Falling with Grace - Page 168

“How many men doeshe have?”

I shrugged. “There were too many to count. Maybe fifteen against the walls.”

“If you could give us anything that could help, it gives us a better chance at saving them.” Javier pressed his finger into the center of the bullseye I’d painted.

“What makes you think he is still there?” I shook my head, my chin scrunching as I fought crying, the weight on my chest growing heavier. “You have me. He knows that. What stopped him from picking up and leaving already?” My chest heaved. “Hell, Rachel could already be dead.”

Oh fuck.

What have I done?

My chest tightened, suffocating me.

I messed everything up.

I could have saved her.

I rubbed my chest. The rosary’s comfort faded as my vision deadened around the edges.

Elias moved in front of me, sinking to his haunches. He rubbed my shoulders. “We’ll get them, Grace.”

“You don’t know that.” I shook my head.

“I’ll do my best. That’s all I can promise you.”

Javier rolled up the map, took the marker along with him, and walked off the patio and into the house.

The surrounding space turned into a mix of hyperventilation and a deep need only one person could satiate.

I jerked forward, my hands twisting in his lapel. “I don’t know what I’d do with myself if they died because of me.” My mouth bobbed as I fought for the right words. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was protecting them.”

“You’re speaking as if they are already dead,mi amor.”

My gaze struck his chocolate eyes, staring back at me. “They might as well be. I’ve done this to them.”

Elias stood, dragging me with him. “Come on.” Scooping me up in his arms, he carried me inside. “You’ve had a long day.”

I buried my face in his neck, my arms wrapped around him tight. “I won’t be able to sleep.”

He opened his bedroom door and kicked it closed behind him before placing me on his gigantic bed.

“Come on. Get in the covers.”

“But…”

Is he leaving?

I don’t want to be alone.

I can’t be alone.

“Will you stay?”

He glanced back at the door. “I need to leave if we have a shot at this.”

I gulped and looked around his large room.

He sighed. “I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”