Page 48 of Save Me
As they settled on the bed, wrapped around one another, he whispered next to her ear, “Later, I’m going to want to enjoy you in my bed.” Then he fell asleep.
He was slightly disoriented when he woke up. For a split second, with the smell of Crissy surrounding him, he believed he was back in the Keys. Then he remembered everything and automatically corrected his thinking. Amber, he told himself. She was Amber.
He knew how important it was to her to move forward. To retake what had been stolen from her so long ago.
Much like he was sure that sex with him was her taking back the pleasure of the act that had been stolen from her as well. He just hoped that it meant as much to her as it did to him.
He shifted her closer and just enjoyed the feel and scent of her. He didn’t care which name she wanted to go by—it was the essence of her that he desired.
She was an incredible mother and woman no matter what name she went by. The more he lay there and listened to her soft breathing, feeling her body against his, the more he realized what kind of future he wanted.
His tiny apartment felt empty. Useless. The noise from the city outside his window was more annoying than ever before. He wanted the slow pace of the Keys. The lazy life with Amber and Emma.
He knew what he had to do and knew just the man who could make it happen.
With his mind made up, he shifted slightly as Amber woke up.
“Hey,” he said softly, brushing a strand of her short dark hair away from her face.
“Hey.” She smiled back at him. “How long were we out?”
“Long enough.” He kissed her. She rolled over on top of him and, just being with her like this, he felt more at home than he had since returning to Miami.
After showering and changing, they walked hand in hand down to a little taco bar on the beach that he liked and had dinner.
He hadn’t thought anything of it, but as they were sitting there, a news report flashed on the massive television screen above the bar. Suddenly, Amber’s face filled the screen.
“Shocking news in the Miami brothers serial killer case. It has been leaked that the true identity of the sole survivor in that heinous crime, Crissy Talbot, is Amber Oswald, solving a case that is two decades old. Amber was only four when she was kidnapped by Simon Jones, a criminal with a long rap sheet, including multiple DUIs and theft, who, after a failed attempt at ransom, raised the young girl as his own daughter and hid her away for years. The Oswalds, a prominent family with ties to the White House, have yet to return our calls for comment.”
He turned to Amber. “Are you okay?” he asked her softly as several eyes moved in their direction and whispers turned into loud chatter around them.
“I think it’s time we left,” she replied.
“Yeah.” He tossed some money down on the table and took her hand. Amber stopped him and stared up at the screen as another report started.
“In other news, another body was discovered in the recent copy-cat case of those serial killers. The first victim was a fifteen-year-old runaway discovered in an abandoned warehouse. Earlier this morning, our very own Rebecca Clint was on the scene at another warehouse where the body of Sara Gibbons, a seventeen-year-old that went missing last week, was discovered.”
Amber’s hand tightened in his. He pulled her away from the report and out into the street just as her panic attack hit her full force.
He heard several people shouting at them and knew that they were being recorded and photographed as he lifted Amber up into his arms and raced back to his apartment with a crowd of people in tow.
“Breathe,” he said once they were safely inside. He set her down and held her head between her knees as she gasped for air.
“I… can’t…” She shook her head.
“Yes, you can,” he said softly. “In one, out two.” He repeated the counting until her breathing slowed.
“Did you know?” she asked him.
“No.” He shook his head. “I think we were too busy with Simon this morning. I had a few missed calls. My dad probably figured we’d dealt with enough for today.”
She sat back and nodded her head. “I want to go home,” she said. “I know we planned on staying, but… I need my baby.”
He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. “I’ll get our things.”
“Brock?” she said when he stood up to gather their bags.
“Yeah?”
