Page 85 of Tied Over

“Why just the one sentence though?” I asked Kage. “What happened?”

“From the reports I’ve received, he was duct-taped to a heavy antique chair and had leaned as far forward on the front two legs as possible while he dialed and spoke to you, but they slipped out from under him which put him face-first on the floor.”

“Which had to have scared Ian thinking he made too much noise.”

“I’m sure.”

“What a mess,” Bodhi stated. “If Ian hadn’t gotten that message out to Jed, he would have been there all night, bleeding.”

“And eventually Brodie would have gotten tired of waiting for the cavalry to arrive, and ignited the bomb,” Kage concluded. “We’re fortunate that all the events transpired as they did.”

“Yessir,” we both said.

“Well done for immediately calling Miro,” Kage praised me.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Call me when you land,” he directed, and then the line went dead.

Both Bodhi and I sat there on the bed for a moment.

I said, “I would be a fuckin’ basket case if someone was actively trying to murder me.”

“Same,” Bodhi agreed.

After a moment, I turned to him. “So? You’re mine?”

He smiled. “All yours.”

“Good. Go pack your shit. I’ll meet you at the front door. I’m gonna go downstairs and say goodbye really quick. Grab my duffel on your way out. It’ll be sitting on the bed.”

“And already he starts ordering me around,” he teased, leaning in to kiss my cheek before he got up and went out the door.

I was so happy to start my life, but first, we needed to get home to make sure we helped save our boss’s.

Stella was distraught that I was leaving, but my number was in her phone, and Meredith promised to bring her to Chicago in the fall to see me.

“If that’s all right with you, Jed?” she asked softly.

In response, I hugged her just as hard as I had her daughter, and when I let her go, her smile was luminous.

Angie was next, reminding me that I had her number as well, so the calling had better not be just one way.

“Your brother hates me.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “He doesn’t have to see you. I live in Boston, you live in Chicago. I can’t imagine it will be a problem.”

“He lives in Chicago too,” I pointed out.

“For another minute or two, yes.”

I heard that loud and clear and remembered that I had a lot to tell Bodhi. I hugged Josette, shook hands with Giles, hugged Shae and then the rest of the kids. Stella chased me down for one last hug, and then ran back to her mom, who had wisely followed her, ready to provide much-needed comfort. Upstairs on the main floor, I passed by my room, rechecked it quickly, found nothing I’d left behind, and saw that my duffel was gone. Bodhi was waiting at the front door, a duffel in each hand, and now in jeans and a T-shirt and my zippered cardigan that he’d retaken possession of. His running shoes looked far better than the tassel loafers.

“You changed?”

“And left the suit on the bed. I’m sure Hayden will find a use for it. He just needs to have it taken in and it’ll be good to go.”

They were the same height, but Bodhi had muscle on the lawyer, and he was right—through the chest, shoulders, and arms, it would need to be sized down.