“Seriously though,” I said as I clasped my hands between my legs, “how are you so calm right now?”
She shrugged. “I just… I’m not sure how it gets much worse than this. So, I’m trying to take solace in that.”
I chuckled. “Never say never. The world always has a way of making you eat your words whole.”
Worry crossed her features. “You really think so?”
I stood to my feet and bent forward, placing a soft kiss to her forehead. “We’ve got you, I promise.”
But, her heavy sigh told me she still felt burdened.
“Whatcha reading?” I asked as I sat down next to her.
I pulled those luscious legs of hers into my lap and traced faceless patterns on them. I committed every single feeling to memory. The way her excess molded to me. The way her smile brightened her worried gaze. The way she snuggled the crest of her ass against my thigh, teasing me even at the height of our fears.
God, what a woman she was.
She was a woman worth dying for.
“Honestly?” she asked as she closed her book. “I’ve been reading the same damn page for a while now and I’ve got no clue what’s on it.”
I took the book from her and set it off to the side. “Naomi, look at me. I want you to hear me when I say this.”
Her glorious green gaze met mine. “Yeah?”
I reached out and rested my hand on her shoulder. “So long as we’re alive, you’re safe from Gordon and whatever he’s got up his sleeve.”
She started blinking back tears. “I don’t think I ever knew who he was. How terrible is that? That I was so blind as to--.”
“No.”
“No?”
I shook my head. “Don’t you dare do that to yourself. Men like him are good at what they do. They prey on people. Unsuspecting people. He took advantage of you and your kindness, and he knows it. He’s losing a grip on what he can control, and it’s spinning him out because that’s all he cares about. It says nothing about you, but it sayseverythingabout him. And anyone who could ever want to hurt someone as precious and as breathtaking as you as deep issues that have absolutely nothing to do with you in the first place.”
She reached her lips down and kissed my hand. “Thank you, Troop.”
I stood up, feeling her legs slide off my lap before I placed one last kiss to her pillow lips. “Now, stay here until one of us comes to get you. And if anyone walks through that door that isn’t us? Use this.”
I reached behind me and pulled out the piece I had stowed away behind my back. I brandished it for her, holding it in the palm of my outstretched hand. Her eyes widened as a gasp fell from her lips. She shot to her feet so quickly that it damn near knocked me off mine. But, as I gathered myself, I kept the gun held out in front of her for her to take in.
“I’ve never even shot a gun, Troop. How the hell am I--?”
I took her hand and placed the gun within her grasp. “You point and pull the trigger. It’s got a full magazine and the safety is off, so be careful with it. Don’t point it at anything you don’t want to harm.”
“I-I-I—I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know if—if I could—I’m not like you guys. I just can’t.”
I smiled as I cupped her cheek. “You’ve always been like us, pretty girl, it just scares you. So, make the decision to no longer be afraid. That’s all you have to do. Okay?”
Her gaze fluttered up to mine. “Just like that?”
“Believe it or not, it’s just like that.”
I bent down and stole one last kiss from her lips. One last warming touch to carry me through the hellscape that was about to drop down onto our heads. I had no idea if we’d make it out. I had no idea if Gordon was coming with an army, with the mafia, or was stupid enough to come all by himself. But, one thing I knew for certain was that we couldn’t underestimate him.
Doing so would cost us our lives.
“Remember,” I said as I started backtracking toward the door, “point and shoot if it’s anyone other than us.”
