Page 127 of My Beautiful Sin

“Exactly,” she says, though I can’t shake the feeling that wasn’t what she’d intended to say at all.

“I’ve got a forensics team on the way,” Lamar says. “Take her home,” he adds to Devlin. “I’ll keep you posted.”

“Thank you,” I say, giving him another hug. “And thank you for calling Lamar,” I add to Tamra, who holds me close and strokes my hair.

When she releases me, Devlin kisses my forehead and a paramedic with a kindly face, pulls me aside, insisting on looking me over. Since I’m certain that Devlin wants to speak to Tamra alone, I don’t ask him to come with me. Soon enough, the paramedic tells me I’m good to go. I start toward Devlin, but see that he’s now on the phone. So I shift direction and head to the SUV, then climb into the passenger seat. I put my feet on the seat and hug my knees. I give myself credit for not shaking, but there is no doubt in my mind that if my habit of flirting with danger was a death wish, I am well and truly over that.

I’m alive. I’m alive because Devlin found me.

A moment later, Devlin joins me, and the moment we’re closed inside, he slams his hand down so hard on the steering wheel the entire vehicle shakes. “I could have lost you today, El. You could have gone down that cliff and been lost to me forever.”

He turns, his eyes burning as he locks me in his gaze. “Tell me I haven’t lost you anyway?”

“Never,” I whisper, as the tears I’ve been holding in start to flow. “That’s why I was coming to see you. I wanted—”

I don’t get the words out. He pulls me toward him, my body crunched against the console as he cups my head and kisses me hard. I return the kiss with just as much ferocity, both of us finally letting go of the terror of what could have been and soothing our fears in each other’s arms.

“Home,” I say when we finally break away.

He nods, then continues up the hill toward his house, not even asking which home I meant.

“What about Tamra?” I ask as he pulls into his garage. I feel guilty not thinking about it before. We pretty much stranded her on the canyon road.

“Lamar’s taking her home. And I told her to stay quiet about who was helping Blackstone.”

“What? Who?”

“Christopher,” he says, the name sending a fresh wave of fear through me. “Brandy,” I say, reaching for my purse, only to realize it’s still in Shelby.

“I asked Ronan to oversee Shelby’s recovery,” Devlin says. “He’ll get your purse, and he’ll make sure they treat her well.”

“Ronan? When did you talk to him?”

“I made a few calls while EMS was checking you over.”

“Right. Okay. Tell him to send her to Mr. Ortega,” I say. “He’ll do a good job on her.”

“Done,” he assures me.

“But I need to call Brandy. I need to warn her. Christopher,” I say, shaking my head as I reach for Devlin’s phone, sitting in the console between us.

“Don’t,” he says. “I don’t want to tip him off.”

“But if he finds out I’m okay, he might take it out on her.”

“I sent Reggie to San Diego. She’s keeping surveillance on Brandy. If it comes to it, she’ll tell her why. But I don’t think it will. Christopher knows she’s at her parents. He doesn’t have a reason in the world to go down there.”

He kills the engine as I turn to look at him more directly. “Why?” I ask. “Why would Christopher help Joseph Blackstone?”

“Because they’re brothers,” he says. “And that fucker has wormed his way into my life and my organization. He tried to kill you. And I swear on my life, I will make that sonofabitch pay.”

Chapter Forty-Four

I want time alone with Devlin, but Ronan arrives right on our heels.

“We need to talk,” I tell Devlin, pulling him aside as Ronan steps into the kitchen to make a phone call. “There are things I want to say.”

“Things I want to hear?” he asks, tilting his head slightly as he studies me.