Torn - Cynthia Eden Page 0,64
dried her off and even carried her back to her room. Victoria found that she couldn’t say anything.
She didn’t know what to say.
The passion had swept through her so completely, and now, in the aftermath, her body was limp. The exhaustion she’d held at bay all day swept through her.
She slid beneath her covers.
He turned to leave.
“Stay.”
Wade paused.
So maybe there had been one thing that she knew to say. Victoria lifted her hand toward him. “You can stay . . .”
“And still have no strings?” Wade asked, voice low.
She didn’t want to think that far ahead, not then. “Just stay.”
His lips curled. “Baby, when will you realize? For you, I’d do anything.” Wade slid beneath the covers. He pulled her close, held her right against his heart.
And she slipped right into her dreams.
HER FATHER WAS smiling.
She crept down the stairs. He didn’t usually smile, not like that. Not a smile that stretched from ear to ear.
“Things are going to be different now, Victoria.” He gave a firm nod. “We will make everything better.”
The house was so quiet. Where was her mother? Where had she gone?
“I’ve always been so proud of you,” her father said. “People are right, you know. You really are just like me.” His hand lifted as he moved to brush a lock of her hair behind her ear.
When his hand lifted, she saw—his fingers were red. No, not red—there was . . . there was blood on his fingers.
A tremor swept over her body. “Where is Mom?”
Behind the lens of his glasses, he blinked. Once. Twice. His smile dimmed.
She edged back a step.
His blood-covered fingers fell back to his side. “I don’t know, darling. She wasn’t here when I woke up this morning.”
Liar, liar, liar . . .
“I’m sure she’ll turn up later.” He nodded briskly once more. “Now, I must go shower. Don’t worry, I’m sure your mother just went out on a walk. Perhaps a morning jog. She’ll be back soon . . .”
He hurried toward the bathroom and didn’t look back. A moment later she heard the rush of water in the shower.
She tiptoed toward her parents’ room. She saw her mother’s bag, the bag that had been near the front door—it was still there. Her mother’s purse was there. Her clothes. All still there.
She turned around, confused.
Maybe her father was right. Maybe . . . maybe she would be back . . .
And then she saw the knife, gleaming on the dresser. Blood was on its blade. Her hand lifted toward it even as horror rose in her throat, nearly choking her.
“Victoria!”
“VICTORIA!” WADE SHOOK her, because she was seriously scaring the hell out of him. She’d started jerking in her sleep and making a faint moan. She’d sounded terrified, and that shit wasn’t going to work. She wouldn’t be terrified while she was in his arms. “Victoria, wake up!”
Her eyes flew open. He’d already turned on the lamp at the bedside, and the glow spilled onto her, showing the tears on her cheeks and the terror in her gaze.
“Baby?”
“I’m . . . not like him.”
His muscles tensed. Wade wondered . . . would she tell him now? Would this be the moment when she finally started to trust him?
“He said . . . I was just like him, and I don’t want to be.”
She’d sat straight up in bed, and Wade wanted to pull her back into his arms. He also didn’t want to scare her. If she was talking, he would listen to her all night long.
“Your father.” He just put that piece right out there. After all, they both knew who she had to mean. But he wanted to learn more. Tell me, baby. Tell me everything.
Victoria gave a jerky nod. She pulled the bedcovers up to her chest, shielding her body. Her head turned and her gaze focused on him. “Have you ever been in love?”
Not what he’d expected from her. “Viki—”
“I heard the rumors at LOST. Some people think you were in love with Gabe’s sister, Amy, but then . . . she went missing.”
He’d thought they were talking about Victoria’s past, not his own. But if she wanted him to share, fuck, he would. He’d bleed for her if that was what the woman wanted. “I cared for Amy. A lot.” He wouldn’t lie. “But she was my best friend’s little sister, so I kept my distance.” He swallowed as the memories stirred in his mind. “And I watched her go to another. A jackass who didn’t deserve