A dog barks from the living room, and then another joins. The two by the door make a deep, growling sound that reminds me of the first night they rescued me in the desert. The kind of sound that would scare the hell out of me if I didn’t know these dogs.
“Don’t make a sound,” Beau directs when he finally releases my mouth. I sit in panicked silence as I watch him climbout of bed. He pulls on a pair of jeans, then opens a drawer in his nightstand. I watch with alarm as he takes out a gun.
He grabs his phone, quickly dials a number, and speaks into it as he walks to the window, careful to stay out of sight as he peers outside.
“There are three of them, armed,” he says into the phone. “No, I don’t have twenty fucking minutes to wait. I’ll take care of this myself until you get here. I have someone to protect, goddamnit.”
I wait until the call ends before speaking. “Beau, what are you planning to do?” I ask, terrified of the danger I read in his eyes when he walks back to me.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this,” he says, taking my hand and pulling me off the bed before leading me across the room. “You’re going to stay put and let me take care of you, okay?”
“You can’t be serious! There are three—”
“I know this property like the back of my hand. I will not let some fuckers ambush us here.” He yanks open the closet door, and I watch him shove the clothes to one side to reveal a wooden wall. He presses his palm to the wall and slides it to the side, revealing a narrow crawl space hidden behind the closet wall. It’s barely large enough for a person to fit inside. “Get in.”
“W-what?”
He turns me to face him, impatience written in those beautiful eyes. He takes my chin, leaning down so our noses are touching. “If I’m out there worried about one of them getting past me and reaching you, then I will make a mistake. I can’t be distracted, Rosalie. Not when it could make me vulnerable. So please, get in. You’ll be safe in there. Don’t come out until I come for you.”
“Promise you’ll come back for me. Don’t get hurt,” I whisper, panicking when I remember how he lost his partner. I can’t lose him in a shootout! “Please.”
“I promise,” he says quickly, brushing his lips over mine.. “Stay here, baby. And don’t come out until I come for you.”
My heart pounds as I climb into the crawl space, which is bigger than I initially thought. His eyes are the last thing I see when he closes it after me, burying me in darkness.
I close my eyes and drop my head against the wall, straining my ears, but all I catch is the loud, angry barking of the dogs. A sudden crash sends me jolting. Someone yells, the sound pained, and there is another crash and then...
A gunshot.
My heart stops. For one long second, every inch of my body freezes. My head goes dizzy as my blood seems to stop pumping, and my mind conjures the violent image of Beau lying somewhere, bleeding.
When everything snaps back into focus, I reach for the wall, desperate to get to the man I love, but stop at the memory of his words.
If Beau is not hurt, my presence would only distract him, and then we could all end up getting hurt or worse.
My heart wars with logic and loses. I sit back and slap a hand over my mouth as sobs rack my body.
I can’t lose him, too. God, not after my parents. Not after Kristin.
I can’t lose Beau too.
I’m so lost in my own panic that I almost miss the sound of sirens until they’re practically outside the house. I sit up, heart beating fast as I contemplate leaving my hiding spot. Then the wall slides open, and light filters in. I blink away the tears as I try to make out the shadow of the man standing before me.
“Hey little bird, are you okay?”
I scramble out of the space and into the arms of the man I foolishly gave my heart to. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, bury my face in his neck, and sob against his skin.
“I heard a gunshot,” I sniff, pushing back to look at the man, and it dawns on me for the first time that he’s shirtless, making the injuries on his body visible. “Y-you’re hurt,” I say tearfully, brushing my fingers over the angry red mark on his ribs.
“It’s nothing,” he assures me, pulling me back to his chest, and I can feel how fast his heart is beating. For the first time, I realize he must’ve been scared too. “It’s all taken care of now, baby. The cops have them.”
“And the dogs?” I ask, panic flaring all over again. “Were they hurt?”
“One of those fuckers kicked Ares, but he’s okay. I checked all of them myself to make sure they’re okay. And if it makes you feel any better, Ares got his payback.” He rubs a hand down my arm in a comforting manner. “One of them is nursing a gunshot wound to the shoulder, and other has multiple bite wounds on his legs and arms, courtesy of Ares and Zeus. I subdued the last one, but he managed to land a punch to my side.”
“I was so worried. I’m glad the dogs are okay. I’m gladyou’reokay.” I breathe deeply. “Who were those people?”
Beau goes quiet for a moment, and when he speaks, my heart nearly stops all over again.