Or too much.
As much as I want to reassure him that we’ll work it all out, I can’t. I’d like those reassurances myself.
“I’ll log off and then I’ll join you.”
He’s looking up at me, so I kiss his lips, not sure if I’m overstepping or if that’s what he was waiting for. His lips move against mine, slowly as if he hasn’t kissed anyone in a long time and he has to remember how. His hand moves up my back to cup the back of my head. My hand is on his chest, and beneath my palm his heartbeat quickens.
Against my thigh, his cock hardens.
He’s not going to do anything, though. Reed’s return is what we are all waiting for.
And then we’ll have to all jump together and hope we land safely. Or at least be able to untangle any mess we’ve made.
CHAPTER28
Reed
Ten days stuckin a hospital was more than enough for me. I was ready to leave from the moment I woke up. That I was tethered to the bed by an assortment of machines, gave me more than a moment’s pause until I remembered why I was there. By that point, I’d been out of it for about three days. Long enough for wounds to be healing and the extra blood they’d dumped into me to have taken effect.
By the time Priest came to visit, I was more than ready to pack up and ship out, that I had nothing to pack helped. I need to get back to base. To Colt. And Ash.
On the drive back, Priest briefs me on everything. Including the cleanup of the site where I’d been held. The whole place had been stripped and scrubbed as if no one had been there for years and the place was derelict. Driving a vehicle into one of the buildings had no doubt helped with that look.
The good news is that our asses weren’t getting hung out. The mining company, the security company and the government are all working to understand what had happened and to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Which means everyone was being extremely gracious and helpful because the abduction and illegal mining wasn’t a good look for anyone.
I don’t like it when bodies disappear. To me, it suggests someone with power is pulling strings. Priest feels much the same, but there’s nothing we can do, because if we start poking around it’s going to look suspicious.
I didn’t take this security job to stick my hand in a hornet’s nest. I don’t want assholes hunting me. If I did, I’d still be in the military. But it feels wrong to walk away when we know that someone is out there with the power to make the whole thing disappear.
“So we’re letting this go?”
Priest nods.
“Really?”
“Yes. We go back to work and leave this mess to someone with a bigger paycheck.”
I glance at him. “Do you believe that?”
“No. However, do I want to end up in a foreign jail for murder? Also no. We couldn’t leave you and Ashley, but we took a massive risk.”
If they’d waited for the police, nothing would’ve happened until after the storm had cleared. I’d have been dead, and Ash…well, she might have been wishing she were dead. “They timed it.”
Priest nods. “That’s what we all believe, but they didn’t expect us to come after you.”
“Thank you.” I mean it.
“You’d have done the same.”
“Yeah.” I stare out the window, knowing that I’d have done the same for any of them. “How’s Ash?”
I can feel his gaze on me for a couple of seconds, as if he’s trying to work out what I’m really asking. Yeah, I’m held together by stitches and bandages, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about what I promised her. Did she tell Colt? Does Priest know?
I am so out of the loop. I need the gossip.
“She’s good. She’s been joining us most mornings.”
It’s my turn to stare. “Joining in with the exercises?”
