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“I’m as serious as my grandmomma with her wooden spoon,” he swore. “That shit hurt for days.”

I laughed again.

“Don’t worry, Pip. I’ll always say it back.”

My fingers curled into the too-long sleeve of his hoodie.

“Your stomach fluttering again?”

How’d he know?“Yes.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“That’s the stuff.” He sighed. “You can hang up now.”

Before I did, I whispered, “Hurry home.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-EIGHT

Ghost

Turned out I tore a couple stitches carrying Pip around.

Worth it.

Once I was re-stabbed, re-stitched, and bandaged, Doc took his leave, and I found Kieran in the kitchen cleaning.

“I booked you a cleaning service. They’ll be here first thing in the morning.”

He turned from the sink. He was wearing yellow rubber gloves. Ridiculous.

“Big Bird wore it better,” I told him.

“You really booked a cleaning service?”

“The least I could do.”

“Thank you.”

I nearly fell over. “Did you justthankme?”

“It’s like you want the cleaners to throw out a carpet with your chopped-up body rolled inside,” he quipped.

“You’d never be that messy.”

The rubber gloves made an ear-splitting sound when hepulled them off and tossed them in the sink. “I appreciate you being there for Haz the other day.”

“And for you too?” I needled.

He gave me a look.

I grinned.

“Yes,” he said quickly. “Me too. I didn’t mean for you to end up in the middle of a shootout.”