So did the scrapes and cuts on her arms and legs.
Garrett’s back teeth ground together as he thought of all the ways he could kill the son of a bitch who’d hit her.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” He blinked. “Can I come in?”
Stepping to the side, Avery held the door open for him. Once inside, she shut it behind him and followed him into the room’s main area.
He glanced at the suitcases stacked on top of the bed. “I guess they told you they were flying you and the others out soon.”
She nodded. “Something about ensuring our safety and not wanting to risk us being accosted by the other passengers on board. I guess the cruise line is issuing us all a full refund, though. So that’s something, I guess.”
She sounded as impressed about that as he felt. Like a refund could make up for what any of them had gone through. Not that it was the cruise line’s fault, but it pissed him off knowing the assholes were only offering it to help keep from being sued.
“Listen, Avery.” He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from grabbing hold of her and keeping her in his arms forever. “I need you to know I never lied to you.”
“Garrett, please don’t—”
“Idosell insurance,” he insisted. “It’s just not my main job.”
“Clearly.”
“I wanted to tell you the truth. I was planning on telling you and then everything went to shit.”
“That’s convenient.”
“I’m serious.” Hedidgo to her then. “As soon as we got back from the excursion, I was going to call my boss and get permission to tell you.”
“You have to ask permission?”
“Yes.” He nodded with sincerity. “We do. Just like a lot of other covert agencies.”
“I’m assuming he knows you’re telling me now?”
“He does. Not that it matters, at this point. I mean, you saw the kinds of things my team and I do.”
“So what are you, exactly? Some sort of mercenary for hire?”
“No.” Garrett shook his head. “I’m a covert hostage rescue specialist. We use Travel Assurance as our cover, but my team and I…our main job is to locate and rescue people who’ve been taken captive by guys like the ones we dealt with today. We do a lot of classified missions the government doesn’t want the public to know about. That’s why we have a cover job. Keeps us hiding in plain sight, so to speak.”
“That’s how you got the gun on board the cruise ship.”
It was a statement, rather than a question.
“Yes. My team and I have special permission from the president to carry concealed weapons aboard aircraft and seacraft of all kinds.”
“The president?” She let out a disbelieving laugh. “This is insane. I mean…I’ve read about things like this. To be honest, I’m a little bit obsessed with stories where the heroine gets kidnapped and taken to some faraway place, and the hero rushes in at the last minute to save her. Part of me even used to wish that would happen to me, because in my mind I’d somehow romanticized it all. But this…this isn’t romantic, Garrett. This is terrifying.”
“I know.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Baby, trust me, I know. When that man ripped you from my arms today, I felt like I was watching my entire world disappear. And when I finally got free and tried to find you, only to be told you’d been taken someplace else…God, Avery. I can’t evendescribethe terror I felt thinking I’d lost you forever. But then, Digger and I came over that hill, and we saw you and Jessica standing on the side of the road, and I thought…I thought I’ve found my other half again.”
“I felt the same way.” She swiped at a tear that had fallen. “But then I saw you with that other man, Digger, and I…I don’t know.” Clearing her throat, she told him, “My sister was engaged to a man who kept things from her. I saw what the secrets and lies did to her. What they’re still doing to her, and I don’t want things to be like that with us.”
“It won’t.” He vowed. “Baby, what that jerk did to Alex was unforgiveable, but this isn’t even close to the same thing. You have to know that.”
“I do.” She pointed to her head. “In here. But here”—she tapped her chest—“I feel like a fool.”
Christ. “You’re not a fool. And I know this sounds crazy, and my timing is shit. But I promised you the truth, and that’s what I’m giving you. Avery, the truth is I l—”