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Ryder stumbled to the couch and dropped to his knees in front of her. He gripped her fingers with blood-stained hands. “I love you.”
The tears pooling in her eyes spilled over. “I love you, too.”
His grip tightened. “I should have told you last night. I wanted to, I just,”—his Adam’s apple bobbed on a hard swallow—“I was afraid.”
Nathalie’s heart cracked a little. “Are you ever going to forgive me for the past?” It didn’t matter if he loved her if he couldn’t bring himself to trust her love in return.
His eyes glistened, and her breath caught at what she saw shining in them.
Love.Pure love. Any lingering distrust had disappeared.
“Today, when I realized Hadley had taken you, my world shattered. We deserve that second chance. Nothing and no one will keep us apart this time.”
“Nothing and no one,” she echoed. She pulled one hand from his grip to cradle his face and placed a gentle kiss on his mouth, mindful of the blood pearling from a split on his lower lip.
He responded instantly, pulling her closer to sweep his tongue past her lips.
The surrounding chaos disappeared. Only Ryder and the feel of his mouth on hers, his warm body pressing against her breasts, his fingers caressing the back of her neck. She gripped his biceps to steady herself.
He broke their kiss with a hiss.
Frowning, she dropped her gaze to where her fingers rested. Crimson rivulets trailed from a deep gash in his arm.
She snatched her hand back, her fingers covered with his blood. “You’re hurt!”
“The bullet grazed me. It’s just a scratch.” He smiled. “If you hadn’t knocked his arm and made the shot go wide, it would be a different story.”
She wouldn’t faint. Shewould notfaint.
The room dimmed.
“Nathalie?” Ryder pressed on the back of her head until her face met her knees. “Deep breaths, darling.”
She felt rather than heard someone approach.
“We’ve got company.” Lachlan’s voice rang with irritation. “Try to keep your tongue out of our client’s mouth, and get your arm looked at. You’re leaking, yabawbag.” He walked away, still mumbling.
Leaking?Her head still down, Nathalie smothered a semi-hysterical laugh. Apparently, getting shot was no big deal to these men.
Slowly, she lifted her head. The lights in her brain stayed on, so she sat up all the way.
As if on cue, her godfather stepped through the shattered front door, accompanied by a shorter man with thinning brown hair and a brown blazer.
“Lucas. Detective Johnson,” Lachlan greeted the two men.
The detective took one look at the scene and glared at Lachlan, then turned his glare on Nathan and Ryder. “Why is it every time I see you guys there’s a body involved?”
“This one’s still alive,” Lachlan answered. “He’s the man who kidnapped Nathalie Williams.”
Johnson’s shoulders slumped with a weary sigh. “You know the drill. This is a crime scene, etcetera.” He beckoned to someone outside.
Men and women in blue uniforms, black vests imprinted with the wordPolicein white block letters, and long guns poured into the room. He turned to the woman leading the SWAT team. “Make sure an ambulance and a crime scene unit are on the way.”
Lucas made his way to the couch. Ignoring Ryder, he sat next to Nathalie and tugged her into a tight embrace. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“I’m fine.” She pulled back enough to meet his concerned gaze. “Ryder saved me.”
“She saved me, actually,” Ryder said.