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ZARA
She’d cried herself to sleep last night.
Not because she’d wanted to but because her body needed to release the amount of stress it had endured that day.
So when she woke up, her eyes were overly dry and puffy, but her body and mind were clear and calm.
Such was the benefit of a good cry.
A heavy arm encircled her waist and heat at her back let her know Asa hadn’t left even after she’d fallen asleep. Not that she’d given him much reason to stay.
Carefully, she slid out from under the covers and out of his embrace, still fully clothed in the bodysuit and jeans she’d put on yesterday and the flannel that he’d given her at some point.
She went to the bathroom just off the bedroom, not the one in the hall where she’d spent so much time breaking down yesterday. The sight of her ridiculous hair brought her a smallamount of peace. Some things were just always going to be consistent. Even if they weren’t the most helpful.
Someone had left toiletries in the bathroom for her and a change of clothes. Probably Gregor. She brushed her teeth and changed into the clean undergarments and fresh jeans. After she washed her face and failed to tame her hair, she put Asa’s blue and white flannel back on and buttoned it halfway. It was her flannel now. She wasn’t ever giving it back.
Back in the bedroom, she paused to watch Asa sleeping.
His handsome face frowning even in his dreams, his dark hair messy, his tattooed arm still outstretched to where she had been.
Her heart gave a small lurch, demanding she return to the bed, to wake him up and tell him all was forgiven. But she’d learned the hard way that her heart was stupid and did stupid things.
She needed a minute to think.
It wasn’t even so much what he’d done. It was how what he’d done had ricocheted through her belief in him, tearing it to shreds. One bullet breaking into a thousand tiny fragments that imbedded themselves in all the tenderest parts of her. The spaces she’d willingly let him into because she thought it had been safe. Which wasn’t even his fault.
It wasn’t anyone’s fault.
It was just a consequence.
The culmination of a lifetime of being let down and deceived and the loneliness that came with all of it.
She’d made the tragic mistake of putting all her faith in someone who was wholly human. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Not really. She even understood it.
But all the rationality in the world didn’t magically make the turmoil go away. It still felt uneven. Unsteady. Basically, the opposite of how she’d always felt with him.
And she didn’t know what to do with it.
Carefully, so she didn’t wake him, she left the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
And entered a war room.
“Whoa,” she said, stopping short.
Gregor put a cup of coffee in her hand. “How you feeling?”
“Fine.” She nodded and took a sip.
“Are you ready for an update or do you want breakfast first?” he asked, eyeing her clothing choice but making no comment.
“Both is good,” she said, walking further into the living room that was now full.
Sonja was on the phone standing near the balcony door, Kenna sat on the couch typing furiously on her tablet.
Devan and Cas were chatting with a handful of similarly dressed men and women—no doubt extra security. She was pretty sure she recognized some of them.
Gregor pointed her to the breakfast bar and she took a seat. She watched her team work around her and each other like a well-oiled machine.
