Safe enough for one night, anyhow. Chance and Dillon crash the second their heads hit the pillows. Roxie is already tuckedbeneath the covers of the other bed, half-asleep with her hand protectively over her belly.
“I’m gonna grab a shower,” I murmur, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead.
She nods, her eyelids already heavy as I turn and slip into the bathroom. The shower is quick, but I need to wash the blood off my arms. When I towel off and stride back into the room, my heart nearly stops and my feet slam to an abrupt halt as my throat constricts like someone has it in a vise.
Roxie’s bed is empty.
Cold panic claws straight up my spine, an all-consuming, instinct-driven terror. I scan the room in half a heartbeat. Dillon and Chance are still out cold. The door is locked.
Where the hell did she go?
The curtain moves slightly, the faintest ripple that signals the sliding door behind it is open. I exhale hard when I realize it leads to a balcony. I double-time it over there, push the door open a bit farther, and there she is.
Roxie sits wrapped in one of the hotel’s scratchy gray blankets, her legs curled underneath her as she stares out at the quiet town like she’s trying to spot more trouble coming. I grab the other blanket off the bed and drop it around my own shoulders, then walk outside, still wearing nothing more than the towel wrapped around my hips.
“Rox,” I say softly.
She turns at the sound of my voice, her eyes red-rimmed and her cheeks tear-stained. She tries to smile, but the sight of her breaks my heart in half.
I stride to the other chair, sit down, and pull her straight into my lap, wrapping both blankets and my arms around her. She melts into me, her arms slipping around my neck and her forehead pressing into my jaw.
I nuzzle her hair, breathing her in. “Are you okay?”
“No.” She lets out a shuddering breath. “Not really.”
My arms tighten instinctively. “What happened?”
“It was just a lot,” she whispers. “I thought I was ready for whatever would come with Caruso finally making his move, but I could have lost you. Any of you. And it terrified me, Boone.”
“I know.”
“I’m so relieved that it’s over, but I’m still scared. Our lives are so intertwined now. Yours, Chance’s, Dillon’s, mine, the babies… If I lost any of you, I don’t know what I’d do.”
I cup the back of her head and kiss her temple. “You’re not losing me. You’re not losing anyone. I don’t care what the world throws at us next. We’re not going anywhere, and those were exceptional circumstances, Rox. None of us are likely to hear another mobster plan a hit ever again.”
She shudders and hides her face in my chest, her arms wrapping tighter around me. In response, I hold her closer.
“I promise you, it’s over,” I murmur against her hair, doing my best to reassure us both. “Caruso’s done. His people are behind bars. The FBI will be crawling all over this mountain for months.”
I pause for a beat, then pull back so I can look into her eyes. “The life we usually live up here? It’s quiet, Rox. Peaceful. That’s our normal. Not this.”
She lets out a sound, which is half laugh, half sob, and another tear slides onto my shoulder when she lays her head back down.
My chest pulls tight. “Hey. Hey, it’s okay, baby.”
“I’m sorry,” she breathes. “I’m so sorry, Boone. I brought it to your doorstep. I brought danger into your lives. I feel awful. I didn’t want any of this.”
I stroke my thumb across her cheek, wiping her tears away. “Sweetheart, look at me.”
When she does, her eyes are glossy. Wounded, guilty in a way she has no damn reason to be. “You didn’t bring danger to us. This wasn’t you, Rox. It was Caruso. It was Tessa making selfish, stupid choices. Not you. Don’t you carry blame that isn’t yours.”
She sighs like she’s trying to believe it, but guilt still clings to her expression. “Your house is literally in pieces. All because you came to help me when I almost set a cabin on fire.”
“We were talking about renovating before we even met you,” I say lightly. “Now we just have a better excuse.”
Her eyebrows shoot up and her gaze holds mine for a long beat, and for the first time since the attack, her mouth twitches in a real smile. “I thought Dillon was the funny one.”
I shrug. “He likes to think he is, but I have my moments.”
