Page 85 of Jase

“Kody will come first, Colter. Tiffany too. We’re going to take good care of them.”

Jase let out a breath, resting his cheek against the top of my head as we continued on in silence. Hypothetical situation or not, I wasn’t letting him leave my side. If those men could use poison on me, they could use anything to take him out. He wasn’t safe. None of us were, and the fact that my poisoning accompanied with the kidnapping threw flags in the FBI, it only gave me hope they’d find these men even sooner. It was their idea about the security. Maybe it was a precaution Jase decided to take, or maybe he planned on using Dominguez’s presence as an alibi. Either way, I wasn’t letting him out of my sight.

“Here we go. It was just as we talked about. You ready?”

We headed into the underground garage, following behind the first SUV. As it pulled to a stop, men got out, immediately breaking off from each other to check the surroundings. Our’s pulled the closest to the elevator. Dominguez climbed out, opening my door as Jase followed closely behind. Regardless that I was doing better, my body moved slower than I wanted. I was bruised to hell again but had luckily escaped any broken ribs from the compressions. That didn’t mean my chest didn’t hurt like hell.

“Don’t push it. Wait for me.” Jase shut the door, moving to my side as he helped me to the elevator. The entire ride up, he held me close, only adding space when we began to head into the entrance.

“Are we good?” Dominguez got a nod from the guard at the door, opening the barrier for us to walk in. The two men inside headed forward, quickly introducing themselves. Jase nodded and thanked them, but only had his focus on me as he helped me to the sofa. “Sir, Colter, if that’s all, we’ll give you some privacy. I’ll be just outside with Smith and Kasen if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Dominguez. I appreciate it.”

The man nodded, shutting himself outside.

“How are you? Was it too much? Do you want to get in bed and rest?”

“Maybe in a little bit. I’m kind of hungry.”

I knew that look. It was the same one he got every time I mentioned food. It’d been almost a week since the poisoning, and I still didn’t get through a meal without him giving that look.

“I had Rian bring over groceries while we were gone. Maybe I should go myself that way I can choose what’s safe.”

“You don’t trust him?”

“I do. It’s just.” He stopped. “I made him drive clear across the city so there’d be no risk. I’m sure it’s fine, I just.” Again, he got quiet. “I’ll eat some first. We’ll wait a little to make sure, just like at the hospital.”

“For how long?”

“Half an hour.”

“No. How long are we going to do this? I want to eat, Jase. I’m scared too, but we can’t keep this up. I think it’ll be okay.”

“Fifteen minutes. Fruit tray? Or do you want an actual meal?”

I groaned. “I don’t think I can manage that right now. Crackers.”

“Salami or turkey?”

“Turkey.”

“Damn. I was hoping you’d choose salami.”

“For crying out loud.” I stood, flicking my hand at him as I headed for the refrigerator. “I’m eating the turkey and you can have the salami. If we get poisoned, we’ll die together.”

“That’s not funny.”

“Neither is you eating my food. Do you think I want to watch you die? I’m hungry, and I want to relax. I want my massage.”

“PG massage only.”

It was my turn to twist my lips and give him a look. “For now, but I haven’t forgotten where we left off. My body may be a little banged up, but my mouth works just fine.”

“But not your throat. You think it was sore then…” He winked, trailing off.

“You ass. I changed my mind. You can try the turkey first after all.”

Jase laughed, sweeping in to capture my mouth. “I missed your brat. I’ll try the turkey. I’ll spend every day sampling every meal to make sure you’re okay. I really can’t lose you. All I could think of when I found you was how little time we had together. I spent years alone, never thinking I’d find the right woman for me. When your heart stopped in my arms, all that kept going through my head was, ‘here she is. I found her, and now I’ve lost her.’ I’ve never felt so terrified in my life. Not even facing death. I had you, finally, and then you were gone. I won’t take us for granted again, Kody.” Jase lifted one of my hands to his chest as he kept the other secure at the back of my neck. “Maybe I’ve gone crazy. Maybe I’m jumping the gun. I don’t care. What’s four months together or four years if every day could be the last? What do we have left to lose if we’re not giving it our all? I sound like a cheesy postcard. What I’m trying to say is—”