Page 155 of Oracle Returns: Time will Stop

Damn.

Much.

Chapter Twelve

Upstairs

His Shared Office

Saturday Morning

Yeah, this was definitely bad. When the two of them got up there, Ridge laid on the couch and didn’t move. It was as if all of the energy in his body had been sucked out of him, so he had no desire to stay awake.

This was beyond hiding.

This was the epitome of hurting.

Lucian knew that the man was exhausted, despite having slept. When you were running from what chased you, there was never enough sleep.

Plus, he could feel him wanting to hide. That sorrow was chasing him, and when you couldn’t outrun it, you had to protect yourself any way possible.

And that was fine.

If it were him, he would likely be doing the same thing because he would have kept his ass in bed.

For YEARS.

Losing Bishop would have damn near killed him, and it wasn’t lost on him that Ridge was damn strong.

Well, stronger than him.

Despite that, a part of him was worried that Ridge might not pull out of this, and that scared him. It was always the two of them in the static, and he wasn’t sure how to regroup from that if he never got back.

Kneeling beside the couch, he took Ridge’s hand in his. The gold band from his wedding shined on his ring finger. It was pristine, unlike Ridge’s heart.

God.

He hoped nothing more hurt this man. Lucian wasn’t sure how to save him from that.

“I love you, Ridge.”

The man slowly nodded.

“I just need to hide. I can’t face it anymore. I’m not strong enough, Lucian.”

Yeah, he could see that.

“I’ll take you home if you need me to.”

Ridge was honest.

“You can leave me there and come back. I’ll go to sleep there.”

Yeah, no.

There was no freaking way he was leaving him, or Bishop alone next door to where Wynter took her life. That just screamed terrible idea.

“I have to stay with you,” he said.