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And then those arms closed around her, and she was sobbing uncontrollably into his jacket.

Her father simply held her.

She could not remember the last time he had done such a thing. Never, maybe. But in that moment, it was exactly what she needed. It didn’t fix anything that’d happened, no—but it made her heavy, broken heart feel just a little bit lighter. A little less broken.

Made her believe—hope—that maybe Roark was right. Maybe Darien really would be okay. Hehadto be.

He had to be.

When Shay crackedopen her eyes, she did not recognize the bedroom, nor did she remember how she’d ended up here.

What shedidrecognize, however, was the man sitting in a chair beside the bed. Watching over her. His elbows were resting on his knees, his scarred and tattooed hands clasped before him. Dark, windswept hair dusted a pair of bold brows, the softstrands partially obscuring eyes that were a remarkable shade of golden brown.

“Hiya, pup,” said Roman ‘Shadows’ Devlin. That voice, so low and husky, made every instinct in Shay sit up straight.

“Roman?” She was so exhausted, she could hardly speak, her question no more than a crackle. She tried to scoot up?—

He stopped her with a gentle hand wrapping around her forearm. The physical contact—and the feel of those warm, callused fingers gripping her—made Shay’s heart bounce out of her chest.

It kept bouncing as Roman left his hand there, his thumb brushing across her wrist.

“What happened?” she asked him.

“You got shot.” Rage simmered in his stare.

Oh. Right. She remembered now. Remembered Pia, holding a gun to Paxton’s head. Remembered the car flipping down the highway as the magic of the forcefield buckled the pavement. Remembered running up and down that highway, shouting for Roman, who’d disappeared.

“Is Travis?—”

“He’s fine. He made it out.”

“And Darien?”

Roman hesitated. “He’s…recovering.” That meant he’d made it back home, then. Loren had succeeded at getting them into Blackwater Penitentiary.

“How long have I been out?”

“Two days.”

Two days.It hadn’t felt that long.

“You terrified me, pup.” His swallow was audible. “I thought I lost you.”

Her snicker was forced. “Pfft—keep dreaming, Shadows. I’m not that easy to get rid of.”

She thought he might smile, but all she got in response was the barest twitch of the left side of his mouth. That stupidly attractive mouth she couldn’t look away from, not even now.

Roman let go of her arm and sat back in his chair, the movement causing the muscles in his thighs to flex. Even in her current state, with her mind all groggy from painkillers, she couldn’t help but stare as he clasped those big hands of his between his thighs.

“I want to talk about what you said,” he began. “When you were being loaded into the helicopter.”

Oh shit. Shay’s heart started to pound. Had she said what she thought she’d said?

Roman’s eyes softened like sun-warmed honey as he finished, his voice low and gentle, “You said you love me.”

Shay’s pounding heart stumbled two beats.

Yup, she’d really said it.