Tethered Souls | Books 1, 2, and 3

{Book Two} 75 | Helpmate

∞ The Tethered Ones ∞

Chapter 5

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• Luna •

Luna wasn't sure how to react to Amir's question. "What are you doing?" Because she wasn't sure what she was doing. She knew she wanted to wash her tear-stained eyes and face and catch her breath. The recent conversation she had with Vikram left her filled with unanswered questions, and her heart throbbed with the thought of going someplace she wouldn't be able to connect to him. She needed to connect to someone from the outside and obtain the information she couldn't for herself.

Standing still, with Amir's strong hands holding her waist, their contact had shaken her. One minute she was checking the door, and the next, he opened it, making her fall into him. She didn't hear any movement from outside, but an icky feeling continued to creep down her spine as she stayed quiet. She knew someone could waltz through her door any moment, then see them together and pull her away. She wished for a chance to speak to him, and now she got it.

Stepping backward and flattening her white shirt, she cleared her throat as she tied her hair into a tight bun and caught his gaze.

His eyes — the color of honey mixed with dark chocolate, stared into hers. Eyes familiar and beautiful connecting straight to her heart.

Amir.

The man who loved and cared about her had to be in there.

"Oh . . . sorry. I was about to wash my face and I noticed this door. I had never checked the other side."

"Ah." One side of his lips tipped up into a tiny grin as he stepped aside, his back hitting the wall. "It's an office."

"Oh, I see."

Her eyes traveled around the small room as she spotted a wide desk, with a computer and papers strewn across it, and a TV that was turned on in the corner. The volume was low, so low that one could barely hear anything coming from the IHOP commercial.

Damn. She missed pancakes and egg whites for breakfast. She missed all the good stuff she'd taken for granted.

Looking back at him, she stepped forward. "I'm sorry if I disturb you. I'm sure you were working on something."

"You didn't. I was hanging out in here," he replied as they both stepped through the threshold. "I needed . . . a break."

Luna nodded and turned her neck to gaze outside the window, observing the trees swaying from the wind. "It looks peaceful out there."

He cleared his throat. "It does. I would have gone out there, but I wanted to catch the latest news report first. I can't believe I'm in America while all of this is happening around the world. I'm worried about Pakistan and my family."

Her heart ached, then plummeted. She'd forgotten to ask Faisal about his parents when she'd spoken to him earlier. There was so much to discuss, and it had slipped her mind.

"You haven't spoken to them?"

"No." He exhaled a deep breath. "The phone lines are down in most places, and I've been told that my mother, father, and brother are safe. I think I'd feel better if I could hear their voices, you know?"

Shaking, her lips quivered. Chase must have told him something to keep him from asking questions or to give him a false status of his family's whereabouts. She'd hoped his family wasn't in the hands of their organization. There's no telling what they'd do to them.