“Yeah… It was those two officers from the ice cream shop. They took me—and my truck—up to some cliffside. I’m certain they wanted to make it look like a suicide… Like I’d driven off it.”
My heart races at the thought, and the pain in my templesharpens.
“I woke in time… Killed one almost immediately, but the other…” He pauses, and I slide my arm around his back, holding him closer. “I didn’t have to kill him, but I needed to. He was going to take me from you, and while I swear I’m not a psychopath, I couldn’t… let him live. I just couldn’t.”
“And I support you,” I whisper.
He swallows audibly. “I don’t know what that says about me, but that’s all I worried about.”
I nod.
“I took their car and drove here. Not fast enough, it seems… Any later…” A full-body tremor rolls through him. “I got here.”
“You got to me.”
“Thank fuck,” he says against my forehead before pressing a kiss to it.
I shut my eyes and rest against his bicep. “I’m worried about what tomorrow will bring.” My mind turns to Evelyn and Levi, and the military-grade sniper—something I’ve never seen outside of movies.
“Let’s worry about it then,” he murmurs.
A soft meow filters through, and I don’t even look up. Clover is over my back, settling in the tiny space between our hips.
With his possessive hold tightening one last time, I sigh into the sound of his heartbeat, the crackling fire, and the purring cat.
“I love you, Keo.”
He takes a deep breath through his nose. “I love you, too, Ayden.” The longing in his voice makes me tear up. “Thank you for coming back to me.”
There’s no one I’d run from the light for but this man. I’d fight anything that tries to keep me from him—even death.
I love him, and I just know everything will work out so I can keep him until we’re both old and gray.
56
Although the wooden floor wasn’t comfortable, after a short while of lying here, we both fell asleep.
I woke just as the sun streamed through the windows, Ayden and Clover still asleep against me. As strong as I’d been to get him cleaned up and inside the cabin, right now I feel like a pile of shit. Like my body had swum through a hurricane, reached land, and then had to survive an earthquake.
My calves are tight, my muscles burn, and on top of that, I have a goddamn migraine.
But this pain is bearable because Ayden is softly snoring against my chest. I’d never heard a more beautiful sound than his breathing—it’s what I live for, and what I’ll die to protect.
I shift to a seated position, taking him with me. Clover grumbles and jumps off, displeased at the disturbance. I slip my arms under Ayden’s legs and shift to my knees, fighting through the protest of every muscle in my body.
Lifting him was far more difficult than last night. I’ve got no more adrenaline left, but somehow I manage to stumble to my feetand take a few steps to the couch. I’m not graceful putting him down, and he groans as he bounces on the cushions.
“Fuck, I’m sorry.”
One of my knees hit the floor as I help adjust him to lie flat. His head turns to look at me, and my heart sinks. He looks worse than he did last night.
His left eye is completely black and blue, his temple matching the bruising color. He’s paler than normal, and I fear a hospital is exactly where he should be. I’m not a doctor, even if I’m certified in first aid.
If I take him in like this, the police will be called, and everything that happened will come to light. My truck is still up on that hill, over two dead bodies.
Two deadcops.
I drag my knuckles across his cheek and give him a weak smile.
