Storm by Aria Ray

Chapter Twenty-Three

Storm

Istood for a moment outside the hospital door. Zoe was in there with her sister, Alison.

The last three days had been awkward between us. She spent most of her time at the hospital, while I focused on finding the escaped kidnapper and tracking down Daniel. Things were not looking well, and I was frustrated.

I needed to see Zoe.

We needed to come to a conclusion. I didn’t like the way we left things the last time we spoke.

I knocked before I entered the room.

Zoe was sitting by her sister’s bed. The two women were holding hands, smiling at each other. It seemed like Alison was doing much better now than the condition I had first seen her in.

They were both surprised to see me.

“Storm! What are you doing here?” Zoe asked, gasping. Her eyes were wide and wild, and for a moment I wondered if they were talking about me just now. Then I corrected myself. Why would they talk about me instead of all the things I knew they could talk about?

“You’re Storm?” Her sister beamed at me. “Finally, I can put a face to a name.”

I wanted to ask her what Zoe had been telling her about me, but I didn’t want to know.

“I hope you’re doing better, Alison,” I said instead.

She shrugged and looked at Zoe. While Zoe hadn’t taken her eyes off me.

“You didn’t have to come all the way here. I’m sure you’re busy with other things.” Zoe finally spoke to me, and her voice sounded strained.

The last thing I wanted was for her to feel like I didn’t want her. The opposite was true. I had spent the last three days thinking about her, and I wanted her to know it before it was too late.

“It’s very sweet of you to come and check on me,” Alison interjected, then she threw her sister a big smile. “Or maybe you haven’t come to check on me at all.”

Zoe blushed and stared at the ground.

I needed to come clean or else I was going to explode. If she wanted to leave and never look back, then she was free to do it, but only after I told her everything I needed to say.

“Can we talk?” I asked.

“I need to be with my sister,” Zoe said, avoiding eye contact with me.

“I’m in a hospital, with armed security outside my door. I’ll be fine, Zoe,” Alison said.

“Do we have anything to talk about?” Zoe asked me.

“Grit is here, too. He’s going to sit with Alison. I want you to come with me. We can go get a coffee. It’s going to be shit. I can tell you that,” I replied.

Zoe looked at her sister, and Alison smiled back at her.

I thought she was going to turn me down. I thought she had already made her mind up about me. Then, she blew me away.

She simply said, “Okay.”

∞∞∞

“Daniel is nowhere to be found,” I said.

We were sitting together on a park bench with our coffees in our hands. It was the closest spot to the hospital where we could be alone. Since we left Alison’s hospital room, we had been discussing the situation involving Daniel and the kidnappers.

“So, you have nothing on the guy who escaped?” Zoe asked.

I shrugged, trying to keep the frustration from my voice.

“I had to get in touch with my contacts on the police force. We can’t find him without their help. Some of our informants have given us clues, but not many. Apparently, he’s from somewhere in Austin, and we have a name, but we don’t know where he’s hiding out right now.”

Zoe shook her head, staring at some kids who were playing in the sandpit in the playground.

“I hope he’s found, by you guys or the cops. I hope they can explain to us why they did this to Alison and face justice for it.”

“This is on me. We had him and I let him slip away,” I said.

Zoe turned to me with sharp eyes. “This is not your fault, Storm. I couldn’t have found Alison without your help. You can’t blame yourself for it.”

We stared at each other. I was relieved that she was even speaking to me, but this was not what I wanted to talk to her about.

“I’m sorry about the way I spoke to you before.” I blurted the words out, surprising her. She wasn’t expecting me to change the subject so quickly.

“I…” she tried to formulate some words, but I interrupted her.

“I need you to know that everything seems different since we met.” Those felt like the sincerest words I had ever said. She stared at me, expecting me to break into a laugh or something, but I didn’t. I was serious.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying to me, Storm,” she murmured.

I clenched my jaws. She was right, I needed to be as clear as possible. This wasn’t a game. I could end up losing her if I wasn’t careful.

“You’ve changed my life. I didn’t think I could ever care about someone the way I care about you.”

I watched her swallow hard. She looked nervous. I knew what she was going to say now; that she didn’t feel the same way about me. That I was nothing more than a good lay.

“I had no idea this was how you felt, Storm.”

“I don’t know how to express myself in words.”

“I don’t fit into your world,” she argued.

“And I don’t fit into yours.”

We fell silent, holding each other’s gazes. Her eyes turned pink, and I knew she was going to cry. I didn’t want her to cry. I never wanted to see her cry. I was willing to spend the rest of my life fighting to keep her safe from harm. That was when I knew I had to tell her.

“I fuckin’ love you, Zoe. I don’t care if we don’t belong in each other’s worlds, we belong in each other’s lives.”

I wasn’t expecting her to throw herself at me, but she did. I caught her in my arms and held her close, my lips grazed her soft neck. I loved the way her silky auburn hair felt against my face.

“I’m in love with you, too, Storm. Even my sister figured it out!” She chuckled weakly and pulled away. I reached for her hands and pulled them up to my lips.

“I know you don’t understand the rules and code we live by. I know this is not how you live your life, but we can make it work,” I said.

Zoe was nodding, biting down on her lip.

“I want to make it work, because I want you.”

I pulled her in, and we kissed. It was like we had never tasted each other before. This was my woman. It wasn’t going to be an act anymore. She was all mine.

“I’ve never done this before. I’ve never been in a real relationship with a woman,” I confessed. Zoe searched my eyes.

“Why not?”

“My family fucked me up. The only thing my dad cared about was a drink, and the only thing I cared about was my little brother.”

“You have a brother?” she asked softly.

“He was a baby when he died.”

I looked away from her, and Zoe didn’t ask any more questions. I wanted to tell her, though. I never talked about my family, but I wanted to talk about my brother with her.

“My father left him in a hot car one day. He was drunk and passed out in the house while my brother was in the car, suffocating to death outside.”

Zoe straightened up, her eyes filling with tears.

“Storm, oh my God…”

“Don’t feel sorry for me, Zoe. I’ve lived with this my whole life. It’s in the past. I just want you to understand why I never wanted a family of my own. Why I never wanted to be responsible for someone else’s life.”

She touched my shoulder lightly and nodded.

“You are not your father. You are not going to turn into him.”

“And if I make you mine, it’s for life, Zoe. I don’t make a commitment lightly. I don’t make false promises I can’t keep. Are you willing to do the same?”

She breathed in deeply and then snuggled into my chest. I could feel the softness of her body molded to mine. I breathed in the sweet scent of her hair. This was what I wanted to wake up to every morning.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Storm,” she replied.