Page 97 of Secret Mission

Axle stirs awake when we stop.

I’m wrung out. Emotionally, physically, in ways I didn’t know a man could be wrung out. But I feel more whole than I have in years.

"Justice, help me get Axle into a bedroom," Beast orders as he bolts out of the vehicle. "Truck, get your girl somewhere safe."

“Roger that.”

Safe. Warm. Comfortable. In my arms.

I scoop her small form up, whispering, “Just me, we’re home.”

Chapter Thirty

Home.

A sweet echo builds around the word.

He feels good. Strong, solid, and safe. Just what I need. Have needed for so long.

When a yawn hits, I cover my mouth.

“Sorry, I fell asleep.” I’m still bleary-eyed from napping on his chest.

“Yeah, you did, Angel. Now let me get you settled.”

As he carries me, I survey the area.

The house is behind a grove of trees, set back from the main house where we met the team earlier. We’re far enough for privacy, but close enough they could be back-up.

A calmness sweeps over me that I haven’t felt since this whole fiasco with my father began. Not that Truck can’t keep me safe, but his team’s help is just moments away.

Keeping him safe too.

When the second yawn hits, I nestle into his shoulder. “You can put me down, but this is really nice.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Well, then… if you insist.”

He does a one-handed thing with the electronic keypad and then pushes the door open. Never letting me go. If anything, holding me tighter.

A rough sound comes from his chest, vibration tickling my ear.

“Fuck, I never thought this little bungalow would elicit the emotion it does as I step across the threshold with you in my arms.”

Well, talk about hitting you in the feels when you’re already a raw, exposed nerve ending. It takes a few seconds before I can close my mouth.

I’m stunned silent. Except for my heart, which is singing.

He’s really feeling this too…

A tingle hits the nape of my neck, wraps around to squeeze my chest, where it heats up to a barely tolerable level.

Tone husky, he asks, “Shower or bed?”

“Shower.”

When he sets me easily onto my booted feet, I bobble.