Page 128 of Protecting Peyton

The past half hour had been the most harrowing of my life. Not knowing what had happened to Peyton, then finding her under attack by these brutes, had confirmed that she was more than just another girl. She was special—smart, beautiful, brave, and mine.

She’d conquered her fear to stop and confront the monster chasing her, and now I wouldn’t stop until he was put either in a cage or in the ground. Peyton deserved to live her life without fear.

A screech of tires sounded out front just before Lucas ran around the corner, followed closely by Duke.

They halted, and Lucas nodded. “It looks like you have things under control here.”

“Zane took care of this,” Yates explained. “I was late to the party after taking care of Jordy and Pete.”

Lucas waved toward the gate. “Let’s get everybody back to the house and plan from there.”

I surveyedthe hole they’d blown in the wall between my unit and my neighbor’s. “My landlady is going to be pissed.” I had no idea how to explain this to Mrs. Polluck. For the tenth time at least, I glanced back at Peyton.

She was surrounded by Duke, Pete, Yates, and Jordy, which made her safe enough for the moment.

Lucas, who stood next to me, nodded at the gaping hole in the wall. “It’s a good thing she wasn’t home. Joe will organize the repair. Text Jordy her contact info, and we’ll get her set up in any hotel she wants while we clean this up.”

He made it sound like it was as simple as patching a flat tire.

“Roger that.”

After handing the first two would-be kidnappers over to the LAPD and not getting the intel out of them, we weren’t making the same mistake this time.

Constance and Winston had the three attackers already on the way to our guest accommodations.

Winston hadn’t been willing to let any of them dirty up his seats, so he had the rear seats folded down and the thugs laid on the floor. He would still need to get his car cleaned after hauling the messy trio.

Lucas turned to look me up and down. “You and Peyton might want to get cleaned up.”

He was right about that. We’d both spent time rolling in the dirt.

Peyton

Zane walked backto the house with me, but Lucas pulled him aside before we even opened the door.

When I went inside, the mess I found surprised me. Dust and bits of the wall that had been blown out coated all the surfaces. Just walking on the floor stirred up clouds. Venturing farther inside, the post-explosion damage wasn’t terrible, except for the gaping hole in the wall.

Duke escorted me toward the back as Lucas and Zane checked the wall damage and discussed things. It made me feel alone and vulnerable to be without him, even though I was inside, surrounded by Yates, Jordy, Duke, and Pete. I kept glancing toward my man, wanting him to finish with his boss and come back to me. I wanted him to scoop me into his arms and keep me safe.

“Any residual effects?” Duke asked Pete and Jordy.

They both claimed to be fine.

I couldn’t tell if it was pure male bravado or the truth.

Eventually, Lucas let Zane leave, and he marched straight over to me.

I wrapped my arms around him. “Your poor house.”

He took my face in his hands. “It doesn’t matter.”

“But—”

He silenced me with a quick finger to my lips. “Things can be replaced. People can’t. So long as you’re okay, nothing else matters. Nothing. Do you understand me?”

I sniffled, then nodded. It was odd to realize that was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me. “I was scared for you when that monster knocked you to the ground. Really scared.”

He smiled down at me. “I’m a SEAL. Don’t you remember the tattoo?”