“Back to the four walls of your apartment?” Not that she was complaining anymore. It wasn’t even lunchtime, and she was exhausted. But then, she’d woken at the ass crack of dawn. “You know what today has taught me?”
“To trust no one?” Zane asked through gritted teeth.
“No. That nothing good comes from waking before the sun.”
He chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind, Bon.”
Zane shota glance at Bonnie on the couch from the kitchen as he made coffee. She was on the phone with the new shelter manager. He’d told her to leave work stuff until another day, but she’d wanted the distraction.
He sure as hell wished something would distracthim. The shower and rest hadn’t worked. He’d barely stomached food all day.
Today had been too damn close. If Maisie hadn’t had that last-minute change of heart, he wasn’t sure they’d have made it out unscathed. And that made him so damn angry he could barely breathe.
He was about to lift the mugs when his phone rang, Ethan’s name on the screen.
He leaned his hip against the counter and put the cell to his ear. “Ethan.”
“Hey, I’ve been trying to hold off calling to give you guys time to recover. You both okay?”
He’d texted his friend the CliffsNotes of what had happened. “We’re fine. Last I heard, Damien’s cuffed to a hospital bed, with deputies posted outside his room, and Maisie’s in a jail cell. I haven’t received an update on Stetson since he was taken into surgery.” But damn, he hoped the kid was going to be okay.
“Jesus. Did you have any clue it was the brother?”
“None. I was so sure the entire time it was the dad.”
“What do you need from me?”
“Nothing. You’ve done enough, Ethan. I really appreciate your friendship.”
“Of course.”
“It better be fucking over now.” He sipped his drink, eyes still on Bonnie. “How’s Deep River?”
Ethan chuckled, but there wasn’t a lot of humor in the sound. “You do not want to hear about my small-town drama. Another day. I’m glad you and Bonnie are safe.”
“Me too. Thanks, Ethan.”
When the call ended, he set his cell on the counter before taking the coffees into the living room. Bonnie smiled as she took the mug from his hand, cell still to her ear.
“Absolutely,” she said to her new boss. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
He lowered to the couch beside her, hand going to her thigh. He had a feeling too close wouldn’t feel close enough for a long damn time, not after the last several weeks they’d had.
“Thanks, Mia.” She hung up and sighed, leaning her head against the couch and looking at him, fingers wrapped around her mug. “Hi.”
“You doing okay?”
“Yeah, the distraction of work is good. I think I’m going to like the new manager.”
“You deserve some good.” He swiped his thumb against her thigh.
She glanced down at her coffee. “I’m sorry that what happened today happened in your gym.”
“Why are you sorry? You’re not the asshole who pulled a gun on us.”
“I know. I just…I feel guilty.” She frowned. “And I keep thinking…what if Maisie hadn’t had a change of heart and shot him? A second longer and he would have—”
“Bonnie. I would have found a way to murder the asshole. There is no scenario where either of us died today. I wouldn’t have allowed it.” Yeah, he couldn’t guarantee that. He’d been a fraction of a second away from shoving Bonnie to the floor anddiving at Maisie, and he liked to think he would have found a way to end Damien, because losing Bonnie wasn’t an option.
