“Don’t know,” Salem said.
“My guess is a grease fire,” Brooks said. “Once they ignite, they spread fast.”
“Let’s get you home,” Declan said to Hadley.
“I’m fine,” she said to him.
“I know,” Declan stated. “But I’ll feel better when your feet are up and Muddy can look after you.”
She placed her hand to his cheek and then let him lead her out of the crowd.
“We drove the SUV,” Declan said. “There’s enough room for everyone.”
“We’ll take Poet’s car,” Brooks said. “We’ll meet you at the ranch.”
Wyn looked at me and then at Hadley and Salem. “Who am I riding with?”
“Us,” Hadley said.
I squeezed Wyn’s hand and then let go.
We parted from them, and I let Brooks take the lead. Myhead was spinning, and my heart rate hadn’t completely settled yet.
“Brooks?” I asked when he hadn’t said anything for a few minutes.
He remained quiet as he took me to the apartment. The moment the door closed, his lips were on mine, and his hands were at the button of my jeans.
“What are you?—”
“I’ve been shot at, had a knife pulled on me, and done years of hard time. And nothing, I meannothing, scared the shit out of me more than when I heard about the fire in The Diner and couldn’t find you. So please, for the love of God, let me touch you. Kiss you. Hold you.”
I swallowed and nodded.
He wasn’t soft. He wasn’t gentle.
He fucked me like a man who didn’t know if dawn would come the morrow.
And then he held me, pressed to his chest, our hearts beating together in a heartbreaking pace.
He tangled his fingers in my hair as we intertwined our legs.
“We should probably get dressed,” I said even though I made no move to get up.
“Probably.” He tightened his arms around me.
I swallowed. “I don’t need to rub it in her face.”
“Rub what in whose face?”
“Wyn’s. You didn’t see—Salem has Cas. Hadley has Declan. I have you. Wyn has no one. No one was there this morning wondering if she was safe.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “You’ve got a good heart. And even though it’s about to kill me to let you go, I’ll survive.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
The Hot Spring
“I, Wyn Larsen?—”
