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Eleven

GREY PACED DECK’S GUEST ROOM . Having already packed for the trip to the retreat center before he learned of the break-in, he’d stashed his bag in his car and raced over. Now that things had settled and Riley was asleep in the room next door, he reclined on the bed, thankful to be near her. He was even more thankful for a trip that would get her away until the guys could catch whoever was after her.

Please , Father , continue to keep Riley safe. My soul can’t take losing another person I care so deeply about.

A soft cry broke the silence. Riley.

Without bothering to think, he raced into her room, gun in hand. He found her upright in bed, hair clinging to her cheeks and neck.

He cleared the room, relief sweeping over him. “It’s clear.”

“No one was here,” she said, shaking her head.

“I heard you cry,” he said, striding to sit on the side of her bed—again without thinking it through. His leg rubbed against hers as she shifted, and comfort and warmth eased inside.

Fear radiated in her eyes. It was the first time he’d seen it there, except for after the shooting of Pete Scarletto.

“What’s wrong, Ri?”

“It’s silly,” she said, swiping her hair back behind her shoulders. “I just had a bad dream, that’s all.”

“It doesn’t look like that’s all,” he said with quiet confidence that more was going on than a random bad dream. Was it the events of tonight or was Pete still haunting her? “Ri?” he whispered.

She scooched up, propping the pillows behind her back. “It’s nothing.”

He dipped his chin, gazing into her frightened eyes. “Please tell me.” Please let me help you. Ironic, given the demons that haunted him.

“Would you mind?” she asked, reaching out her trembling hand. “I just need something steady.”

“Of course.” He took hold of her hand. He’d given her the occasional squeeze of confidence when they were goofing off but had never held her hand like this, and despite the circumstances, it felt like home. Like they belonged like this.

Her warm, moist fingers slipped in between his. “Sorry. My hands are clammy. If you’d rather not...”

“I’m good.” Better than good. He’d hold her hand no matter what. He leaned into her almost involuntarily, rubbing his thumb along her index finger—caressing it in smooth strokes—hoping to settle her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She swallowed and brought her knees to her chest.

“Talking about it helps. Holding things inside only lets them fester and grow.” Easy for him to say. If only he practiced what he preached. He rarely talked about David or his mother, it was too painful, but it continued to corrode away a hole inside that would not heal.

She shifted, leaning deeper into the pillows behind her. “I...”

“Whatever you say stays between us.”

“I don’t want to worry Deck or Christian over nothing.”

Definitely not nothing, given her shaken demeanor and tear-filled eyes. “I won’t say a word.” He was just thankful she was willing to share with him. To be of some measure of comfort to her filled him with gratitude. “So what is it?” he prompted, his voice soft.

She bit her bottom lip, and he prayed she didn’t clam up. She took a long inhale, then exhaled in a stream. “It’s Pete.”

He was right. That shootout haunted her, and she was still clutching it.

“I’m so sorry. But you know you had no choice. It was him or you.” The resurgence of emotions that nearly drowned him when he got the call about the shootout, when he got on site and saw how close she’d come to dying ... he’d nearly died himself. What would he do without the bright light of Riley in his life?

“I know.” She straightened her legs, brushing his in the process. “My brain knows that, but my heart...”

“Doesn’t feel it?” He knew that feeling only too well.

She nodded. “It’s like my body is betraying me. Overriding my head knowledge. It’s taking on a life of its own.”

He understood that better than anybody. “It’ll take time, but you just have to convince yourself of the truth of the situation. Let it sink in. Focus on it whenever the nightmares come. You have to combat them with your thoughts, and your heart will follow.” At least it did for most people, himself excluded. “You have to learn to let go.” Hypocrite. He clung tighter than a monkey swinging on a high branch overhead. But not her. He didn’t want that pain to consume Riley, to hold her hostage.

She bit her bottom lip again. “What if it doesn’t? What if my heart never heals?”

