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Chapter 20
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Breached Chapter 21
For fuck’s sake, this girl is an idiot.Jennifer sat on my desk, fucking sat on it, to try and entice me. Acting like a moron wasn’t going to make her more attractive, it actually made her much less so and made me question the quality of her work.During her inane yammering, my phone buzzed in my pocket. The first thing I noticed was the low battery notification from failing to plug it in overnight. The second was a text from Lila.Change of plans. Caroline is coming over. I can’t hide you from her any longer. I trust her. I’ll come over—The phone flashed the low battery warning at me and dimmed before I could finish reading.Can’t hide me…I knew Caroline was her best friend, and that Caroline was fiercely protective of Lila. It worried me that someone would know, because the more people knew, the more chance the Marconi could find out.At the same time, I felt that Caroline knowing was a very good idea. That way, if anything happened to us, she would know who was to b
Breached Chapter 22
I hated alarm clocks. I especially hated them when they were early in the morning and took Lila from my arms.Every morning I awoke with her in my arms was torture when she left them. I watched her slide off the side of the bed, her hair a knotted mess thanks to my hands. Inches of beautiful pale skin speckled with my marks slipped away from my body and into my view.Naked, beautiful flesh for me to drink in. I watched her arms rise above her head, stretching her sinful body. She glanced back to check if I was awake, and our eyes met.No “Good morning” or anything. That wasn’t our style.It was in the way her lips parted. Sometimes she would bite her lower lip, other times her tongue would peek out and wet her lips.I continued to watch as she walked into the bathroom and listened in as she started the shower. My getting up took longer. While she showered, I stretched. It was something I fought against, but it turned out to be the best thing for me to make it through the d
Breached Chapter 23
“Oh, my God. Could you quit flaunting your tits around? I’m getting so sick of looking at yours, I can hardly stand to look at my own. And, by the way, if he hasn’t taken the bait yet, he isn’t going to.”I was officially a fan of Caroline. She was a badass, take-no-prisoners, can’t-keep-her-opinion-to-herself kind of woman, and the exact opposite of Lila. That made her the perfect best friend.It was hard to keep a straight face as she chided them. The encounter wouldn’t have happened so epically before she found out about Lila and me. She still would have given it to them in some way.“Whatever, Caroline,” Kelly sneered as she grabbed Tiffany’s arm and stormed out.Once they were gone, I let it out in shoulder-shaking laughter. The moment was cut short as Andrew stepped in seconds later, stifling my good mood.“Morning!” he said with a huge smile.Fucking boy scout.I glared at him and was met with a glare of his own before he looked back to Lila and Caroline.“Did I
Breached Chapter 24
I fucking hated the pain. Most days it was manageable, but with the spring weather, pills were sometimes my only solace.I’d spent months pretty much blessedly free from migraines, but they seemed to be back with a vengeance. Between the stiffness and pain, I could find no comfort or reprieve.Scar tissue tugged, exacerbating my symptoms. It felt like the black hole I’d lived in for years was swallowing me up again.Lila’s touch seemed the only thing able to soothe me.“This hurts you a lot, doesn’t it?” she asked as she trailed her fingers down my scar.“Yes. There were broken bones, sliced muscle, and chewed-up organs. Lots of damage that left lots of problems.”She felt around at my ribs, digging in a little until she found what she was looking for. Following a line, she counted when she found the remodeling on each rib.“Five?”I nodded. She took hold of my hand and placed it against her ribs on the left side in almost the same spot. The same remodeling bumps, only
Breached Chapter 25
I wasn’t surprised the next morning when Andrew came up and wrapped his arms around me in a firm hug.“I’m sorry,” he whispered too low for Lila to hear.It wasn’t an, “I’m sorry I was such a douche,” but an, “I’m sorry for what you went through.”We pulled back, and I stared him in the eye and nodded. Andrew gave me a sad smile, then glanced to Lila.“I won’t say anything.”Lila didn’t understand, and her curiosity was getting the better of her. She knew more truth about what happened to me physically, but unlike Caroline and Drew, she didn’t know what I’d lost.There was no longer animosity between us, which confused Lila to no end. The fire had died, and he accepted that Lila was mine. A friendship formed, and it was the first one I’d had in years. I’d forgotten what it was like to talk to someone who didn’t walk on eggshells around me.I begged Lila to give me time, but I wasn’t sure there would ever be enough time to prepare me for that conversation.Scandal hit th
Breached Chapter 26
My chest clenched, and I rubbed the spot with firm pressure. A familiar pain was flooding in, and once again it was all my fault.The doors to the elevator closed in front of me, the number twelve disappearing before my eyes, leaving me to stare at my own lifeless reflection. The weight of my decision hovered above me, poised for the right moment to crash down.I saw her long before I ever met her; Lila, my cohort in crime at work and at home. Across a sea of asphalt and cars was where I caught my first glimpse of the woman who would do the impossible and awaken a long dead part of me.She was unassuming, skittish even, captivating me with the way she walked. There was nothing particularly special about it; maybe it was just the way the light reflected in her natural blonde hair. Whatever it was, my eyes were glued to her. She became more intriguing when her demeanor changed as two men approached: her body rigid, pace slowed, and eyes down. It was subtle. Not many would noti
Breached Chapter 27
The next morning my alarm went off, butI was already awake. My eyes were glued to the ceiling, staring blankly at the white expanse. In the time I was staring, I noticed the nail pops, small cracks in the plasterboard, and the all-consuming ache in my chest.I slept terribly; tossing and turning, fighting nightmares and periods of insomnia.As I lay there, I realized it was the first night in months that Lila wasn’t next to me in the bed. Her delectable cherry blossom scent and warmth filling the room. It’d been months since I’d awoken without her soft body curled into mine, our limbs entangled.Instead the bed was cold.No good morning kisses.No morning sex with my goddess.No sweet smiles from my Honeybear.No Lila.My Lila.An hour later, on autopilot,I was dressed and walking to my car. I noted hers was still in her parking spot a few down from mine. In the rearview mirror the dark circles around my bloodshot eyes made them stand out; evidence of my sl
Breached Chapter 28
Days passed, and Lila was still unresponsive, trapped in the recesses of her mind. For the second day in a row, I found myself leaving the office at five and rushing over to the hospital.Work was utter hell. I hated being away from her.Nothing changed in the ten hours since I’d last been there. I walked into the room with quiet steps up to the bed. She looked so peaceful, like an angel. The constant beeping of the machines, along with the low rise and fall of her chest, put to rest the creeping fear that she was gone. I clung to each breath and beat.She was still there, alive, and she would return.I hoped.My hand reached out to move a stray strand of hair from her face, but I stopped myself. It was one thing to see her, to smell her, and to feel her presence. It was another thing entirely to touch her.This is for the best, I reminded myself.I turned and walked back out to the hall. Once there, I leaned on the wall and stared at the room across the hall. A shiver r
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