Page 96 of The Saint

I grabbed the front of Rolly’s coat in both hands, yanking him closer to me. With a startled look on his face, he stared down at me. When I had his full attention, I did the one thing I thought might help.

I gripped his cheeks between my palms and pressed my lips to his.

For a moment, there was nothing, and my pounding heart wanted to break. But then he kissed me back, his arms wrapping around me, his hands holding me tight. His lips were the pillows I wanted to rest against every night. His arms were the waves that swept me off my feet. He was my shelter, my storm, the only man I would ever want.

“I’ve got you,” I whispered against his lips. “I won’t let you go.”

“Carina.” His embrace tightened around me, and he lifted me, raising me off my feet as he buried his face in the side of my neck.

“I love you, Rolly.”

His breath heaved from his chest, and he squeezed me to him. “I love you, Jael. I’ve always loved you.”

25

ROLLY

I love you.

I’d waited my whole life to hear those words from her lips. Yet I didn’t need to hear them. Not after she gripped my face and kissed me the way I always did to her.

My chest was so full, I thought it might burst. Because this woman got me in a way no one else ever had.

I love you.

The words screamed in my head, and I wanted to scream them to the world. To break free of the barriers that had held me back and possess her the way she possessed me. Disappear under her skin and get lost there for days, to hold her and keep her and make her mine.

Someone nearby cleared their throat, and the world I wanted to hide away from hit me like a bright light. I pulled my face from the crook of Jael’s neck, peering up at the crowd gathering in front of me.

“What’s everyone doing here?” I whispered, unwilling to let go of her.

“They're here for you,” she said back, just as quietly.

I set her feet on the ground, my brow furrowed. “Me?”

Her shoulders inched up, her gaze dropping to my chest. “To help find Mrs. T.”

Behind her, the people came closer. Alvarez and Lev. The men she’d worked with at the farm. There was Jet and his crew, my parents, the Medinas, and Zio’s lieutenants as well as so many of their men. There were dozens of people gathered there, all looking at me. And the only ones who even knew about Mrs. T were my friends from the park.

“Why?” It was out before I could stop it.

Jael hit me in the gut. “You’re an idiot. They’re here to help you find your friend. Because they care about you, and you care about her.”

“Did you do this?”

She raised a brow at me, telling me without words just how stupid I was.

This was the exact thing my family had told me to stop doing. Just like with my art. Just like with my relationship with Jael.

I should have told them about Mrs. T, asked them for help.

Instead, Jael did it for me. She saw the need and took the reins, gathering this crowd to help with the search.

Behind Jael, Lev stepped forward, his hand extended. In his palm was an earpiece, and I took it and put it in my ear.

“Welcome to the search party,” Shaw’s voice said in my ear. “You ready to get this thing started?”

“I am,” I told her, my voice tight.