“It will.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because you’re the strongest woman I know. You can beat anything.” She already had beaten the worst of circumstances to come out of the family life she’d grown up in before being put in a foster home alone—separated from her siblings until Deck came of age and could adopt her. She’d already risen out of the ashes once; he had no doubt she could do so again.

“I don’t know about that.” She shrugged a shoulder.

“It’s true. You just keep telling yourself that. Fight the urge to let it consume you.”

Tears brimmed in her eyes.

“You did what you had to do. If you hadn’t shot, it’d be you in the grave.”

She nodded, tears streaming down her sweet cheeks.

“Shh.” He brushed them away with the pad of his thumb.

She leaned into his hand, and he cupped her face, caressing her cheek. She leaned deeper in, resting her cheek in his palm.

He could stay like this forever.

“Stay with me?” she said, looking up at him with those big, innocent blue eyes.

“Stay—” He choked out a cough. “Stay with you?”

“Sit with me,” she said. “Just until I fall back asleep. Would that be okay?”

Any time with her was okay, but being here for her now was priceless to him. “Of course, I’ll stay. You sleep, and I’ll be right here.”

“Thank you.” She slid back down so her head rested on the stack of two pillows, her hair fanning out across the navy sheets.

She rolled over on her side, curling up, her knees resting against his thigh. He held still, very still.

“Is that okay? I just want to feel you’re here. Want to feel safe.”

He nodded. She felt safe with him. Warmth filled him.

Her eyes closed and her breathing grew even as she drifted off to sleep.

****

Snow gushed down in droves, the wind slapping at Kelly’s chapped cheeks, her lips cracked despite the ChapStick she had been slathering on.

“We need to stop and sleep a few hours,” Jared said from behind her, his voice echoing off the canyon below.

There was a five-hundred-foot drop fewer than a dozen feet to their right according to her hiking GPS, but how much longer would the signal hold in this blizzard? Her compass skills could come into play, but if she was off by even a foot, they’d be at the bottom of the canyon, and nothing would be made right—other than that Lance was out the money. But ... “Why do you think he had the other items in the safe?” she called over her shoulder, her words competing with the rush of wind blowing the snow at a forty-five-degree angle at her face.

“What?” he called back.

She stopped. Just for a breath. Regret sifted through her.

“Finally,” he said, stopping beside her.

With the thick snow and his white winter gear, he blended in with their surroundings. Good. Maybe that would keep them safe from whoever was coming. Because someone was definitely coming. She knew Lance too well. She’d studied him all these years. “We need to get going.” They’d talk later. What had she been thinking? She’d been thinking about the contents of the safe.

Jared tugged her arm. “Hey,” he said, giving it a shake. “It’s not going to do us any good if we’re exhausted. We’ll naturally slow down, and you know it. Besides, so far, we haven’t seen anybody in that scope of yours. We can rest a few hours and let this blizzard settle some.”

He was right, but she didn’t have it in her. They had to press on.

“The falling snow will cover our tracks.”

“We’re leaving knee-high tracks. It’s not falling that fast. Find us a cave and we’ll sleep for two hours. That’s it. Just two.”

She relented against her better judgment, and soon they were snuggled in a cave, using body heat and their thin Mylar blanket for warmth. A fire was far too risky, much to Jared’s chagrin. How did he not understand the depth of the threat against them?

She cringed.

“What’s wrong?” He held up his flashlight, studying her. “You just tensed big time.”

She bit her bottom lip, and it drew blood. Oww . Dang chapped lips.

“Kel?”

“I just wonder ... I hope I didn’t bring danger to Riley.”

“If you did, she can handle it. It’s why you chose her.”

“No, I chose her because I knew she’d keep it safe at all costs, but I’d barely lost my tail when I dropped it. I don’t think anyone saw me leave it for her, but what if they did?”

“Then she’s in as much danger as us.”

Her jaw tightened. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”