Page 112 of SEAL of Valor

I can’t help but smile. Leave it to Sawyer to get shot twice, fall off a roof, get hit in the back of the head, and still have a sunny disposition.

“Everyone is fine,” I assure her as I run my hands over her arms, just to show myself that she’s okay.

Her shoulders slump forward as red and blue lights flash, illuminating the night sky.

“Looks like SWAT finally arrived,” Garrison comments as he drops down onto the porch and draws in a deep, steadying breath.

“Just in time to clean up the trash,” Sawyer adds. “How convenient.”

Chapter 33

Reese

A thick blanket is wrapped around me as I sit on the porch. Aragorn is beside me on his leash, while I watch Brenda’s surviving cohorts be loaded into windowless prison transport vans. The ones that didn’t need medical attention, that is.

Sawyer is sitting on the bumper of an ambulance, chatting up the two paramedics who are tending to a gunshot wound on his shoulder and another on his left arm. Ryker seemed to walk away with minimal injuries, as did Zane.

Garrison finally settled enough to let them stitch up his forehead, but Weston refused to be checked. Instead, he’s been standing and talking to Captain Leopold for the last ten minutes, giving his statement about what happened.

Behind me, my mom’s house is trashed.

There’s broken wood, glass, and blood stains littering the entire space, but that’s damage I can live with. Losing any one of these guys? That would have been devastating.

As I watch, Weston shakes Captain Leopold’s hand, then turns and crosses back over to me. His movements are slightly labored, and I can’t help but wonder how his older injuries are holding up after the activity of tonight. Still, you wouldn’t know he was hurting just by looking at the smile on his face when he sees me.

Love. I love this man.

He takes a seat beside me and wraps an arm around my shoulders before pressing a kiss to my temple. “How are you doing?”

“Processing,” I reply honestly. “We’re alive, and I am so thankful to God for that.”

“Me, too.” He presses another kiss to my temple.

The adrenaline has waned, but thankfully, the shivering has finally subsided. This night is going to haunt me, though. That feeling of complete helplessness as they dragged me backward out of the window, a gloved hand stifling my ability to call for help.

The feel of the dirt biting into my knees when I was shoved down.

The cool steel of the gun pressed against the back of my head.

Another shiver runs through me. I’m okay. I’m safe. The danger is gone, and Weston is here.

“Sawyer’s going to be okay?” I ask, hoping to focus on something else.

He follows my gaze to the ambulance and laughs. “Oh, yeah. Though Anastasia gave him an earful about how this better be the last time he gets shot.”

I smile. “I certainly hope this is the last time any of us have to deal with something like this.”

“Me, too.” He presses a kiss to my temple again, then wraps both arms around me. “I was terrified when I realized she’d gotten to you. I’m so sorry. I thought you’d be safe up there.”

“It’s not your fault. They had the window open and a gun on me before I even realized they were there. I’d been so focused on the door, I’d completely forgotten about the window.”

“And Aragorn? How did he end up in the closet?”

The lump in my throat grows. “He’d put himself between the window and me, but they had a gun trained on him and told me that, if I didn’t put him in the closet, or if I screamed, they would shoot him.” Reaching over, I run my hand over Aragorn’s soft fur. “He was a brave boy.”

“He was trying to escape the closet when I got up there,” Weston tells me. “I’m making him a steak tomorrow.”

I laugh and close my eyes, letting the security of Weston beside me ease the rest of the lingering fear.