“Where would I be without you?” he whispered.
“I don’t want to think about it.” I kissed his lips. He parted them, and his cool breath made me shiver. Then he opened his eyes, those beautiful emerald eyes that stole my heart years before. I pressed my forehead against his, and he wrapped his arms around me.
“Thank you,” he whispered. He was feeling the small, temporary high kick in. He rested his head back against the wall again, and I watched my Henry melt into the background.
I will freely admit that I was really scared out of my damn mind that he was going to pull the trigger. I knew he didn’t want to, though. He needed me in his arms, as much I needed him in mine.
We sat there for a long time, just holding each other. I didn’t want to let him go. No matter how fucked up he was, or how fucked up the world was, I loved him with everything I had.
Chapter 41
N
ick walked back into the house, and Claire met him at the door in full blown panic mode. “Is he…?”
“No. She talked him off the ledge, thankfully. I left them alone. They needed the time together.” He pulled out Henry’s Sig. He pulled out the magazine, then chuckled.
“What?”
“Empty.” He checked the chamber, and it was empty, as well. Nick laughed a little more, then slammed the gun down on the table. “Damn him! He is such a fucking manipulator!”
Claire grabbed his arm. “Maybe he didn’t know.”
“Are you serious, Claire? Henry? Leave the house with an empty weapon? I will lay it all on the line that he has the fucking bullets in his pocket.” Nick clenched his fists at his side. “He is manipulating us! Her! Goddamn him! My baby sister… That motherfucker! I’m going to beat the shit out of him!”
“Nick, calm down, please.” Claire grabbed his arms. “Remember, he’s probably drunk.”
“Yeah, he is. God, he pisses me right the fuck off,” he growled. “Sometimes I wonder what she sees in him.” He kicked a box of their supplies that was near the door.
“Now, Nick, calm down.” Addie stepped into the conversation.
“Addie, I’m sorry. You have no idea what he has put Elaina through.”
“I know I don’t, but she loves him.”
“He’s playing mind games with her! He has this sick obsession with control!”
“He is a damaged soul. He doesn’t know any better.”
Nick laughed. “Why does he always catch a break? I don’t get it. Poor Henry, beaten and abused his entire life. No one understands what he has put her through. He hurts her so much! I can’t stand by and watch him continue to tear her heart out, stomping on it like it’s trash!”
“Nick, be quiet before you say too much!” Curiously, Addie looked at Claire.
“His explosive behavior is enough to cripple my sister. It already has!” Nick ran his hands through his hair. “I’m going to go beat his motherfucking ass.” Nick took two steps toward the door before Claire grabbed him again.
“No! You know how he is.”
“Are you saying I can’t hold my own? Thanks for the confidence boost. I’m pretty sure I can beat down a drunk.”
“You listen to me…” Claire jammed her finger into Nick’s chest. “Do not tell Elaina that the gun was empty. Do you understand me?”
Nick just glared at her. “I feel like I’m betraying her by not telling her the truth.”
“You can talk to him about it in private without her around. Don’t say anything to her. Please. It will completely crush her.”
“I agree,” Addie said. “Some things are better left unsaid. It’s not your place.”
“That’s my baby sister he is messing with! I have to protect her. I am all she has left.”
“Not from my point of view. She has you, Claire, Thomas and, even though he is out of sorts, she has Henry.” She was right, and Nick knew it. They were all family. “Just let it rest. You can speak to him about it at another time.”
Elaina opened the back door, and she ushered Henry to the table. Nick nearly became unhinged when he saw his face.
***
Because his stomach was grumbling with vigor, I finally talked Henry into going inside and eating. He jumped off the ladder, landing next to me on the barn floor. I took him by his good hand and led him in through the back door.
“Sit and I’ll get you some food.” He cradled his head on his forearms on the table. I went out to our supplies and pulled out the last jar of peaches. I saw Nick storm into the kitchen and heard something slam on the table. When I looked up, I saw it was a Henry’s Sig.