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Forever.
That she would definitely remember.
“I hate the two of you for real,” Summer muttered.
“Shh.” The drugged sound coming from Alyssa shocked Summer and had her eyes filling with tears again.
Fuckin’ bastards! she mouthed silently.
“She’s ours,” Shane said softly, his head resting next to hers, his larger body still sheltering her.
“Too bad you didn’t remember that six years ago,” Summer told them. “Maybe she wouldn’t be here now. And it doesn’t change the fact that you can’t stay.”
“The hell we can’t—”
“You don’t understand. You will not stay with her, De Loren.” She spoke slowly, firmly, as though speaking to a child. “Because whatever made her husband decide to kill her had somethin’ to do with you, and that’s a fact.”
“We took care of it. And Stanhope had nothing to do with it,” Shane snarled. “It’s over.”
“That’s not what my intel says, Cowboy.” She fluttered her lashes at him as though flirting, though the sneer in her voice was anything but. “From what I hear, you two have that little mess you made in Spain to clean up, and you’re gonna give Alyssa time to regain her strength before she has to deal with you and the obvious destruction you evidently bring to her life.”
He couldn’t argue that, as much as he wanted to.
“You’re in no position to make that demand,” Shane pointed out, determined to stay with Alyssa now.
“I’ll make a deal with you then.” Summer smiled back at them. The curve of her lips would be frightening to some. “You give her time to finish healin’ and regain her strength; then I’ll contact you and give you a clear path to her once she’s done so.” Her expression hardened. “Until then, you use the next two years to clear the danger out of your lives and put the agency behind you. Otherwise, me and her daddy will have a little talk. And he really likes me. And the CIA really likes his influence on their fundin’ at the moment.” She glanced at her nails while the other hand still held the weapon. “Get the danger out of your lives; then you can have your shot. Make a choice and make it now.”
“The doctor believes if she begins to recover then she’ll be at full strength in eighteen months,” Shane pointed out.
“That was his best-case scenario, sugah,” she assured them. “Twenty-four months is his actual time line for her. It will take you that long to clear the agency junk out of your life and make damned certain nothing in your past endangers her. Because I promise you if it ever does, you won’t have a chance against the hillbillies I send out after you. That’s a Georgia promise, assholes. Take it to the bank.” She wrinkled her nose in an expression that would have been enchanting if it hadn’t gone along with a threat to kill them.
As much as Sebastian hated to admit it, she was right. There was also the follow-up investigation needed to ensure Gregory Santiago hadn’t been working with anyone else. There was no evidence he had been, but Sebastian knew it was foolhardy not to make certain.
Looking down at Alyssa, he touched her cheek, then leaned to her and let his lips touch hers.
“Sing for me, siren,” he whispered. “Let me feel you again.”
Having that part of the bond disappear had nearly broken him. The one they’d shared in Barcelona, a sense, a certainty she was there, waiting for them.
Letting his lips caress hers a moment longer, he moved from the bed, standing between Summer and Shane as he took that place next to her.
Shane hated leaving her. Hated knowing Summer was right, that there was garbage they had to clean up before they could come back to her. At least now that sense of urgency that Alyssa could be taken from them at any moment was gone.
Leaning to her, he kissed her as well. A gentle, lingering touch of his lips to hers before he moved to whisper in her ear.
“Feel me, siren,” he whispered. “Feel us. Are you warm now, baby? I promise, you get cold again and we’ll be here. And soon, you won’t be able to chase us out of your bed. I swear it.”
A final kiss to her brow and he stood. Giving her one last worried glance, he turned to Sebastian.
“Let’s go,” he breathed out, his voice rough. “While I can make myself do it.”
They left her room, stepping back into the night and leaving the heart they’d fought to return to for so long.
Summer stepped closer to the bed. She’d be damned, but Alyssa was breathing easier, the monitors showing a small but noticeable improvement. And she knew she hadn’t seen Shane or Sebastian wrap Alyssa’s fingers around the stones of that necklace, but that was where they were. Shane had to have done it, she told herself. There was no way in hell Alyssa had the strength to do so.
“Girlfriend.” Crossing her arms over her breasts, she glared down at the closest friend she had. “You don’t even know the bill you’re gettin’ on this one.”
It was going to be a helluva debt, though, because she’d played the best bluff of her life. It was gonna be hell topping this one
