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“How’s your cheek?” I hand her the ice pack while I inspect her face, inwardly flinching at the angry red marking her smooth skin.
Charlie holds the ice pack in her hands, making no move to use it. “It’s okay, I guess.” Everything she says is flat, but with a frisson of tension running through it.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” My heart is aching, I want to hold her so badly it’s like a physical need. “Food? Something to drink? Another pain pill?”
She sighs, frowning as she stares at her lap. Several seconds drag by before she says, “I don’t know. I just feel…” Her eyes lift, meeting mine. “I don’t know. The only thing I want—”
Then her mouth clamps shut, and she drops her gaze again.
“What?”
“I only feel okay when you’re holding me,” she whispers, and my heart simultaneously squeezes in pain and swells with happiness.
“Ah, Charlie, I’ll hold you any time you want.”
Her voice small, she says, “I don’t want you to feel obligated, Ry.”
“Never.” Lifting her, I set Charlie across my lap sideways, wrapping an arm around her. With the other hand, I take the ice pack and carefully hold it to her cheek, teeth grinding when she flinches a little.
With Charlie nestled against me, some of my anger finally fades. “This is exactly where I want to be,” I tell her, “and I feel the furthest thing from obligated.”
We sit in silence for a few minutes, Charlie giving me all of her weight. When I finally pull the ice pack away from her cheek, I inspect it again, biting back a primal growl of anger at seeing my woman hurt.
My woman? Hold up. She hasn’t agreed to anything. But still. I want her to be.
Jumping to another topic at hand, I say, “I think it’s time for you to come stay at Blade and Arrow.”
Charlie raises her head from my shoulder to look at me. “You do?”
“Yeah.” I stroke a few damp hairs from her face. “It’ll be safer there; the building is extremely secure, and you’ll be able to walk around the entire property without worrying about anyone bothering you. We have a gym, a sauna, a firing range if you want me to teach you how to shoot, plus we have a giant yard and a really nice outdoor patio.”
“Also,” I continue. “If you’re there, we can protect you for as long as it takes. I hope it doesn’t take much longer, but if we need to…”
“Plus Leo and Georgia.” Charlie bites her lip, guilt all over her face. “He needs to get back to her. It’s not right for him to stay away from her this long.”
“Hey.” Rubbing my hand up and down her arm, I rush to reassure her. “This is our job. Leo is fine with it. And Georgia understands, trust me. Do not feel guilty about this.”
Charlie stares at me, still worrying her lip. “I don’t mind going. It’s not like this feels like my home anymore. I’m just worried about money.” She sighs. “Not that I think I’ve got any chance of finding a job, but if I’m not even trying…”
“I talked to Leo about it. We’ll work something out. Help you find something online. Or Cole mentioned something about you helping with some legal documents.”
I’m not mentioning the loan. Not now, at least.
A flicker of interest brightens her eyes. “I could help with that.”
“We can go there tomorrow, first thing. What do you think?”
“Well—” Charlie hesitates, her face clouding.
I jostle her on my lap. “What, hun? Whatever you’re worried about, just tell me.”
She swallows hard, then asks, “If you don’t have to stay with me anymore, does that mean—” Her lips twist into a grimace. “Never mind.”
At first I’m confused, but then it hits me. “Charlie, you just got all those games out of storage. I can’t wait to play all of them with you. Unless you don’t want me to?”
A little smile tugs at her lips. Eyes clearing to a pure silver, she looks up at me. “I definitely want to. And I’m going to beat you in Call of Duty one of these days.”
Even though the day has been anything but good, my heart lifts. Charlie coming back to Sleepy Hollow with me? Staying right downstairs? Knowing she’s safe and being able to see her whenever I want?
