Dizzie leaned into him, absorbing his strength. His presence. Finally able to relax, she started to shake.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’ve got you.”
She burrowed closer, while Killian whispered soothing words. His chest was warm beneath her cheek. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on. “He was going to kill us,” she whispered.
Killian tensed and his arms tightened around her. “Brunswick?”
She tilted her head back to look at his eyes. “You know?”
“Just the basics.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Will you tell me what happened?”
Dizzie blew out a slow breath. “I… Just a little, okay? I was in the cell—the one where we met.” She smiled, trying to add a bit of levity, but it fell flat. “Portia came in?—”
“Why?” Killian asked.
“She wanted to see me.” Dizzie pressed her forehead to his chest so he couldn’t see the turmoil in her eyes. She wasn’t going to mention that Portia had had intentions like Leopold’s. Dizzie still didn’t know how Portia had planned to do it, since she hadn’t brought a weapon. She chalked it up to Portia’s deep grief and a spur-of-the-moment thought. She was already responsible for so much damage to his relationship with Portia, she wasn’t going to make it worse. “Leopold followed her in. He said we were both meant to die in the explosion.” The terrifying memory of that moment shuddered through her.
“I’ll kill him,” Killian growled.
“He shot Portia and shot at me.” The wound in her side throbbed in reminder. “I couldn’t leave her there. He was going to kill her. So I attacked him and…” she swallowed hard. She’d never forget the feeling of rending flesh and muscles with her nails. “And we got away.”
Killian’s hands landed on her shoulders and he eased her back enough so he could look at her. Dizzie avoided his gaze until he rested a finger beneath her chin and tilted it up. “Thank you for saving her, Dizzie.”
The look in his eyes, the warmth in his voice. She nodded.
“Will you tell me how?”
Dizzie looked away. “I attacked him with my…with my nails.”
He sucked in a deep breath, but didn’t say anything.
“It was… It was bad. There was a lot of blood.”
Cupping her face between his hands, Killian said, “I’m so sorry you had to do that. But I’m so glad you made it out of that cell alive.”
The kiss began gentle, reverent. A kiss of gratitude. Relief. Love. At least on her end.
She loved him.
Whoa. ShelovedKillian.
Dizzie wrapped her hands around his wrists, levered up onto her toes, and poured every ounce of herself into the kiss.
A throat cleared nearby. Dizzie broke off the kiss reluctantly.
“Excuse me, Mr. St. John?”
Killian released Dizzie and shifted so his body was between her and the newcomer. “Yes?”
A young man, wearing a suit that didn’t quite fit, stood a few feet away. “Sorry to bother you, sir, but there’s an issue in Mr. Tremaine’s office and, well, we don’t know what to do about it.”
“Why are you coming to me?”
“Well, sir. You handled the reporters really well and there’s not really anyone else we can go to at the moment.”
“Give us a minute,” Dizzie said. She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hallway.
“Why do they want me to deal with this?” Killian looked puzzled by the turn of events.
