Beautiful Broken Promises(34)

“This place looks like it’s just a bunch of sand and dirt. No houses, or at least none that I can find pictures of.”

I stood from my chair and walked toward the window. “That picture has to be old. There’s a house there now. A very big one. The walls are the color of sand so maybe it blends in well. I don’t know...” My voice had begun to take on a panicked tone, and I could feel my chest closing in on my lungs. Seeing that damn lighthouse made me feel as if I were stuck in that room again. “I just...” Deep breath in. “Don’t see the need to look at those pictures.” Deep breath out.

Where had all the air in the room gone? Was I the only one that couldn’t seem to find the oxygen? In. Out. In. Out. I glanced back at Lane, who appeared to be breathing just fine. My lungs began to squeeze with an excruciating tightness, and all I could see was that damn lighthouse.

I sprang for the sliding glass door and threw it open. The balcony was small, but it had plenty of fresh air to spare. And no lighthouses in sight. Hopefully, it wasn’t lighthouses in general that brought this out in me—just that one. My hands gripped the railing until my knuckles turned a sickly pale color.

Deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

Two hands extended out on either side of me and grabbed the railing inches away from my own hands. I felt his heat behind me, but we didn’t touch.

“Hey, breathe. You’re okay. I’m sorry,” he whispered in my ear soothingly, as if I were about to jump over the side. “I’m sorry. That was too early for you. I just got a little eager.”

“It’s not your fault. I just don’t want to ever see that again.”

“You won’t. I promise.”

I wondered at his words. What did he mean? Promise was a powerful word. Was he promising to always keep me safe from those people? Surely not. Or was it an empty promise, meaning that I was here now and they wouldn’t get me again? God forbid. I wouldn’t survive it again.

“Why do you care where we were? We’re here now.”

“Because I intend for them all to pay,” he practically growled.

I nodded my head in silence, because what else was there to say? He was mad that they had taken his daughter from him. I didn’t think there was any way in talking him out of his need for justice. In a way, I thought we deserved it.

“We should get ready to go to the station. I want to get this over with,” I told him, still speaking out to the street and feeling his heat radiate into the skin of my back.

“I’d rather make sure you’re okay right now. The station can wait, for all I care. Besides, they’re sleeping so peacefully in there.” His voice was gentle and his calm demeanor was coming back. I just wanted to melt against him and soak in his tranquility. He didn’t seem like the type to ever raise his voice unless someone were to really get him heated up. I liked that.

“I’m okay,” I responded with what I hoped had been a convincing voice. I pushed off of the railing and a solid stomach met my back. The height difference between us meant my ass had hit his thighs and all of the areas in between were melded against me.

I wanted to rejoice in the contact. Real, honest-to-goodness male contact. I craved it. But it wasn’t real, was it? This was just an odd situation the both of us had been thrown into, and we were only here because of the kids. I obviously felt the need to overthink every aspect of my life lately.

He finally let his hands fall away from either side of me and I suddenly realized that his sling was off again. I turned to face him with a reprimand on my lips.

“Why is your sling off? Are you trying to pull all of your stitches out?” I walked past him back into the room. My hands scooped up the discarded sling off his chair and pushed it toward him. “Leave it on.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled. My eyes couldn’t look away as he gently placed his arm back into the canvas fabric of the sling. His body stretched as he pulled the strap up and around his neck. His chest was so wide I could tell the strap was on its last bit of Velcro. When his arm was fully immobilized once again, he looked down at me with a smirk. “Better?”

Maybe when I knew he hadn’t damaged himself any further. “Let me check it.” I walked forward and reached up to pull his shirt aside, but there was no way with my height that I would be able to see over his shoulder.

I used his good arm to hoist myself up onto the chair next to us and smiled when I got a clear view. I stretched the neck of his navy cotton t-shirt over and very carefully peeled one edge of his bandage aside. Everything looked as if it were still where it should be. I gently pushed the gauze back in place and reminded myself that we both needed to change out our dressings soon.