Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sami

Gabe dropped us off in front of Eric’s cabin.

The biting scent of smoke still hung in the air.

And like that, I saw the computer exploding in Will’s hands and shivered in the predawn cold. Eric put an arm around me, tucking me into his side as he guided me up to the front door. I welcomed the human contact, snuggled into his heat, but his Captain America T-shirt and bomber jacket both still smelled like smoke. There was no escaping the horrors of the night, even while safe in his arms.

He opened the door and held it for me to go first. I walked inside, more than a little lost. We were just here this afternoon, flirting and teasing, but it seemed like ages ago.

He stripped off his jacket and hung it on the coatrack beside the door. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

I shook my head and chafed my arms with my hands. Now that he was no longer beside me, lending me his body heat, the cold had returned. “I want a shower.”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” He pointed down the hallway. “The bathroom is through the door right at the end of the hall.”

I looked toward the door but didn’t move. “Do you have anything I can wear to bed?”

“Uh, yeah. Maybe. I’ll find you something.”

I hesitated a moment longer. I didn’t really want a shower. I wanted him to wrap me up in his arms again and tell me everything was going to be okay. I just didn’t know how to ask him, and he seemed as uncertain as I was about this whole situation.

I walked away and shut the bathroom door behind me. Leaned against it. I wasn’t a coward. I’d proven over and over again I wasn’t. Except…when it came to him, I so totally was.

I should have told him everything, but the near-crash had left me shaken, not just because of how close we’d been to dying, but because it was a warning. One I got loud and clear. Tell him about me, and I’ll hurt him next. What if he was killed?

I didn’t think I could cope with that. I was falling in love with him, too. Or, actually, I’d already done the falling part and had been firmly in love for a while.

But, no, I don’t think what I felt before had been love. It was a crush. It was sweet and soft and a little goofy. Not the same as the big, scary feelings inside me now. They had edges that could cut deeply if this thing between us fell apart. They were new and strange. I didn’t know how to quantify them, much less explain them.

All I knew is that when I thought we were both going to die in a fiery explosion at that gas station, my biggest regret was that I had balked at his confession of love.

Maybe it was a good thing I couldn’t find my voice now. The night had rubbed me raw. I was exhausted and angry, betrayed and punch-drunk. I had become the literal embodiment of my hacker name.

Fragmented.

So I’d shower away the cold and smoke, get some sleep, and approach all of this in the morning with a clear head.

Except when I stepped under the water, something broke inside me. My last fragile strand of control. The floodgates opened, and I was helpless to stop the sobs.

I heard the bathroom door open and the shower curtain scrape back, and still I couldn’t stop. Eric climbed in behind me and, without a word, pulled me into his arms.

He held me while I cried under the steaming spray.

He still wore his clothes, and they were getting soaked, ashy gray water sluicing off him to circle the drain at our feet. For some reason, that made the sobs come harder until I was hiccupping. He reached around me and shut off the water, then bundled me into a towel so warm he must have just pulled it from the dryer. He scooped me up and took me into his bedroom. By the time he set me on his bed, I’d cried myself out.

“I’m sorry.” I sniffled. My face felt puffy, my eyes gritty. I’m sure I looked like a hot mess, but if Eric noticed, he didn’t say anything. He crouched in front of me, still in his wet clothes. All I saw was warmth and love in his eyes. I couldn’t remember a time anyone had looked at me like that, and more tears blurred my vision. Dammit.

“Don’t be sorry.” He swept my hair back from my forehead and placed a kiss there. “You’re allowed to cry, Sami.”

I sniffled in a very unladylike way. “You’re not crying.”

“No,” he said after a beat and straightened. His fingers played through the wet strands of my hair. “I’m too pissed off. Nomad has tried to hurt you three times now, and I couldn’t stop him. I’m gonna find him.”

No. He had it wrong. Someone was trying to hurt him, and the rest of us were just collateral damage. I don’t know why I didn’t put the pieces together sooner. His bank accounts had been drained. His drones and car hacked.

But why did Nomad want to hurt him?

I should tell him. He should know.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

Tell him about me, and I’ll hurt him next.

There had to be a way to stop the hacks without ever letting him know I’d been involved.

There had to.

But I couldn’t think now. I needed sleep. I needed a clear head.

I caught Eric’s hand as he turned away. “No work tonight.” I hated the pleading note in my voice, but I didn’t want him to leave. “Can you just stay with me?”