When I'm With You (Little Hollow Series, #2)(65)

My heart beats in my chest. “What’s going on?” I ask, but they can’t hear my stringy voice so I stick my fingers in my mouth and whistle. That get’s their attention. “Someone want to fill me in?”

Sam smiles like she’s got the best secret in the world and wheels me out of the room to stand outside the one the cops were just guarding seconds ago.

She squeezes my shoulder, opens the door, and my head swims.





The quarter I’ve been twirling through my fingers for the past couple of hours drops to the floor. I want to run to her and I can tell she wants to do the same, but I’m handcuffed to this Goddamn chair.

“Sam?” she says, never taking her beautiful blue eyes off me. The pretty redhead kneels in front of her. “Get Daniels or Hernandez in here… now.”

The redhead walks out of the room and Keeley stays rigid in her wheelchair. She looks a little better than a few days ago, but there’s a haunted look in her eyes.

It seems like forever before the redhead walks back into the room with a cop trailing behind her and during that time, we don’t say anything, we just stare at each other. There’s so many things I want to say, should say, but it feels like someone is squeezing my voicebox.

Keeley points at me. “Take those cuffs off him.”

The cop eyes me. “You sure about that?”

She rolls her eyes and motions for him to go to me so he walks over. “Your story checks out, you’re one lucky son of a bitch.”

Lucky? I nearly died from him being trigger happy!

He uncuffs me and I rub my wrist again my sweatpant clad leg.

“I’ll be right outside.” He tries to say it menacingly but a look of my own has him backing out the room.

I watch the redhead put her hand on Keeley’s shoulder and whisper something in her ear before following him, closing the door behind her. My eyes focus back on hers and her hitch in breath makes it feel like all the air is sucked out of the room. I use my good arm to push me out of the chair I’m sat in and slowly walk toward her.

She narrows her eyes and I’m ready for the onslaught that is going to come out of her mouth, but instead her face screws up and tears spill out onto her hollow cheeks.

I speed up and drop down on my knees in front of her, cupping her face and resting my forehead against hers. “I thought I’d lost you, they wouldn’t tell me a fuckin’ thing.”

She sobs and I cut off the next one by pressing my mouth to her perfect lips in a gentle kiss. She pulls back and eyes the arm I have in a sling.

“They had me thinking you were dead, I was so confused. Hunter, you saved my life.” Her hands slide up my neck and fist my hair when she reaches the nape.

Fuck she’s beautiful! “No, you saved yourself. You’ve always been so fuckin’ strong, you never needed me.”

She looks deep into my eyes and snorts. “Are you freaking kidding me? I’ve always needed you.” Her voice cracks and I don’t miss the hidden meaning behind her words.

“I can’t make up for what I did to you. I just hope you can forgive me.”

Her hands drop from my neck onto her knee and she winces. “What happened to me, it puts things into perspective. What you did fucking destroyed me and I was lost for a while, but I wouldn’t change where I ended up for anything. I finally have people that care about me.”

I flinch. “I always cared about you.”

She gives me a watery smile. “You did.”

I stand and walk to the window to look out over the gray parking lot filled with cars. “I still do, I’ve never stopped.” I turn and look into her eyes. “You were mine from the get go, there’s never been anybody else, never will be.”

I shrug and she looks down at her hands, my heart sinks. “Have you found someone else?”

She ignores my question and continues staring at her hands like they’re the most fascinating things in the world.

“Keeley?”

A flash of pain crosses her face and she lifts her head and points to my hospital bed with a shaky arm. “Help me up? My ribs are hurting sitting like this.”

I look down at my arm in a sling, feeling emasculated. “Err, I’ll try. You sure you don’t wanna get someone else in here?”

She eyes me and shakes her head. “No.”

I shrug, ignoring my own pain and push her as close to the bed as possible, she grits her teeth and pushes herself out of the wheelchair with my help. I forgot how light she is and lift her onto the bed with no problems.

I pull back and get caught in the wires of her drips. “Shit.”

She laughs as I untangle myself and find myself smiling before it drops as the tension radiates off her. I don’t stop watching her, trying to read her, but she’s got a barrier up that she won’t drop.

I stand staring into her eyes, it’s like looking into the clearest water I’ve ever seen. They captivate me. What the fuck is wrong with me? I normally take what I want, but it’s never been like that with Keeley.

But why not? She’s here, right now.

She must notice my change in demeanor as her breath catches in her throat and I move to sit next to her on the bed, encasing her tiny hand in mine. “Is there someone back home?”

She tears her eyes away from mine but I tilt her chin toward me with my fingertips. “Don’t look away from me, I want you to look at me when you tell me there’s someone else.”