Page 112 of Kyle

The farther we drove away from the silo, the more relaxed Anaya became and the chattier the women were. It twisted my gut listening to them talk about what had happened, but I knew they needed it. Some of it sliced me deep. Some of it made me smile. All of it impressed me.

Their quick thinking had saved their lives. Not that I was happy either of them was in a position to have to do so, but they had been, and when shit went sideways, they’d stuck together and kicked ass.

Proud didn’t begin to cut it. Anaya Baker was steel—strong and tough under all that beauty.

And she was mine.

I vowed right then as the light of dawn peaked over the horizon, I would do whatever I needed to do to make sure Anaya healed. The blow wouldn’t be permanent. It would bleed and fester. Tomorrow I’d set about making sure it scabbed over, and the scar would be so microscopic you’d need a magnifying glass to find it.

“Was that Thelma and Louise enough for you?” Anaya giggled.

“Yeah. Let’s never do that again,” Emerson returned.

“At least we didn’t go over a cliff.”

“No. We just slammed through a building.”

Both women dissolved into a fit of giggles and I clenched my jaw. I didn’t find a damn thing funny about watching the car my woman was in crash through a pole barn. They’d gotten damn lucky.

“Can we not fuckin’ joke about that?” Thad growled.

“I think it’s too soon for him,” Emerson whispered.

“It will never not be too soon, Emerson. I watched my wife… fuck…never joke about it.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Emerson pinch her lips together and look at her lap.

Anaya’s hand found mine and she threaded our fingers together like I had done that very first plane ride.

A plane ride that seemed like a lifetime ago.

One that had irrevocably changed my life.

Chapter 34

Still groggy with sleep, it took me a moment to get my bearings.

My head was resting on a warm hard wall of muscle, not the lumpy pillow I’d used the last few nights.

Kyle.

I was home. We both were. Safe and sound.

I relaxed into him and my hand moved over his heart. Feeling his strong, steady heartbeat grounded me, kept the demons at bay.

“Mornin’, sweetheart.”

He sounded wide awake.

“Did I have a nightmare?” I asked.

“Nope. You didn’t move a muscle.”

“Then why are you so awake?”

Kyle stiffened before he eased the tension out of his body and covered my hand with his.

“No reason. Just lying here.”