Page 99 of Lethal Weakness

She nods stiffly, but her normally vibrant, life-filled eyes are heavy and exhausted. “Are you sure you should be driving? You probably haven’t slept at all.”

“I’ll be fine. Going without sleep doesn’t bother me when I’m on a mission.”

“What mission is this exactly?” She asks as her eyes already start to droop closed and her head lulls.

“Keeping you guys safe.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

Linden

“Mommy! Mommy!” Avery’s panicked cries hurtle me out of a dead sleep, and I spring up from where my head was lying on the other seat.

“What’s wrong?” My hands pat her sweat-covered face in her car seat.

“Mommy!” She cries again, thrashing her arms wildly.

“She was fast asleep. She must’ve had a nightmare,” Jack says from the front, and I feel the truck changing lanes to exit the highway.

“Oh, baby. You’re okay. Mommy is right here. We’re with Jack.” I hold her head against mine because it’s as close as I can be while she’s in her car seat.

“Mr. Jack?” She whimpers, but her voice sounds more in control, and I exhale in relief.

“Right here, Avery.” He turns in his seat to smile gently at her, and hell, I soak it in too. “We’ve been driving a while. We can take a break.”

We’re at a nicer rest stop surrounded by woods, but I’m not sure what state we’re even in. I can’t seem to remember to be worried when I’m with Jack. Despite everything, he makes me feel safe.

That thought is such a relief to admit to myself that I have a hard time moving from my seat even after he gets her unbuckled.

My body has been in overdrive for so long; finally having a chance to rest has completely depleted me.

“Do you need a minute?” He asks softly.

“No, I’m fine.” I pull myself together just in time for him to help me out of the truck. Avery skips ahead of us along the longest winding path to the bathrooms that I’ve ever seen while I refuse to lean on him for support.

“I could carry you, but I don’t think you want me to,” he murmurs.

I glance at his strong, capable arms, tempted to fall right into them, but I hold myself back by the thinnest amount of willpower.

“Avery will worry if she doesn’t see me trying to walk,” I say breathlessly, as my eyes involuntarily drift back to his very sturdy biceps.

He grunts in frustration, and a squeal escapes me as he scoops me up in one arm and then does the same to Avery. “What are you doing?”

“Royal treatment for the princess and the queen,” he says to Avery, as she smiles and claps, because now she thinks it’s a game, and not because mommy is in pain.

And when he lowers her to the ground in front of the family bathroom, she even curtsies with her princess skirt. “Thank you, Mr. Jack.”

Jack lowers me down slowly so I don’t land on my bad foot, but that means every inch of my body slides down his as he does. I’m just not quite sure if he did that on purpose.

His big hand flattens against my back, pulling me in until his lips are near my ear. “When you go in, lock the deadbolt, and don’t unlock it until I come back for you guys.”

“Okay,” I squeak, but when he pulls back, I realize my fingers are tangled in his shirt. His gaze drops to them, and I watch his eyes darken.

And not in the scary way.

In the way that makes me want to fall into him and never let go. And like he might want to hold on just as tight…

I rip them away, clearing my throat. “Thanks for the lift,” I rasp awkwardly as he opens the door for us and very clearly scans the inside of the single stall room to ensure it’s empty before closing us inside.