Page 155 of The Complete Truth Duet
My vision swam as memories of him running to me at the group home after he’d heard Thomas mention his sister. I’d thought he was pissed, but only then did I understand the fear that had ghosted across his face. My stomach twisted in knots. “Oh my God. Poor Drew. He was so close.”
Penn nodded painfully. “Yeah. He was the only reason the cops found her at all. He’d mentioned the name of the bar to me in passing, and when I finally remembered it, I told the nine-one-one operator and they sent cars to both of the nearby hotels. So when I tell you that Drew has that same rage inside him. I mean, he has the same. Fucking. Rage.”
“Oh, God. You should have told me that before I started poking his eye. He couldn’t save his sister and I’ve been giving him a scar of my fingerprint.”
Penn grinned. “Don’t worry about it. He’ll eventually give you a reason to feel good about it again.”
Gliding my fingers up the nape of his neck, I pushed up onto my toes and brushed my lips over his, offering the only comfort I could. “I’m so sorry you guys had to deal with all that.”
“Me too. But standing here with you right now makes that room a whole hell of a lot less scary.”
My stomach fluttered. Okay, so maybe being the silver lining to Penn’s nightmare wasn’t so bad after all. At least he had one now.
Shifting his weight back and forth, he rocked me in his arms. “Would it be weird if I asked you to go in there with me?”
My lips hitched. “Yes. Totally weird. But if you’re asking if I will, then yes. Absolutely.”
He kissed me, this time opening his mouth, his tongue sweeping mine. It was sensual, but it wasn’t sexual. It was sweet and filled with gratitude. It was Penn’s way of saying thank you without the use of words.
And even though I didn’t need thanks for loving him, I took whatever he was willing to give, losing myself in the beauty of something so simple.
But when the sound of a woman’s scream echoed through the hall, I realized that nothing in our life would ever be simple.
Cora
My body came alive in the next second, adrenaline surging through my veins like a tsunami.
“Stay here,” Penn growled, sprinting away and leaving me alone in the hallway, Catalina’s voice still echoing in my ears.
It was the kind of scream that made people act first and think second because there was no mistaking it for anything except terror. And, because of that, I did not heed Penn’s instructions, but rather took off after him.
As I ran, I scanned my head for memories of where the girls were. Last I’d seen of them, they were heading out to the theater room above the garage. I had no idea what was happening, but I felt a morsel of relief knowing they weren’t in the main house.
When I rounded the corner into the living room, I nearly plowed into Penn. He was frozen at the mouth of the hall, his chest heaving, but it had nothing to do with the short run.
It had been years since I’d seen his face, but it still sent a chill down my spine.
Marcos’s dark hair.
Dante’s malevolent stare.
Nic’s strong jaw.
Manuel Guerrero. The patriarch of the Guerrero clan. The man who had taken my child, manipulated me, and imprisoned me in his world for over a decade. And he was currently standing in Penn’s living room, his arm around his daughter’s throat, with the tip of a gun digging into her temple.
“You son of a bitch,” Penn growled, lunging forward.
He scrambled back with clumsy movements, the gun shaking in his hand as he dragged Catalina with him. “Back the fuck up. I will put a fucking bullet in her head right this fucking second.”
“You better know how to run. Anything happens to her and you are three seconds behind her on the way to the other side.”
Manuel laughed, gruff and throaty, and it tangibly slithered over my skin. “I’m a dead man already, you fucking fool!”
I held my breath as his finger teetered entirely too close to the trigger.
Grabbing Penn’s arm, I tried to pull him back while pleading, “Please, stop. You’re making it worse.”
He shook me off, snarling without ever tearing his gaze off Manuel. “Get the fuck out of here, Cor.”
With my heart in my throat, I looked at Catalina.
Her eyes were wide, aimed right back at me. “Go,” she mouthed.
I shook my head, panic building in my chest. There had to be a way out.
There had to be a solution where this finally ended once and for all.
I was so damn done with the constant pendulum of emotions.
One minute, I was kissing in the clouds with Penn.
