Page 143 of Hard to Hold
“Get what?”
“Goddamn, Amy. You don’t get it. I’m not tryin’ to save you…” I held her gaze, my voice hoarse with emotion. “I’m tryin’ to love you.”
Amy
Those were quite possibly the most powerful words I had ever heard.
And the conviction behind them…
I hadn’t meant to hurt Wolfe or Rhys by saying that they didn’t need to save me. But that was how I felt. As though I'd become a charity case. At least in the past few hours, anyway. Everyone was coming together to figure out a way to fix this for me. How could I not think that?
What they didn’t understand was that I couldn’t be saved. Not from him. He was out there, probably counting down the minutes until he snatched me. I knew him. He would enjoy playing this game. It was what he always wanted, for me to fear him. No matter how many people stood between him and me, Kelly Jackson would find me again.
Oh, I was certainly more than grateful that Wolfe and Rhys and the people in this town wanted to help me, but I didn’t want that to be their only reason for being with me.
As I looked up at Wolfe, then at Rhys, I realized one thing. Obviously, I had jumped to conclusions.
The expressions on their faces were of complete shock and anguish. As though I'd called them every bad name in the book.
“Did you hear me?” Wolfe questioned, his eyes hard.
I nodded, not moving when he took a step closer.
“I love you, Amy.”
My breath hitched, the words making my heart constrict. I wanted to believe them. God, I even prayed they were true. Never had I been happier than when I was with Wolfe and Rhys.
“I don’t want to be the goddamn hero. I want to love you. And yes, I want to protect you, but that comes with the territory. It’s who I am. Who I’ve always been.” Wolfe looked over at Rhys. “And you. That goes for you, too.”
Wolfe shifted, moving directly over to Rhys. I could see the tension in his arms, his back. He was coiled tight, the spring inside him dangerously close to breaking. I held my breath, waiting for what he would say.
“I fucking love you. There. I said it. I fuckin’ know exactly how I feel. Exactly what I want.” He glanced back at me. “This”—he waved his arm to encompass the three of us—“is exactly what I want. Do y’all get that?”
He was yelling, but I could tell he was more frustrated than angry. I understood that because this was all so confusing.
Well.
Not entirely.
There was one thing I knew for certain.
I waited until Wolfe looked at me again.
“I love you, too,” I whispered, still standing a few feet away. Scared to move, scared to breathe. I met Rhys’s gaze next. “And I love you, too.”
Maybe it was all happening too quickly, but you couldn’t put a time limit on love. It happened when it was supposed to happen. Did I trust my heart? With these two men, I did.
Sure, my choices hadn’t always been spot on, but with Wolfe and Rhys, this was where I was meant to be.
However, I realized Rhys hadn’t said anything. Not one single word.
I glanced over at him. Wolfe and I were both staring at him, waiting for him to say something. I could see he wanted to.
“Goddammit,” he grumbled.
I saw the moment he gave in to what he was feeling. He held out his arm to me, and I moved toward them. Then Rhys was jerking Wolfe to him, their lips fusing together as I was pulled against them.
My heart swelled dangerously large. It felt as though it would break right out of my chest. My stomach dropped; every cell in my body was invigorated by what I felt for these two men.
