Torn - Cynthia Eden Page 0,94
to vanish.
Wade kissed her with a hungry, complete focus. As if nothing else mattered. Almost as if nothing else even existed. Tears stung her eyes as she held onto him.
She’d tried to avoid strings with him. That had been her rule, from the very beginning, but she knew the truth now. She was bound to him so tightly, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to let go.
How could she?
Very slowly, Wade’s lips pulled away from hers. He stared down at her. “I can’t lose you.”
She shook her head. “That isn’t happening.”
“As soon as I saw his arms around you—I saw North’s eyes, they were so desperate—I would have done anything to stop him. I was looking at a dead man the minute he grabbed you.” His breath rasped out and he let her go. “What the hell does that say about me?”
He turned away, his hands curling around the steering wheel.
Victoria reached out to him. “Do you think I’m not the same?”
His arm tensed beneath her touch.
“Do you truly think . . .” Victoria continued, “that I wouldn’t kill to keep you safe?”
His head angled toward her.
“You’ve changed things for me,” Victoria said. And, yes, this vehicle—in front of the police station—probably wasn’t the spot to have this little talk, but she wasn’t going to hold back. Not any longer. “I want to be with you. I’m scared of myself—yes, I still am. I won’t lie. Scared of what I might become. But I’m more afraid of not being with you.” Because she had more hope when she was with him. She was . . . happier.
Even if they were facing monsters.
“Baby, giving you up wasn’t ever an option for me.” He cranked the car.
“It’s not an option for me, either,” Victoria whispered.
They pulled away from the curb. And as they drove away, she saw that Dace had walked out of the station. He stood on the sidewalk, watching them as they left.
“ARE YOU IN any pain?” the pretty little blond nurse asked him, her brows pulling together. She’d just adjusted his medication—giving him another wonderful dose of morphine, so pain was the last thing Matthew felt.
“No,” he said, making sure that his voice came out weak and a little slurred. “I can handle it.”
Admiration filled her blue eyes. Wide blue eyes. “You caught that killer today, didn’t you?”
Matthew almost smiled. “Just . . . tried to stop someone . . . from hurting others . . .”
Her hand lingered on his arm. “You did a good thing. A brave thing.” She gave him a sad smile. “That poor fellow he attacked . . . he’s on the same floor with you.”
Is he? What a coincidence.
“He’s not in very good condition.” She gave a little sad shake of her head. “Someone needed to catch his attacker. And to think . . . it was another professor at the college.” She sighed softly. “I guess you can never know people.”
No, you couldn’t. Not who they really were, beneath the skin.
She gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “If you need anything, just hit that button on your right. I’ll come straight in for you.”
He was sure she would.
Matthew watched her as she hurried from the room. Nice ass. Firm and high. He bet she was a runner. With those long legs, she’d be a great runner.
He liked runners. Loved to watch them move ahead of him. Loved to chase them.
Loved to catch them.
He lay in bed as the morphine slipped through his veins. It was cold, and he could imagine it as ice sliding through him, moving ever so slowly until it covered him completely.
His injuries weren’t that bad. It pissed him off, certainly, because he didn’t like being hurt. He’d never expected old Troy to put up such a fight. He’d known Troy kept that gun in his desk drawer. The guy was always so paranoid about his safety. Probably because he’d spent too much time with criminals during his early days as a psychiatrist.
The drawer had been open once, when Matthew paid a little visit to see Melissa. He’d remembered that gun and thought . . .
All I have to do is show up, armed. He’ll react. He’ll grab for the weapon.
And North had. So perfectly. Acting as if on cue.
He glanced at the big round clock on the wall and figured the pretty nurse must be back at her station. Matthew eased from the bed. He stood for a moment, swaying a little. Then he smiled. His hand