Page 133 of Insidious Heart
“Moreland,” Stevie blurts. “My name is Stevie Moreland,notWilliams. And Tor is my boyfriend.”
My fucking heart does a happy dance in my chest and I hug her a little tighter.
Look at us being all official and public, and using our legal names.
Well, illegal in my case, but the government hasn’t busted Spider yet so it’s legit in my eyes.
“We’ll need to speak with you next, Mr. Andrews, but I’d like to finish up with Ms.Morelandfirst so she can get out of here as quickly as possible.” Withers looks up at Stevie and smiles a little. “What happened after Mrs. Moreland was shot?”
My little dove wraps my jacket tighter around her and sighs. “I ran toward the living room in time to see Rochelle dive toward Prince—he was running toward the kitchen—but Beau shot her again and she… she stopped moving right before Cal threw open the front door.”
Stevie continues to give her account of events like a champ, her chin held high, her gaze never wavering. The only time she broke was when she described what happened to Cal, and how he was her father who sacrificed everything for her and her brothers.
“You want to get out of here, baby dove?” Stevie turns in my arms as Doc and Withers finish with her. “Ready to get gone?”
She nods, burying her face in my chest while taking a deep breath. “You have to give Withers your statement.”
“I will.” Stevie tilts her head back, resting her chin over my heart as she gives me a slightly surprised look through red-rimmed eyes. And it makes me chuckle. “I will. Scout’s honor.”
“You were never a scout.” Her brow lifts. “And I thought you liked to avoid situations like this.”
“True…” I shrug one shoulder. “But this is a different kind of situation. It’s on the up and up. By all accounts I’m Victor Andrews, a Wulven King. I was coming by to see my girl, and I walked in at the nick of time. Nothing to worry about here.”
“About that…”
I shake my head. “We don’t have to—”
“I love you, Victor. I think I have from the beginning and whether I can pinpoint the moment it happened or not, it’s true. I want to be your girl, want you to be my guy—my ghost—my everything, and I need you to know that what I said across the street, I didn’t mean it.”
What did she just say?
With a bewildered expression I can feel, my arms go slack as I stare down into those aquamarine eyes, but when I open my mouth, not one damn thing comes out.
Stevie straightens up and looks over my shoulder briefly before she continues wreaking havoc on my heart, bringing it back to life with every word she speaks. “I was upset. I was scared and surprised. I kept doubting you even though my gut was telling me otherwise, and when you said you were hired to kill Beau it just—I couldn’t process it.”
I nod slowly, not really understanding what the fuck is happening but trying nonetheless. “And now that you know he wasn’t your real dad—”
“No!” She blurts. “No, Victor, that’s not what this is. As soon as I left I wanted to turn around and tell you it didn’t matter. You were right about everything, about how he was and the fact that I never loved him. I wanted to tell you that, and that I didn’t care if you killed him because I knew if you didn’t, he’d eventually killme.Before I found out about… before Cal.” Stevie’s eyes well with tears but she doesn’t break contact. “I wanted to tell you to kill Beau, tofree me, and to do it because I wanted us to be together. Because I love you and that’s the only way we could make that happen.”
Like the emotionally stunted moron I am, I blink down at her, my mouth hanging open and tongue flapping in the wind.
Why can’t I fucking say it back?
Why can’t I say anything at all?
“You don’t…” Stevie starts chewing the inside of her cheek again as her eyes bounce around anywhere but my face. “You don’t have to say it back or whatever. I just… I wanted you to know how I feel, and if you’ll still have me, I really want to be your girl.”
“If I’ll still have you?” I blurt, my brain finally kicking into gear as she nods. “Baby dove, you have been mine since I scared the shit out of you in the parking lot of the nursing home.” Stevie snorts a little as I reach out and cup her cheeks. “The only way I won’t have you is if you decide you don’t want me to, and even then I’d be stalking you until you change your mind.”
“Yeah?”
“Goonies never say die, baby.” I lean down and rest my forehead against hers as Stevie’s nose scrunches in confusion. “They never give up. We’ll watch that with the boys sometime soon, but my point is, I’m not a quitter. Your rejection would have rocked me but it wouldn’t have been the end of us.”
Stevie smiles as I press a gentle kiss to her lips. “I guess I forgot who I was talking to. That OCD comes in pretty handy at times.”
“Don’t forget about the hyperfixation.”
“That too.”
