Adela leans against the kitchen island with a wicked grin, dark waves spilling over one shoulder. Her gaze flicks between Rafeand me. “Oh, we know why he kissed you,” she says sweetly. “We were freaking out the moment we realized you and Jude made eye contact that close.”
Heather snorts. “Yeah, she practically screamed at the screen for Rafe to do something.”
Adela pushes off the counter and crosses the room with a seductive slowness. Rafe doesn’t bother to react before she hooks her fingers into the front of his jacket and pulls him down into a kiss that is entirely too confident for my fragile nerves.
It’s quite obscene, really.
Nico groans.
Kieran rolls his eyes at Nico.
Adela pulls back, smirking. “He’s afantastickisser, isn’t he?” Her brows lift innocently. “Imagine what else he’s good at.”
Heat detonates across my cheeks.Oh, I can imagine. Trust me.
Nico chokes on a laugh as he collapses on the couch with a Mountain Dew in hand.
Kieran mutters, “Jesus Christ,” under his breath from the dining room table.
Rafe exhales slowly and smooths a hand through his hair, shooting Adela a look. “You’re so fucking perfect, little doe.”
She scrunches her nose as he kisses her cheek.
Yeah, I can imagine what their sex must be like. JustkissingRafe wasmindboggling.
Heather swats my arm playfully. “Phase one, complete!” She punches the air.
I laugh at her as Micah pulls me into a side hug. “We’ll get him, Em. He's still alive, and that's what's important.” He says it like he's convincing himself to be okay.
I lean my head on his shoulder. “I think so.”
“Did he look strung out?” he asks, catching me off guard.
I hesitate, because the truth of it hurts like hell. “He did.”
He just offers a sad smile.
Everyone shuffles off to the kitchen to discuss what looks to be Adela and Heather’s attempt at making homemade potato soup, but I’m left standing there. Thinking. My fingers drift to my sternum. Right over the place that felt like it cracked open when Jude changed the words of his song. My chest tightens again, but this time it’s something different. It doesn’t exactly feel like panic or fear...I don’t know what it is.
Micah notices my hand. “You okay?”
I nod too quickly. “Yeah. I just—” I swallow. “He looked…tired.” I can’t bring myself to tell him about Alexei selling Jude for sex. The thought makes me want to cry, throw up, and scream all at once. I’m struggling not to lock myself in the bathroom and sob in the shower right now. Sure, we succeeded today. But Jude is still trapped. He’s still…suffering.
Rafe’s hand presses firmly at my back, thumb brushing once to ground me. “Do you need to talk about anything?” His eyes are kind.
I open my mouth to respond, but close it. I shake my head.
“Okay,” he whispers, gently leaving my side.
“We’re closer than we were yesterday,” Heather says firmly, pulling out bowls. “That matters. You did it, Emma. You stepped out of your comfort zone and may have saved his life tonight.”
I swallow hard. She’s right. But I'm still terrified to see how much life he has left.
Chapter thirty-three
JUDE GRAVES
I’ve never been to this penthouse before. That’s the first thing I notice as the elevator climbs in silent, seamless ascension, glass walls revealing nothing but black sky and the glow of the city below. I still have the fading bruises on my face from when Alexei punished me for attacking Erik. The fucker.