I figure it out just as Graham answers, “Hidden Agenda. Had to stop and pick up this little one and all her stuff.”
Outside the SUV, men, women, and one German Shephard stand shoulder to shoulder behind him. He follows my gaze, looks back at them, and smiles. “My team. My family. Well, most of them.”
“Th-thank you,” I whisper. I don’t know if they can hear me. Hell, I don’t even know their names. But it’s all too much right now, and I just stare down at Clementine, tears in my eyes until Graham squeezes my shoulder.
“Ry’s going to drive us back to your place, then take Rip home. So they’re coming with us, okay?”
I nod, even though I don’t know who Ry and Rip are. It doesn’t matter, though, because Graham rounds the SUV and climbs in next to me. My head’s starting to clear, and as the SUV starts to roll, I bury my face in Clementine’s fur.
“I don’t want to go home.”
“What?” Graham touches my cheek, dipping his head so he can meet my gaze. “Q?”
“He knows…where I live.” The sob escapes before I can stop it, and Clementine starts purring even louder and wedges her head directly under my chin.
“He’s dead,” the bigger man—the one behind the wheel—says, his voice rough and completely devoid of emotion. “He’s never going to bother you again. And the two cops who put your brother in the hospital? No one’s going to find them. Ever.”
I’m so confused. What does he mean? Before I can ask, Graham rests his hand on my knee. “If you want to go home, it’s perfectly safe. Ry found your laptop. I’ll need to hook up your security system again, but that won’t take me more than twenty minutes.”
“Please...”
“Graham?” The man in the passenger seat turns around. “We’re going to your apartment. It’s the best place for both of you tonight. Trust me.”
Whatever this guy’s deal is, something passes between them. Even with the cobwebs dimming the corners of my mind, I can see it. It’s more than trust. It’s admiration. And gratitude.
Graham slips his arm around my shoulder and nods without saying a word. I can relax now. Breathe. It’s really over.
* * *
The street is too busy.Even this early in the morning—close to 5:00 a.m., I think—there’s traffic and people. But Graham keeps his arm around me as we head into a secured building.
My legs feel like jelly, and more than once, my knees buckle, but he holds me close. The man with the dog comes with us, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder and a large plastic tote in his hands.
Once we’re inside, Graham eases me down on the couch. “Relax, baby. I’ll get Clementine set up and then we can sleep a while.” Graham presses a kiss to the top my head, glances at the other guy, and nods.
I’m so tired, I don’t care what silent message they just shared, and I close my eyes until the older man clears his throat. “Jackson Richards,” he says as he holds out his hand. “But everyone calls me Rip or Ripper.”
“You took care of Clementine…”
“Well, Charlie did most of it.” Rip reaches down and scratches the dog’s one good ear. “I hope you’re sticking around, because otherwise, I’m going to have to get him a cat.”
Charlie’s tail thumps on the carpet, his tongue lolling out of his mouth like he just won the lottery. Or found a twenty-ounce Porterhouse in his food bowl.
“Y-yes. I’m staying.” Why would he think I’d leave?
“Mind if I sit?” Rip gestures to the couch next to me, and I stare at the empty cushion until he sinks down next to me. Charlie sits on the guy’s feet and rests his muzzle on my thigh. “He always knows what people need,” Ripper says, love warming his tone as he rubs the dog’s head.
“Clementine too…” I’m mumbling, my thoughts still too slow, too fragmented.
Silence fills the air for a moment until Ripper lets out a long, slow breath. “I know what you went through, man.” He runs a hand through his hair, the movement jerky. “Wasn’t exactly the same, but...the drugs and the lies—the brainwashing? I lived it for six years.”
“Shit…” Graham told me. I think. Ripper’s the guy they went to rescue.
“You’ll never be...over it. Never not remember. But you’ll get to a point where it’s not your first thought every fucking day.”
I can only sit there baffled at the raw honesty he’s offering me when I don’t know him at all.
“The guys—the team...Inara was there too—pulled me out of a goddamned hole. Saved my life. I doubt I had more than a couple of hours left. But the first couple of days I was free? Graham got me through those. I’d never met him before, but that made it easier to talk to him. And…he gets it. He’s not going to judge you, and he’s definitely not going to stop loving you.”
