Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
I tuck her hair behind her ear, then place my finger under her chin, forcing her to look at me. The irritation in her eyes changes to fear and sorrow.
“It’s not an excuse. I am trained. This wasn’t my first rodeo. Not one of us blinked, thinking about sliding down that rope to get to you.”
“Why didn’t you bust in the door like normal cops do? Or use a fire-ladder to get to the balcony?”
“We didn’t have eyes and ears in the room, didn’t know if the security cameras were activated, and couldn’t take the chance. Robbie used thermal monitoring equipment to gauge activity. And he agreed. The element of surprise was on our side with us coming from the sky.”
“It’s insane!”
“Jewls, swear to God, watching that video of him with a gun to your back, a fury I didn’t know existed raged inside. Never wanted to kill a man out of pure hatred until today. Nothing mattered—the Marines, my career, family, friends. I was consumed with getting to you. Craig Johns threatened my future. The building was not an obstacle.”
Tears swell and spill onto her cheeks. She shoves her face to my neck and sobs. “I knew you’d find me.”
“Rowan activating her distress signal was key.” I don’t add that if we didn’t have the heads up, things could have gone much differently.
“She was brave and selfless. I wasn’t scared at all until… until he took her…”
“Baby, don’t go there.” I sift my fingers through her hair, her tears trickling over my skin. Fire blazes through my veins and threatens to take me down the dark road from earlier today.
“She wanted me to save myself! She was willing to do anything for me! How can I ever repay her?”
“I think the fact you are safe is enough.”
She shakes her head, sniffling on a shaky breath. “He’s evil, Major. I’ve seen a lot in my line of work, but that man was soulless. Knowing what he did to Darla, what he did to us, and what he planned to do to Rowan, I hate him.”
“You’re not alone.”
She tilts back, her glossy eyes now flaring with revulsion. “I wish he was dead.” Her voice is low but resolute. “It’s selfish and morbid, but I wish you would have shot him.”
“He drew one lucky card in this game, and that card is he didn’t answer to me.”
She searches my face, taking in my sincerity, and the tears dry up. “Batman.”
“Don’t start.”
“My mom says Superman, but I’m sticking with Batman.”
“Do I want to know why you two discussed this?”
“Her opinion stems from kryptonite. Mine is more about the badass who wears Kevlar, scales buildings in the dead of night, and saves those in need.”
“No one is ever getting to you again, Jewls. You have my word.”
“Are you blaming yourself?”
“I should have been with you.” For the first time, I allow myself to relive the fear. “I left you unprotected again.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“Darla.” The one word should be explanation enough, but Jewls slants her head, waiting for more.
“Darla wanted revenge. She wanted the satisfaction of embarrassing my department and me when I wouldn’t take her back. Finding out you were pregnant sent her directly to Craig, which gave him false hope. She should have never volunteered for a case of his caliber. She’s not qualified.”
“Him beating the hell out of her is proof of that.”
“For six hours, you were with a madman who was violent, crazed, and had already left evidence of his wrath.”
“That’s not on you.”
“It’s on me.”
She curls over, pressing half her body weight into me and bracing her elbow on my chest. “This hit you deep.”
“Yeah, babe. I’d gladly go through every single mission of my entire career over again if it meant today didn’t happen.”
She gives me more of her weight, shifting up to brush her lips across mine. “How can I help you let go of this? Getting shitfaced and hashing it out isn’t an option. And until we blow this popsicle stand, sex is out of the question. I mean, we could try, but this flimsy bed may not withstand our activity.”
I can’t stop the twitch of my lips at the image flashing through my head. “You want sex? A minute ago, you glared daggers.”
“It’s a burden you have to bear. Insatiable sex drive and mercurial mood swings caused by emotional upheaval are the tip of the iceberg.”
“I can handle both of those things.”
“Seriously, now I’m over my snit and we talked it through, I’ve rethought it. Outside of all the drama, you scaling down a building to get to me is seriously HOT. Which of course makes me want to strip you naked and jump your bones.”
“Jesus, Jewls. Jump my bones?”
“What is the cool slang these days? Ride you wild? This would be a perfect occasion for a celebratory blow job—”