The Recovery Read Online Free

hair was pulled into a neat ponytail; the circles under her eyes were gone; the hollows in her cheeks had filled in. She looked alive. He wanted to call to her, but found his voice gone. He felt James’s stare from across the table, but Realm was frozen in place. He didn’t even know where to start.
    “Talk to her . . . .” James sang out quietly as he sipped from his coffee.
    But then, before he could, Ally looked up. “Can I take your—” Her gaze fell on Realm and she took in a sharp breath and fell back a step. “Oh my God,” she said. “Realm?” Her face lit up. Damn, it hurt to know that in a minute he’d take that expression away.
    Realm got to his feet, and Ally rushed forward into his arms, pressing her cheek against his chest. Awkwardly Realm set his hands on her shoulders and told her it was good to see her. He pulled back to look down, feeling a familiar rush of affection. Although he hadn’t fallen for her, not the way he had with Sloane, Ally had been his friend. He cared for her.
    “I can’t believe you’re here,” she said, beaming. “Let me grab Tonya—I told her all about you.” But before she could rush away, Realm reached out to take her arm.
    “Ally,” he said quietly, startling her.“I need to talk to you. It’s . . . about The Program.”
    Her expression grew serious. “Why would you want to talk about that?” she asked. “They’re gone. They’re done, Realm. They can’t hurt us anymore.”
    He smiled sadly. “That’s true. But . . . I owe you an apology. If we can just talk—”
    “You have nothing to apologize for,” she said immediately. “You saved my life. Without you I wouldn’t have made it through those weeks. Whatever happened to me—you’re the one who kept me going. I know that for sure.”
    “That’s not entirely true,” Realm said, letting his hand fall from her arm. “You just can’t remember.”
    Something in his voice must have alarmed her, because Ally crossed her arms over her chest, red blooming on her cheeks. “What’s this about?” she asked, and looked over at James. Surprised, James lifted up his hands in surrender.
    “I have nothing to do with this,” he said. “Ignore me. I’m totally not here.” He picked up his cup and sipped from it, avoiding her gaze.
    Realm took a step closer to Ally and motioned for her to sit at another table. She scanned the room quickly for the other waitress, and when she didn’t see her, she followed Realm’s direction.
    The vinyl booth squeaked as Ally moved in. Realm sat next to her, wanting to keep his voice quiet. He’d never been so scared to talk before.
    “In The Program,” he started, his hands shaking in his lap, “I wasn’t . . . completely honest with you.” Realm saw the uncertainty in Ally’s eyes—she wanted to believe this wasn’t going to be bad news, but her intuition was telling her different.
    “Why did you come here?” she asked in a small voice.
    “Because I was a handler,”Realm said. “I was your handler, Ally.”
    She stared at him a long moment, the color draining from her cheeks. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She didn’t argue the point, not even when the tears welled up and spilled onto her cheeks.
    She knew, Realm thought. On some level she knew I’d been too good to be true. Ally continued to cry, and Realm glanced up and found James looking concerned. Realm was hoping for something a little more helpful. He turned back to Ally, tempted to put his arm around her but knowing ultimately that it would be wrong. He wasn’t allowed to manipulate her anymore—not with his words, not with physical comfort. He’d come here to tell her.
    “I was an embedded handler,” Realm went on quietly. “I’d been hired by The Program to help with difficult patients, the ones who posed the most risk. Before they brought you in, I was briefed on your situation, had a file to study. When you showed up, all I had to be was a good guy—get