Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 118780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
We only left after he passed out.
“Got to get back.” I stand, vertigo taking over and sending me forward.
“You’re not going anywhere.” He catches me by the hips, avoiding my stomach.
“Where’s Rowan?”
“In the kitchen with Harley, cooking for an army.”
“Shit, I forgot. There’s something I need to do before they all get here.”
His eyes flicker with understanding. “What can I do?”
“Someone retrieve my truck?”
“It’s outside.”
“I need my jacket.”
“You good for me to leave you?”
“Fuck you.” I shove him aside and hobble to the bathroom.
The shower helps wash away the grogginess, bringing me back to myself.
Another look in the mirror has my blood boiling.
Fucking bastards.
“Ford Whitman, what are you doing out of bed?” Rowan shrieks.
Her hands are propped on her hips, and when I twist, her eyes fall to my chest and glimmer with a tear.
“Baby, come here.”
She rushes to me, careful to wrap her hands around my waist. “You should be resting.”
“Let’s get this meeting done, visit Talon, and then we’ll go back to bed.”
She nods against my chest, sniffling softly. “Let me treat these.”
I hop on the counter, leaning back to give her access. She gently towels off the area, then begins her routine. Half a dozen tubes lie around, and when she’s done, I’m glistening, tingling, and smell like a damn spa. But I keep my mouth shut.
“Ace still here?”
“He’s in the bedroom.”
“Send him in to help me dress?”
“I can do it.”
“Babe, I’m over two hundred pounds. If I go down, you’ll be crushed.”
“I can do it,” she insists, straightening her spine. “We can do it in parts. Lay you down or something.”
“Get Ace.” I lift her chin and kiss her lightly. “Please.”
She scrubs her hand through my wet hair and tips up to run her lips across the cut on my cheek.
I tamper down the guilt as she goes. When the door to my room closes, I hop off and dress in loose athletic pants and a sweatshirt she laid out.
“Thank God I don’t have to cover your bare ass.” Ace hands over my jacket with a knowing smirk.
“Your loss.” I find the box, slipping the ring into my pocket.
“Harley and I will ghost, but brace, man.”
“I saw the house before I left.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
We head to the kitchen and straightaway, his meaning is clear. The house is cleaned, the blood is gone, and there’s no sign of struggle.
The lamps are replaced, a new flatscreen hangs, and the drywall is repaired.
That’s not all. Christmas trinkets are placed around the room, small twinkling lights strung inside garland over the front door, and candles scent the room in birch, apple, and cinnamon.
The kitchen island is loaded with pastries, fruit, bagels, cheeses, and a selection of meats.
“How long was I asleep?”
“We had help.” Harley comes to me, cupping my jaw, her eyes glimmering bright. “Thank you for staying alive.”
“No other way to be.”
She kisses my cheek and goes to Ace. “We’ll be back for the meeting.”
I glance at Ace who’s grinning haughtily.
Asshole told her.
They leave, and Rowan works frantically in the kitchen. I close in behind her, lifting and twirling her to face me on the counter.
“You can’t pick me up! You’re injured,” she scolds.
We could go around and around about my condition for hours, and neither would agree. It’s time to move this shit along.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
I brush my thumb along her cheek. “I’m not talking about this. You shot a man. You saw and heard some pretty gruesome events.”
Her face falls, and remorse fills her beautiful face. “I messed up.”
“How?”
“When we were here, Talon and that man were fighting. The gun flew, and I stared at it, not moving. If I’d have jumped into action, none of this would have happened.”
Her admission slices me like a fiery blade through my chest. “None of this is your fault. Wallace had a vendetta and was covering his ass. If anything, I didn’t protect you.”
Her eyes blaze brightly, her hand fisting my hair. “Don’t ever say that again. You’ve saved me three times. I’m not regretful about shooting that man. Because in that instant, when he was charging me, instincts kicked in. But when Kent held that gun to your throat, it was like a revelation hit. I knew I’d never recover if anything happened to you. You are my world.”
Fuck, the woman has my eyes stinging. “I’m not alright, Rowan.”
“You shouldn’t be. You’re hurt.”
“Those fuckers took something I’ve waited forever for.” I ease the ring out of my pocket and take her hand, sliding it on her finger. “You made me wait for it, and the only good thing that came out of that was being able to create this specifically for you.”
Her lips part, breath catching.
“Last night, I had a plan. They ruined it.”
“It’s not ruined.”
“Sitting on a kitchen counter, waiting on a debriefing with a house of cops and military intelligence isn’t romantic.”