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TABITHA

“ I ’m sorry you had to see any of that,” he says. “I’m sorry you got dragged into my world.”

I take a sip of the scotch he’d given me to soothe my nerves. Even though I’m safe, my hand still trembles, and my heart still races. Despite the fear still coursing through me, I can’t help but feel the overwhelming wave of gratitude wash over me as well.

“I didn’t think you would actually come. They could have killed you,” I say.

“You were only in that position because of me. I would have let them kill me if it meant getting you away safely,” he replies softly.

Sitting with an open first-aid kit in his lap, Tyson takes my hand gently in his and uses an alcohol pad to wipe down the abrasions the plastic cuffs left around my wrist. I wince at the sharp sting, making him cringe.

“Sorry,” he says.

I suck it up and let him finish his work on my wrists, watching as he wraps a thin layer of gauze around the scrapes. The abrasions aren’t too bad, and he’s probably overdoing it, but it seems important to him, so I’m not going to complain. It’s kind of nice having somebody make a fuss over me. It stings like hell, making me hiss, but I manage to keep from flinching. His touch is gentle and tender—far more so than I would have ever expected from a man his size.

Once he’s finished, he sets his kit aside and takes my hands in his. He holds my gaze, his face twisted with something like grief, his eyes brimming with concern.

“I’m really sorry, Tabitha. I never meant?—”

I put my finger to his lips. “This isn’t your fault.”

“This is my fault. You never would have been in this position if not for me.”

I laugh softly. “Maybe not. But you saved me. You threw yourself in front of a train for me.”

“Those guys were hardly a train. A golf cart, maybe. Definitely not a train.”

I laugh softly. “Fine. A golf cart. But they could have killed you.”

He shrugs. “Those two were clowns. They didn’t plan ahead. I knew they wouldn’t. Those guys never thought more than one step ahead. They believed in living in the moment, Rico liked to say,” he says. “I did plan ahead, and that’s how we got the drop on them.”

Frankly, I’m surprised I can sit here and have a calm discussion about it all right now. I just saw a man get his damn head blown off. By all rights, I should be running for the hills and trying to put as much distance between me and Tyson as I could. But something in me has shifted. Something’s changed. I still don’t approve of what he does, but something he said when we first got together continues to ring in my mind. He said he’s more than what he does. I know that to be true. He’s proven that to me a thousand times over.

It would have been easy for him to do nothing. He could have walked away and let Rico do whatever he wanted with me. He could have judged that his empire was far more valuable and important to him than I am. It’s what I would have expected from any man in his position. But he put himself in harm’s way to save me. He risked his entire empire for me. He risked his life for me. Maybe I’m a fool, maybe I’m na?ve, or maybe I’m just caught up in my feelings, but that matters. That means something to me.

He slips his arm around my shoulders and pulls me to him as I lay my head on his chest. The adrenaline is finally starting to ebb, and despite a hundred small aches and pains, I find myself smiling. I’ve never felt more cared about in my entire life. More than that, I’ve never felt safer.

It’s a thought that rings through my mind as exhaustion takes over, pulling me into the warm, comforting depths of sleep only found by those who are truly loved.