Chapter 117 - Morning Always Comes

Dane

When dawn finally began to creep over the city-scape outside, it found Dane laying still, watching her sleep. 

She'd finally nodded off half an hour earlier, curled like a kitten into his chest, her face in his neck, and her knees pulled up until she was almost folded in half. He'd wrapped himself around her, cradling her with his thighs, until they were yin and yang again, and he did his best not to move so she could sleep.

But as the quiet descended and became a blanket over the night, his mind refused to turn away from the morning that awaited them. 

He was so scared. Utterly terrified.

It was only a matter of time, now, until his father made a move against her. Dane would throw every resource he had into keeping her safe. But he knew his father was beyond ruthless—he was also clever. Dane couldn't stop seeing his sister's blank and pale face in her own bed. 

Once Lila went quiet and their bodies were spent, Dane had found himself too scared to sleep, too scared of seeing his nightmares play out. And so he clung to her, and trembled, his tension increasing with every passing minute, until it felt like his spine would snap with the power of it.

He kept his arms around her, his body curved around hers, reminded himself that she was there with him. She was safe. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. 

And he knew what he was dealing with this time. He'd never be caught off guard again like he had been with Talia.

But he also knew life—and his father—had a way of forcing his hand. His head was a roulette wheel of death, cluttered with all of the tiny ways his father could get in—a taxi driver on the street. A staff member they didn't suspect. A security guard blackmailed, or bought. A checkout operator on the payroll when she snuck out to buy candy… the list was endless.

Then, when he began to list to himself all the eyes that were on her, all the hands that had a chance to reach her during a normal day, it became hard to breathe.

He pulled her in tighter, his body trembling, until even in her sleep she frowned and shifted, resting her palm on his chest as if to push him off. He forced himself to relax his grip until she sighed and her breathing returned to the steady, even rhythm she'd had before.

But he couldn't resist using one finger to stroke the hair back off her face. She was so small. So breakable. 

With a deep sigh he let his chin rest on her head.

When he closed his eyes, the vision he'd had weeks earlier flashed in his head—the two of them curled up in bed, just like this, except they were both curled around her belly, big and round.

His entire body shivered in response.

What the hell was he going to do? She was his wife now. His. Only his. His responsibility. His life. If something happened to her…

He couldn't breathe. As if an impossible weight pressed on his chest and didn't let up. Unwilling to wake her, but scared he might actually pass out, he scrambled for his phone, stretching around her to reach it on the nightstand where he'd placed it earlier, just in case.

Behind her, he turned the screen on and saw his last call.

BERT – CHAPLAIN

He swallowed. He wasn't going to wake the man after forcing him to come out so late last night. But… but he needed something. Help from somewhere. And Bert maybe had a line to the only person in this world stronger than his father.

Dane used trembling fingers to press the message button under Bert's name, then type a text.

I NEED YOUR HELP. PRAY FOR US

FOR HER. I'M SO SCARED, BERT. 

MY FATHER WILL WANT HER DEAD

WHEN HE FINDS OUT. PLEASE PRAY.

He felt embarrassed, but he didn't know what else to do. So he pressed send and was finally able to take a small breath. Though it still wasn't enough. How could it be when—

It startled him when his phone vibrated in his hand almost immediately.

GOD LOVES HER EVEN MORE

THAN YOU DO, DANE. HE LOVES YOU

THAT MUCH TOO. I'M PRAYING. LET ME

KNOW ANYTIME I CAN HELP. 

Dane closed his eyes. He knew Bert was way too optimistic about how God viewed him, but he had no doubt God liked Bert. And Lila. He just hoped it was enough. 

It was going to take an act of God to stop his father.

"Please?" he whispered. "Please keep her safe."

He pulled her back in tighter and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling her with each breath. It was only minutes later that he realized he was able to breathe again.

THANK YOU, he texted Bert. 

He was able to relax a little bit then. He still didn't sleep, though.

***** 

Lila

Lila dreamed of being in the womb—it was dark, but light was there. She was safe and warm and held tightly by love. The sensation was so deep and pure it brought tears to her eyes.

Then, suddenly, she blinked and came awake. It was bright in the room because the curtains had never been pulled the night before. 

She didn't move immediately. She could feel that the bed was empty around her and adrenalin shot through her. But then a low murmur rose from behind her and rolled over quickly, pushing up on one elbow. She was immediately reminded that her body had gone through a lot the night before and she was going to pay for it a little. But the thought made her smile. 

She had to squint against the sunlight to find Dane, already dressed in a crisp white shirt—though no tie today—and black slacks. He'd rolled his sleeves up to his forearms in the way she loved and was on the phone. He stood side-on to her, one hand in a pocket, the other holding the phone. The morning sun glowed through the window behind him, ringing him in a halo of light that made his features dim, but brought out the sheer beauty of his tall form. 

She sat up and he turned to look at her, his eyes lighting up when he found her looking back at him. Without saying anything to whoever he was speaking to, he walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. "No, Chris, we need everyone there, to make sure they all hear the same story so there's no gossip, no speculation…" he paused and met her eyes, silently asking her to come closer. "I don't care, call them in," he growled into the phone.

Lila let the blankets drop, though she wasn't wearing any clothes, and crawled across the bed and into his lap.

When she'd found a comfortable way to curl up, he sighed and she felt some of the tension leave him as she kissed his neck softly and clung to his chest. 

He brought one hand up to the nape of her neck, holding her, his arm laid along her spine, like he wanted to touch her with as many parts of his body as he could.

"Just make it happen, Chris," he said, his voice rough with lack of sleep. "We'll be there at eleven. That should give everyone time." Then he tapped the screen of the phone with his thumb and tossed it to the bed, putting both his arms around her and pulling her in so tight she squeaked.

"Good morning," he rumbled in her ear.

"Good morning. What time is it?"

"About nine," he said, tasting her neck. Lila stretched, then wrapped her arms around his neck. 

"I have to shower," she breathed, but didn't move as his lips found that spot under her ear that made her skin tingle.

"Excellent idea," he said quickly. And sliding one hand under her knees and the other behind her shoulders, he picked her up.

Lila shrieked. "No! Dane, I wasn't—" she struggled against him, smiling.

"I was," he said, letting her put her feet down and stand on her own, though she stayed leaning into his chest. "We have somewhere to be at ten."

"Where?"

"We're buying you a new wardrobe."

"What?! Why?"

He stroked her hair back from her face and she wanted to press into his hand, like a cat. "Because right now your apartment is a crime scene, so we aren't getting anything out of there. And later this morning, the shit is going to hit the fan. So, for one hour, we are going to do something fun. It's all arranged. But we need to get moving."

"But, I need a shower and-"

He grinned. "An actual shower takes ten minutes. You can put your hair up today. So that's another fifteen minutes for your make up and ten to get to into the car. We have twenty minutes to enjoy ourselves," he said, unbuttoning his shirt. 

"Stop," she said breathlessly, grabbing at his hands.

"You're going to deny your husband?" he said in an oddly soft voice so she couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"No," she scowled. "I'm saying, let me do it." 

He gave a low chuckle, but he let go of his buttons and started walking her backwards as her fingers made quick work of the rest of his shirt.

She sighed into his kiss and rippled under his hands—especially when they made it to the shower. 

But she didn't miss that he hadn't talked about the day, or the meeting, or what they faced.

She wondered if he felt sick in the pit of her stomach the way she did. At least, until he distracted her for exactly twenty-two minutes.

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MARCH MADNESS IS COMING! Want to read chapters in advance of their release? Check out the Author Note below!