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“Where am I going to go?” I demand and prop my hands on my hips, staring at him. “You’re overreacting, Shane. I couldn’t sleep so I came out to talk to that owl that just flew off. I didn’t sneak out to go to a party.”
“I’m not overreacting.” He shakes his head and then rubs the back of his neck in agitation. “I woke up, and you were gone. Not in the bathroom, not grabbing something in the kitchen. Gone. I have top-of-the-line security here. If anyone breached the perimeter, I have alarms that would go off. But what if someone managed to slip through and get you?”
“Hey, they didn’t.” I walk toward him, but he won’t let me touch him. “Shane, I literally just wanted some fresh air.”
“Just wake me up and tell me next time.” He blows out a breath.
“You’re scared.” I blink at him in surprise.
“Of course, I am.” He rubs his hand over his mouth. “You’ll never know what it felt like to hear that you’d been taken. To watch the footage on Annika’s tape. To know that someone had you and I wasn’t there to get you.”
“But you did get me.”
He shakes his head. “You don’t get it.”
“Okay, tell me.”
He rubs his neck again. This time, I don’t let him back away. I wrap my arms around him and press my cheek to his chest.
“Tell me.” My voice is quiet now.
“If something happened to you, I don’t know that I would ever get over it.” He presses his lips to my head. “You are important, Ivie. I won’t ever let someone get to you again. If you want fresh air, we’ll get fresh air. But I need to know.”
“Okay.” I rub his back in soothing circles. “I’m sorry that I scared you. I just wanted to let you sleep.”
“When all of this is over, you can let me sleep.”
Is he still going to be around when all this is finished?
It’s a question I’m not brave enough to ask. Not yet.
“So, if I want to go for a walk on your property, I have to ask for permission?”
“Either Curt or I will go with you.”
“Okay.” I kiss his chest and pull back to look up at him. “I have to use the bathroom. Do you want to go with me to that, too?”
His lips twitch as his eyes narrow into slits. “Wouldn’t bother me a bit.”
I scowl. “Ew. It would bother me. You aren’t allowed in the bathroom. That’s where I draw the line.”
“We all have one,” he says simply. “Do you still want to sit out here?”
“The owl and I are done talking.” I reach down for the blanket. “We can go in. I’m sorry you ended up waking up anyway.”
“I’m not. You scared ten years off my life, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a short one as it is.”
I stop and stare up at him. “Don’t say stuff like that.” He shrugs and moves to walk inside, but I stop him. “Seriously. Don’t. You hate the idea of something happening to me, and the same goes for me, Shane. It’s not funny.”
“No.” He kisses my nose and then takes the blanket to carry. “You’re right, it’s not funny. Let’s go get some rest.”
Chapter 9
~Shane~
“Holy crap, I’m sweaty,” Ivie says as we hop off the ATV and walk toward the house. “That was quite a workout.”
“You did more than I expected.” I take her hand and smile down at her, proud of her. She kicked ass today. Literally. “I think Curt will need a long soak in a hot bath. It’s a good thing I provide him with excellent health insurance.”
“I don’t like hitting him,” she says softly. “I’m not a violent person like my father was.”
“I know.” We stop on the porch, in the same place we stood last night, and I kiss her forehead. “But you have to practice. You didn’t hit him much. I’m just teasing you.”
“I don’t like hitting at all. And carrying a gun around in my pants isn’t my favorite thing, either.”
“It won’t be forever. Just until we get this mess all figured out.”
She sighs and then nods. “I don’t mean to complain. Thank you for everything you’re doing for me. I’m gonna go hop in the shower and get this ick off me.”
“Enjoy it. I’ll be in in just a bit.”
She walks into the house, and I pull my phone out of my pocket. I dial Carmine’s number and wait for him to answer.
“Yo,” he says in greeting.
“How are things there?” I ask, getting straight to the point.
“Quiet. Rocco and I are in the office, and we were just saying that it’s been very quiet. No chatter.”
“That’s not typical.” I lean on the railing and watch a herd of elk make their way into my pasture about a hundred yards away. “I don’t like it when it’s quiet.”
