Somehow, he’d centered all his failures on me—on the fact I’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I need her gone,” Roy snarled. “It’s the only way.”
“That isn’t happening,” Travis growled. “Your options are to lower your weapon, or I put you in the ground.”
Clearly Roy’s threat had ended any effort on Travis’s part to appease him.
“You shoot me, you risk me getting a shot off at you,” Roy warned.
Travis chuckled darkly. “You’d be dead before you could ever get a shot off at me, promise you that. I’m only giving you this opportunity because I’d rather not have to face May and tell her I killed her son. Otherwise, this would have been over the second you said a word.”
I believed that wholeheartedly.
“If my threat isn’t enough, then maybe the fact that you have two men behind you with their guns trained on your back will do it,” Travis added casually.
I could just make out Roy spinning in surprise, offering the opportunity Travis needed. He fired a shot that took Roy to the ground.
“Drop your weapon!” Declan shouted as two hulking figures drew close to Roy’s crumpled form.
“Now!” Theo barked.
There was a moment of chaos where the three forms blurred before Declan’s voice rang out, confident and only slightly out of breath. “Secure.”
I wilted against Travis’s back in relief. He turned toward me, pulling me into his arms, as close as our bulky vests would allow. “Okay, baby?”
I nodded frantically, unable to convey my relief that this was finally over.
“Good,” he replied, before taking my hand and guiding me down the few steps we’d made it up and back into the main room. “Now let’s get some fucking lights on, yeah?”
****
Travis didn’t leave my side once our home became overrun by uniformed police officers. He’d gotten the lights back on and had removed our vests. It was a relief to have the heavy piece of equipment off.
I knew Able had to be miserable, locked in the office, and Pip must have already pissed all over the floor, more than once, but it was safer for them with all the chaos.
Roy had been carted off in cuffs by paramedics, the gunshot wound to his leg not life-threatening, as Travis had surely intended.
Detective Harris had been one of the first responders, and though I’d never imagined it possible, he was a friendly face amidst so much turmoil.
Dec and Theo answered questions, their weapons holstered and massive arms crossed over their chests in matching poses that would intimidate even the most seasoned officer.
Harris didn’t have many questions for us; the explanation was fairly simple, and he was all too familiar with Roy’s past.
“Tired, baby?” Travis murmured with concern as I started to droop against his chest. He wrapped an arm around me. It was well past midnight and had been an eventful night, to say the least.
I nodded.
“This will all be over soon,” he assured me.
“What will we do about the door?” I asked, eyeing the patio door where the glass had been shattered.
“One of the guys will help me throw some cardboard on it for tonight. Unless you don’t feel safe? We can go to a hotel for the night if you’d rather,” he offered.
I was shaking my head before he was even done. “No, I want to sleep in our bed. Roy was the only reason not to feel safe, right?” At Travis’s nod, I continued, “Then I don’t want to go anywhere. It’ll be so nice to have my freedom back.” I sighed.
“I’m sure,” he agreed. “Though, I’ll still follow you around whenever I can,” he added, dropping a kiss to my temple. “I’d follow you anywhere.”
I looked up at him, offering a tired smile. “Ditto, honey. And now, it can be because you want to—not because you have to.”
“Either way, the view’s the same.” He grinned lasciviously.
“What is it with you and my ass?” I laughed, slapping him on the arm, amazed at how much lighter I felt despite the evening’s events.
He shrugged. “Most gorgeous ass I’ve ever seen. What do you expect?”
I blushed. I’d never thought I’d have a man like Travis in my life. I’d thought I’d only find romance in books, and though I still loved devouring my novels, I had the real thing in my arms every day.
It appeared that dreams really did come true.
