“We’ll have him meet us at the hospital,” Kassie said. “We won’t be able to keep this from Catherine long. I want us to at least talk to Saint.”
“You’ll have to call from the facility,” Hollywood reminded her. “I know they planned to start where we last saw him.”
“Hollywood, how about we drop you off, and we can pick up Whiskey? You can ride up with Addy.”
“Do you mind if I stay long enough to shower?” he asked.
Chase glanced at Kassie and smiled. “Take your time. We’ll have to do some tests, and I’m sure Victoria and Ivan will want to speak with you before they leave. They’ll gather their men first.”
Anticipation hit him as they turned down the road to Addy’s house. His heart raced as they pulled into the driveway. He saw Addy glance out her living room window. She slowly opened the door.
“I’ll come up as soon as I can,” Hollywood murmured as he opened his door, let Apollo out, and shut it. He walked toward her as Addy let out a cry and started running.
“Liam,” she said as she slammed into his chest. Her arms gripped his neck as she sobbed into his shoulder. He didn’t know when Doc pulled out of the driveway as he crushed her to him, needing the connection.
“Addy,” he whispered.
Zeus barked from the doorway, and Apollo whined, making them break apart.
“Did you decide to surprise all of us?” she said, smiling through her tears.
“No,” he informed her. “Let’s go inside.”
He signaled for Apollo to follow as they walked into her house. The two dogs sniffed each other, and Addy let them outside in the backyard, where they watched them play with the balls.
“You’ve been away for three months. Why did you need supplies now?” Addy asked, putting the puzzle together. “What happened?”
“We got too close to interfering with someone operating illegally. I brought Sparky home, along with Knight and Cole,” he explained. “We brought another woman who gave us information for our investigation.”
“Oh my gosh. Do they need me to come in and help?” she asked.
“I told them I’ll be there in a little while. I want to take a shower and hold you in my arms for a minute,” he confessed.
“You’re not telling me something,” she said. “Something’s wrong. I can tell by the tone of your voice.”
“They jammed our coms, and we didn’t hear Leo telling us about the trap. He ran down the mountain and got shot. When we went to find him, he was gone. We only found a pool of blood and some spatter. They’re searching for him now.”
“Oh, no. Poor Leo,” she whispered. “Oh, Catherine,” she said, clutching her chest.
“We don’t know anything yet. We flew for hours and waited for the plane to refuel. They might’ve located him by now. Kassie’s calling Saint for an update, and then she’ll tell Catherine.”
Noticing the wall color, he turned to Addy. “You’ve stayed busy.”
“I call it the Addy 2.0 edition. I’m focusing on what makes me happy. I love color,” she said softly.
“It makes it feel warm and welcoming here,” he said, opening the door and calling Apollo and Zeus inside.
“I need a shower and then check on my teammates. Will you come sit with me?” he said, holding out his hand.
Addy smiled and placed her hand in his. When they reached the primary bedroom, he stopped to admire her work. “It’s beautiful, Addy. Very calming.”
“Thank you,” she murmured as she tugged him toward the bathroom. Turning on the water, she walked toward him, lifting her shirt and tossing it to the floor. His finger ran down the silky material of her bra, and he sighed. “I want to make love to you, Addy. They put me in charge?—”
“Shhh. Let me take care of you,” she said, unbuttoning his gear. He placed his weapon on the counter as the two dogs entered. He signaled for Apollo to lie down.
Addy unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off him. She continued with his pants and boots. The weariness of the last few daysseemed to take hold as he allowed her to undress him and then herself. Leading him into the shower, she wet his hair. Addy noticed the cotton in his ear.
“Why do you have this?” she asked hesitantly.
