Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 55510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
“Where are you hurting?” he asked.
“My side and my head mostly,” I replied.
“I’ll take one of the guys and run into town to grab you some things. We’ll swing by the apartment and grab your stuff too,” he offered.
I gave him a grateful look. They always went out of their way for me, and I hoped they knew that I would do the same for them. They saved me. They showed me how sweet freedom tasted. They made me feel more cared for than ever before.
I knew that I loved them, but how would they react to that? I refused to choose just one of them. I loved all of them equally, and I needed every single one of them in my life. I knew they were friends, but would they really be willing to share me in a serious relationship? It wouldn’t just be sex. It would be so much more. It would be our future.
“What are you thinking about?” Andrew asked me, seeming to sense the tension.
Of course, they had gotten to know me so well, able to pick up on my silent cues. I was too nervous to bring up my thoughts right now, and I really needed to get some rest before I approached a serious topic like that. Honestly, we all needed to rest. It had been a long day.
“I’m just glad things turned out how they did today. It could’ve been a lot worse,” I replied. I hated lying to him, but I would tell him the truth eventually.
Andrew nodded in agreement.
“It could’ve, but we all have each other’s backs. We look out for each other,” he reminded me. “We’ll do everything in our power to keep anything bad from happening to you.”
I smiled at him and leaned forward to press my lips against his in a slow, gentle kiss. I was too tired for anything else, but I wanted him to know that I appreciated him and the others down to my very core.
Andrew set up my bath for me and carefully set me down into the garden tub, helping me lean against the side so that the water lapped at my chest. He brushed his fingers through my hair and pressed another kiss against my lips before straightening up.
“I’m leaving Rhett and Ben behind to watch you,” he said. “Akio and I will be back.”
“Be careful,” I told him, concern seeping into my voice.
Andrew’s expression softened slightly.
“We’ll be okay. We’ll always come back to you,” he promised me before flashing me a smile and walking out of the bathroom.
I watched him go, letting out a sigh. I hoped that he was right. I didn’t want to lose them in any capacity because when I thought about my future, I saw them in it. They would support me when I started my organization for victims of domestic violence. They would help me explore things I hadn’t experienced before and encourage me to further find myself. We could get a permanent place together and maybe even think about kids down the road.
Maybe that was reaching. I didn’t even know if they all wanted to stay with me, but I was still fantasizing about this big, amazing life with them. It was rare for fantasies to come true, but they were a dream for me that I never even saw coming.
The future was full of mysteries, but with my regained freedom, I was ready for anything that came my way.
23
EMERY
The next day, I ventured out on my own. It took a lot of convincing to make the guys okay with me being out and about alone, but they knew that I needed to do this by myself. As much as I loved their company, this was for me to handle.
I walked into the police station and met with one of the main detectives, Landon, who was an old friend of Andrew when he was in the force. I knew Andrew was iffy about the police being involved, but we needed all the help that we could get when it came to tracking down Deviau and bringing him to justice.
“Thank you for meeting with me,” I told Landon as we sat at his desk. He was a tall, lankier man with lean muscle, dirty blonde hair, green eyes, and a clean-shaven face. He was around Andrew’s age.
“I read the report about what happened yesterday. What you went through sounds terrible,” Landon said with a sincere look on his face.
I nodded as I folded my hands in my lap.
“I thought I was going to die,” I admitted. “But my… bodyguards saved me.”
I didn’t like referring to them as just my bodyguards. They were so much more than that, but I couldn’t call them anything else without talking to them first.
“I’m glad to hear that. We’ve been gathering all of the information that we can find on Armond Deviau. We have three men connected to him in our custody that we’ll be questioning extensively. We’ll offer a reduced sentence in return for any information they have on their boss,” Landon explained to me.