“Of course.” She sounded appalled that he even asked. “At first, the nurses tried to tell me I couldn’t stay, but Mike worked his magic and even had a nice reclining chair brought in for me.”
“Well, I’m okay, so you can rest now.” Boone set his hand over hers on his chest, and they lay there in silence.
A few minutes later, he felt her body completely relax and knew by her steady breaths she was finally sleeping.
Careful of his IV, he cautiously curled his arm around her and held her close. His last thought as he drifted off to sleep was how fucking grateful he was to be alive and to have this incredible woman by his side.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“Iknowyou’regladto have your cast off and to be back at work, but can you please,pleasekeep in mind that you were almost blown up a mere fifty-two days ago?” Someday she would stop counting, but for now, each day represented one day further away from when she’d comethisclose to losing him forever.
“Yes, dear,” Boone teased. “So, what do you have planned for your day off?”
He’d gotten his cast off yesterday, and Mike gave him the all-clear. So, naturally, a restless Boone went into the compound at the ass-crack of dawn this morning to get in a run with Eddie.
Luna wedged her phone between her shoulder and ear so she could wash her hands.
“I just checked on the girls really quick and am getting ready to head out to meet Dulce and Carter for a late breakfast.” Thegirlswere what they called Sassy and Patience.
“After that, we’re going to stop by Marigold’s shop and check out the new clothes she got in.” She yanked the towel off the bar to dry her hands and hung it back up, then shifted her phone to her hand and held it to her ear.
Luna hadn’t seen any of them since they came to the hospital to check on Boone. They all wanted to give them time and space to heal, physically and emotionally. Something she and Boone hadn’t thought they needed but ended up appreciating.
“I’m glad you’re doing that,” he said. “You’ve been way too busy babysitting me lately.”
“Not the whole time.” She’d also been busy wrapping up the Pakistan operation and digging into the situation with Eddie’s sister. And she’d been enjoying her time helping their neighbor around the ranch. “Besides, I love you, and I love taking care of you.”
“I love you, too.” Someone called out his name in the background. “I’d better go. Eddie is crying and needs my help on the o-course.”
She smiled when she heard Eddie cursing him in the background for disparaging his skills and ability.
“Okay, I’ll let you go—” Luna stepped out of her bathroom and stopped short of finishing her farewell. “You’re …. you’re alive.” The hand holding the phone dropped limply to her side.
“No thanks to your fucking boyfriend.” Aaron Udall stood in the doorway of their bedroom, leering at her. “Damn, Rancher’s got good taste.” His creepy gaze dragged over her from head to toe and back up again. “Then again, he always did like the ladies. Youdoknow he was always quite the man-whore, right?”
“From what I’ve heard, that was more your thing.” His attempt at goading her failed.
Boone had already told her about every woman he’d ever gone out with, and there hadn’t been allthat many. At least, not for a guy who looked like Boone and treated women with respect the way he did.
She hadn’t ended her call with Boone, so just in case he was still on the line, she tried to speak loudly enough for him to hear, careful not to be too obvious about it.
Luna gave Udall a once-over.
He had a big knife sheathed at his right hip and a rifle slung across his back. Other than that, she couldn’t see any other weapons. Of course, that didn’t mean he didn’t have any. He wore black gloves, and his jeans, T-shirt, and flannel shirt all appeared to be brand-new. Heck, his pants still had creases in them from where they’d been folded. Most notable was the fact he’d dyed his hair red and had a buzz cut, of all things, and he’d shaved his beard and mustache. He was also extremely thin, with sunken eyes and hollowed cheeks.
“You know, you really should be more careful about setting the alarm.” He scolded her like she was a child. “You wouldn’t want some horrible person to just let themselves in, now, would you?”
Shit.What an idiot she was. She’d intended to dash inside to wash her hands, then head out for breakfast, and hadn’t bothered to take the fifteen measly seconds required to activate the alarm.
“Set the phone over there.” He unsnapped the sheath, slid the knife free, and waggled it in the direction of the nightstand.
Luna made sure to keep some distance between them as she moved across the room. She set the phone face down next to the picture of her and Boone on the horses and started to lower her hand toward the drawer where she kept her weapon. Quick asshe could—just like she’d practiced with Boone—she jerked it open, and … her 9mm was gone.
“Looking for this?” Udall asked.
She looked over her shoulder, and he had her semiauto pistol dangling from his finger through the trigger guard. He waggled the fully loaded magazine in his other hand.
He tucked the gun in his right coat pocket, the magazine in the other.
