My back spasms painfully as I lunge sideways into his arms, but I don’t care. “How?”
“That’s a long story that you probably won’t remember if I tell you now.” The seatbelt snaps open, and Graham pulls me closer so I’m almost in his lap. “I took the patch off as soon as we got you out of there and West gave you IV fluids on the way to the airfield. But it’s going to be at least a day before you feel like yourself again.”
“I know.” I don’t remember how we got here. It’s all shadows, loud noises, terror…
“Pupils are dilated as fuck. Get some water into him.” Who’s talking? Why can’t I see anything? Where’s that light coming from?
“If he’s stable enough, we need to get the fuck out of here,” a woman says from somewhere behind me. “The plane’s waiting, and that explosion wasn’t…small.”
I suck in a sharp breath and struggle to sit up. “There were people. Who—?”
“My team. My family.” Graham nods towards the front of the plane, and I blink several times, trying to make everything clearer. It’s hard to see, but one of the guys is massive. His head sticks up a good ten inches from the seat back. “They’re on our side. Every one of them would die for you.”
I don’t understand. Why? I’m nothing to them. Alec had guns. Explosives. He told me how well protected the house was.
“Stop looking at that door like you can find a way out,” Alec says when he comes to give me another dose of meds. “In another day, maybe two, your balance will be so fucked up, you’ll be back in that chair permanently. The stairs are wired with C4. If you set one foot on them…” He spreads his fingers out in a vague representation of a bomb going off. “Bye bye, Quint.”
I’m so tired, all I want to do is sleep in Graham’s arms, but I have so many questions. How did they find me? Are—were—we really in Utah? Oh, God. My brother. Struggling to sit up, I grasp Graham’s vest. “Connor—”
“Shhh, baby. Look at me, okay?” Graham’s words hold weight, and I focus on his eyes. Such a deep blue and full of understanding. “We found him. Well, some of Austin’s guys—Austin’s part of the family too—found him. He’s in the hospital. Broken arm, cracked ribs, ruptured spleen, some internal bleeding, severe dehydration. But he’ll be okay. As soon as he can travel, we’ll get him out to Seattle. Or…take you to Dallas. You could go back now…if you wanted.”
It’s hard to concentrate. Only some of his words register, but Connor’s safe, and Graham…his voice is full of longing. I don’t want to go back. I want to gohome.Where Graham lives. Where…fuck. “Clementine. How long, Graham?How long?”
I’m practically shouting, but she hasn’t been alone since the day I rescued her, and she’s so tiny.
“I’d never let anything happen to her, baby.” Graham pulls out his phone and swipes through the photos. “When we went to your place…well…look.”
I’m still dizzy and my vision isn’t what it should be, but the man on screen is huge and dressed all in black. Clementine clings to his chest, her head tucked under his chin.
“She was hiding when we breached, and as soon as she saw Ry, she climbed him like a Christmas tree and started purring away.” He chuckles, then swipes to the next photo. “She’s at the warehouse now.”
“Is…is that a dog?” I hate trying to force my brain to make sense of even the simplest information.
With a chuckle, Graham zooms in so I can see my kitten curled up on a big, fluffy blanket, a German Shepherd wrapped around her like a bodyguard. “That’s Ripper’s dog, Charlie. Those two bonded almost immediately. We’ll stop at Hidden Agenda and pick her up before I take you home.”
He keeps saying that. Get mehome. Take mehome.Homeis where Alec found me. Watched me. Where the other guy—I can’t even remember his name—stole my laptop.
“Q? What’s wrong?” Graham cups my cheek, and I struggle not to hyperventilate.Homeis the last place I want to go.
He wraps his arms around me, settles me against his chest, and I relax. He came for me. I think he loves me. I know I love him. But I can’t tell him until my head’s clear. Until he knows I’m…me again.
“Stay.” It’s the only word I can force past my lips. The only one that matters. “Want to stay. With you.”
He shudders and brushes his lips to my ear. “I’m not going anywhere, Q. I promise.”
There’s something in his tone. A seriousness. A weight. Whatever it is…it’s enough. For now, it’s enough.
* * *
Snatches of realitybreak through the haze of exhaustion, pain, and the drugs still coursing through my veins. A bumpy landing. Graham’s voice—though I can’t understand his words. A car. A nice one. Big. Comfortable.
Quiet murmurs from other men and women around us. They scare me, but only until Graham reminds me I’m safe. That I’m with him.
And then, a loud purr vibrates against my chest and tiny paws knead my shoulder. I don’t think. Just reach up and cradle Clementine. Shemrrpsin my ear and her rough tongue scrapes my chin.
Beyond the inside of the SUV, it’s dark, but in the distance, a large warehouse looms, spotlights illuminating the eaves. The breeze carries a hint of the sea. Seattle. Home.
“Where are we?”
