Page 114 of Shattered By the Currents

She closed her eyes, only for what felt like a second, but when she opened them again, she was in Connor’s arms, being carried up the stairs in his house.

“I fell asleep?” she asked softly.

“You were tired.” His voice was gentle, but there was also an edge to it. One she had a feeling he was trying to hide but couldn’t.

When he reached the bedroom, he tucked her beneath the blankets before sitting on the side of the bed. “Sleep. I’ll make some food.”

“Wait. I need to know what else Ethan found.”

Connor slipped a piece of hair behind her ear. “Deleted files from Xander’s cloud backups. Everything was there. Evidence they used you as the fall guy. They meticulously planned how they were going to forge your signature. Ethan even found video surveillance of the garage that captured Sampson’s murder, proving Xander was the killer. There was also a discussion about your feuds with Lottie, and how killing her could both scare and incriminate you.”

Jesus. “I’m almost too scared to believe it’s true.”

“Itistrue. Your name is cleared. They have Nathaniel, and soon they’ll have Xander.”

She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his chest. She’d lived so long with this fear of Xander, and what he could do to her, always hanging over her head. It almost felt surreal that she could be free of it. “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Raven. I would have gone to the ends of the earth to prove your innocence.”

She looked up at him. That edge that had been in his voice now shadowed his eyes. “You never wondered if I?—”

“Not once.” He cupped her cheeks. “Because I know you. I love you. And you aregood.”

The final bit of unease dissipated from her chest in a soft sigh, and she leaned into him again. It was over. And as soon as they had Xander she’d be free.

26

Raven reached across the bed for Connor. The sheets were cold.

Her eyes flicked open, a crease forming between her brows.

He wasn’t here. She shouldn’t be surprised—he’d barely slept beside her for the last week.

Slowly, she sat up.

Where was he? Working out? On the phone with his team?

He was stressed out. Stressed that a week had passed and Xander still hadn’t been located. Even with the team working overtime, no one had any leads on where he could be.

Her gaze went to the hall beyond the bedroom.

Yesterday, she’d found him doing pull-ups in his workout room. His entire body had been covered in sweat, like he’d been at it for hours. Of course, when she’d asked him if that was the case, he’d denied it. He didn’t need to. She could handle his emotions. But he was trying to protect her from what was going on in his head.

Ha. Like she wasn’t doing the exact same thing. Internally, she was freaking out that they hadn’t found Xander. So much sothat sometimes she thought the stress of it would swallow her whole.

But they would find him…eventually.

The cold floorboards seeped into the base of her feet as she stood. She pulled on Connor’s oversized sweatshirt, then padded downstairs. She heard him in the kitchen before she saw him.

“He has to besomewhere.”

Raven stepped into the living room, spotting his tense, broad shoulders by the island. He didn’t need to face her for her to know the exact expression he wore. The same one he’d been wearing whenever he thought she wasn’t watching. One of frustration. Anger. Maybe even a bit of helplessness. It was the last one that looked so out of place.

He turned as she headed toward him, and there was a flash of all those emotions. But they went as fast as they came. Then he was unreadable.

“I’ll call you back.” He hung up and curved a strong arm around her waist. “Hey.”

“You don’t have to do that, you know?”