I all but ran to the door.
Only when I got to it, I skidded to a stop.
My heart hurtled into my throat that was covered in bile.
The hinges were busted.
Dread spiraled through my being, and I ran into the apartment, ready for any fight that awaited.
Only I froze when I was impaled by the energy that filled the space.
Dark and grim.
The paper bag slipped from my hand and all the tests spilled onto the floor.
Because I knew in an instant, my girl was gone.
FORTY-FOUR
ASTER
I was grinningwhen I went to the closet and pulled another of Logan’s shirts from a hanger. I put it on and buttoned it, then I padded back out into the kitchen to finish mixing the batter for the cookies.
There was no wiping the smile from my face. The joy that had seated itself deep.
It was amazing what could change in thirty days.
Thirty days.
It was funny that I’d intended them to free myself of Jarek’s chains. Even that should have been impossible.
Still, I’d known I had to fight to find my freedom.
To findmyself.
And I did.
I did.
But I’d also found so much more.
I’d found joy and hope and love. I found the family I’d been missing. I found the belief in a man that I’d lost long ago.
We’d thought our dreams crushed.
But in those thirty days?
We’d found revival.
A resurrection.
Redemption.
A small giggle floated out when there was a tapping at the door. I grabbed a hand towel and wiped my hands and started across the room on my bare feet, a smile tugging at my mouth when I called, “What did you forget? I hope it was another kiss.”
I let the playfulness roll out with it.
This joy that possessed.