediately embraces me in a hug; her hold is nearly as tight as Zade’s.
“Don’t you ever leave me again,” she cries, voice shaky and tight. I nod, on the verge of breaking down all over again.
But then a woman screeches from behind us, erupting in jumbled words that sound a lot like oh my God, you found her, she must be freezing. Or something like that.
Daya and I pull apart to watch a red-headed woman and another man I don’t recognize rush toward us. A moment later, Zade jumps up, dangling onto the hatch and lifting himself up with ease.
“You found her!” the woman shouts again.
“Jesus, Ruby, don’t announce it to the world. There are still people around searching for her,” Zade snaps.
She waves a hand, unconcerned. “You’ll get ‘em.”
And he will. On the ground are two dead bodies, bleeding from what looks like their chests.
“How did you…？”
“Literally took two steps to the side and shot them both through the chest with one damn bullet,” Daya answers for him, glancing at me with a look that says, he’s fucking crazy but also kind of cool.
Approaching the trailer, Ruby pinches her hands, indicating for me to climb down to her. “Come on, honey. I’ll get you warmed up.”
I just stare at her, my brain submerged in a pool of gelatin, slow to process what’s happening. After Daya softly nudges me, I shakily descend the ladder, my feet nearly slipping on the rungs. The woman, who must be Ruby, wraps an arm around me the moment my feet hit the dirt.
“You’re safe now, honey,” she croons, rubbing my bicep to warm me up as she walks me along the abandoned train.
I glance over my shoulder and spot Zade a few feet behind; his eyes laser-focused on me as if he’s convinced I’ll disappear if he looks away for even a second.
I’m safe now. Yet it still feels like I’m in Hell.
PART II
Chapter 23
The Hunter
“No good news?” I ask, crossing my arms across my chest.
Jay’s lips tighten, and he shakes his head. Francesca and Rocco Bellucci were nowhere to be found when my men arrived at their house. In fact, the entire house was vacant, except for a dead man in the living room with his throat slit open, and a couple men piled outside of the porch steps. Which means Rio and Rick fled, too. I suspect they all left the moment they found Addie missing, high-tailing it out of there before I could get to them.
The worms are slippery, but they won’t be able to hide from me for long.
“How is Addie doing?” Jay asks, concern etched into the lines of his face. He glances over my shoulder as if he can see her from the front door.
It’s the first time he’s been in Parsons Manor, and his body language suggests he’s ready to get the fuck out. He took one step in, and the front door shut on its own behind him. Since Addie’s been home, the activity has increased. Her energy has been dark, and the manor never had any warmth to begin with.