Smoothing a lock of hair behind her ear, he palmed her cheek, his fingers tracing along soft skin he thought he’d never get to touch again. “You held it together under the most horrific of circumstances, how can you think you were weak? How many other people do you think almost bit off the finger of one of the doctors?”
“Umm … probably none?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?”
“Telling you.”
“Then say it like you believe it. Tell me that no one else dared to do what you did.”
“No one else did what I did. No one else almost bit off that monster’s finger.” Her voice was stronger that time, and there was a flicker of determination in her eyes.
“I told you in the hospital not to shut yourself off from the people who love you. That’s what you’ve been doing and you're letting all those bad feelings fester. You went through something horrific, but nobody thinks you’re weak. Least of all me. Knowing what you’ve survived in life, I'm in awe of you.”
Their gazes met and he knew in that moment that if he never gained Teresa’s forgiveness, never got her back, there would never be another woman for him.
This woman owned his heart.
Always had. Always would.
“Please don’t shut us out,” he whispered. Teresa had already survived so much, he knew she could find a way through this, too. But it didn't matter what he knew, she had to know it, too.
When she gave a shaky nod, he knew she’d pulled herself back from the brink. It was far too easy to fall over that ledge and far too hard to climb back up.
CHAPTER 13
May5th
11:48 A.M.
“It’s getting the mail,”Teresa reminded Micah with an eyeroll.
Not that she really minded him being so overbearingly protective.
Just because she wouldn't admit it out loud didn't mean that she wasn't secretly pleased that he was looking out for her like he used to. Those were the good old days, the days when she had more responsibility than ever as Simon started acting out, but there was someone looking out for her, too. It had made all the difference in the world, and she’d missed that the most after her assault and Micah’s departure from her life.
Of course, she’d had her mom. Her mom hadalwaysbeen a good mom, and none of them could help the fact that their husband and father had tragically passed away, leaving them struggling. They’d all done the best they could with what they had to work with, and Teresa knew her mom carried a lot of guilt about piling so many things on her daughter’s shoulders.
Once upon a time, Micah had made all that pressure so much easier to manage, and it was so tempting to give in and let him take that role again.
Especially after how great he’d been these last few days. Yesterday, after he’d found her dizzy and almost passing out in her bedroom when she got up to go to the bathroom, he’d cleaned her wounds, arranged for a nurse to make a home visit, organized a prescription of antibiotics, and insisted she hang with him in the living room so he could keep an eye on her.
Which turned out to be exactly what she needed.
Admitting it kind of sucked because she didn't want to add more points in Micah’s favor, but he was right, cutting herself off from everyone wasn't helping her. So after he settled her on the couch, tucked under a blanket, with one of her favorite childhood movies playing on a new TV he must have bought, with all her favorite snacks, she’d replied to all the messages from her friends.
That first one was the hardest to type out, but with each one it got easier until she was trying to keep conversations with five different people all straight in her mind so she didn't type out answers in the wrong message thread. Even Josiah had sent her a brief message updating her on the progress he’d made. It wasn't a lot of progress, but they were chipping away at the trafficking ring, closing down more and more of their operations. Sooner or later, the woman in charge would mess up and then they’d have her.
Teresa couldn’t wait.
“But you’d have to go all the way down to the ground floor to get the mail,” Micah reminded her as though she didn't know how her own building worked.
“Well, I’d have to walk down the hall to the elevator and ride in it to the ground floor, then cross the lobby to the mailboxes.”He was acting like it was a twenty-mile hike through dense vegetation.
“You’re safer in here.”
“You’d be with me.”
“I was with you when you were taken, it didn't help much then.”
