Among the Echoes(67)

"Jesus." I sigh, and this time, I’m the one pulling him closer.

"Seven months later, I was born. She did the best she could. My mother never actually wanted to be a mom, but she loved me all the same. Because she never got any kind of help dealing with what happened to her, she lived a life of fear and solitude. Growing up, I didn’t know any difference. It wasn’t until I started school and I saw how vibrant the teachers were that I started to realize that something was wrong with her.

"When I was nine, her husband came back briefly. He wasn’t abusive, but he was still an *. He got drunk one night and decided to tell me the whole story about my mom, but as you can guess, it was his side of the story. The fictional one where she was cheating on him and my ‘father’ justly raped and beat her."

"What the f*ck!" I suddenly sit up.

"Shhh." He drags me back down and into his side. "Unfortunately, my grandmother was forced to fill me in on the real story at only nine years old after I started asking questions. Not long after that, he was gone again, but the damage had been done. As you can imagine, I had a lot of issues dealing with my newfound knowledge of how I had come to exist. I started acting out and getting into trouble. Then, one day, after getting into a fight at school, my mom sat me down and told me that I wasn’t an accident, but that I was a gift sent to protect her." His voice catches and he clears his throat to cover the emotion. "Yeah. So anyway, you know the rest. I took the role of her protector very seriously for the rest of her life. When I got a little money, I spent it sending her to therapy and finally getting her the help she needed, even if it was twenty years too late. She never remarried or had more kids, but I think she was happy. She died two years ago after suffering a stroke in her sleep."

I don’t say anything for a few minutes as I try to absorb everything he just said. Sure, it’s a sad and tragic story, but it’s also filled with love and triumph. And it forces me to ask him the real question.

"Do you think you’re in love with me because of some ingrained need to protect women?" I ask quietly, unsure of whether I even want to know the answer.

He lets out a loud laugh. "Oh, Lord. Is that what you have playing in your head right now?"

"It’s a valid question, Slate."

"Validity doesn’t make it any less absurd." He laughs again but rolls me over so he is pinning me completely to the bed with his huge body. "I will admit that, when I first met you, I wanted to help you. That woman who ran into my apartment all those months ago was terrified, and I won’t lie. It immediately sparked some deep need to protect you. But that is absolutely not why I fell in love with you. I fell in love with you because you were smart and funny. You never once treated me like a commodity, even after you found out that I had money. But more than all of that, I fell in love with you because behind the fear was a strong, beautiful fighter too. Erica, I love you for your smart mouth, beautiful brain, and most importantly, because I’ve always wanted to role-play doctor/patient in bed."

I slap his back as he continues to laugh. "That was a good answer."

"It was, wasn’t it?" He suddenly becomes serious again. "Are you worried that you only love me because I make you feel safe?"

"No, I know exactly why I love you." I lift my arms and wave them around the room. "Clearly, it’s because you’re loaded."

"Clearly." He begins tickling me only to silence my laughter with his mouth.





Four weeks later…





"I’m going to the store. Do you need anything?"

"Erica, you don’t have to go to the store. I’d feel better if you just let me call for grocery delivery."

"No freaking way. I need to get out of here. I’m wearing my dog collar and everything," she smarts off, lifting her wrist to show the bracelet Leo gave her the day after we got here. It has a built in tracking device and emergency alert button that calls the police and notifies all ten of Leo’s men.

"It’s not a dog collar. It’s an emergency bracelet," Leo corrects from the kitchen while making a sandwich.

"Right. Yes, of course. How silly of me." She rolls her eyes but smiles up at me. "I’ll take Johnson with me just in case."

"Damn it. I hate not being able to go with you." I pull her against my chest. "Almost as much as I hate those f*cking brown contacts."