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“She’s safe. We got her a flight back home to her parents last night.” I close my eyes in relief. Cole continues. “They arrested Belle and closed the club. She’s going away for a long fucking time.

“The case is in the FBI’s hands. They want to question you.” The growl that leaves his lips tells me he’s not happy about that.

Tears blur my vision. I lean my head back against the pillow and breathe. Like a silent weight has lifted from my chest.

It’s over. It’s all over. Belle. The club. The nightmare.

Another memory breaks through the fuzzy surface of my mind. Cole screaming my name before the fire ate everything around us alive.

I open my eyes and look up.

“You came for me,” I whisper. I remember Cole, storming into that church, his eyes so full of rage, of pain, of desperation. “You saved my life.”

“No other option, Delilah.” He grips my hand hard, fighting not to fall apart completely.

“How did you find me?” My chest constricts.

“The church bells.” Shadows line his eyes. “After we talked, I put it together.” Cole lifts my hand to his mouth, pressing a kiss to my fingertips. “I promised I’d find you.”

A sob erupts from my mouth. I came so close. But he was there. Never letting me down. Finding me even when I thought I’d lost.

He’s by my side in seconds, wrapping me in a hug that steals my breath. “I’m sorry, darlin’. I’m so goddamn sorry you had to go through that.” He cups my face, bringing his brow down to mine.

Tears stream down my cheeks. “He didn’t touch me, Cole,” I whisper. “Not like…not like that.”

“Christ. I thought I was going to lose you. And I couldn’t—” He pauses, taking a deep breath as a tear tracks down his cheek. “I just couldn’t. Nothing could have made me survive losing you.” He blinks rapidly to stop the emotion sweeping over his rugged face. His breathing surges as he pulls me closer. “I’m never letting you go again.”

I give him a teary-eyed smile. “I love you, Cole Weston.”

“Baby, I fucking love you.” He presses his lips to mine in the softest of kisses, and warmth spreads through me. “My brave, beautiful girl,” he whispers as his thick fingers tuck a lock of hair behind my ear.

My chest tightens at his words. I grip the front of his shirt, his comforting scent wrapping around me. I never want him to leave my side again.

“What’s next?” I ask breathlessly, leaning back to look into those eyes of blue. “When can I go home?”

“Soon.” He gives me a stern look that tells me not to push it.

“You’re not in trouble, are you?” I’d imagine a less-than-legal shootout would be grounds for police investigation.

Cole strokes a hand down my arm. “Local cops are taking care of the fire, but there’s not much to take care of. The church is ashes. So are Please and the driver.” His voice lowers an octave. “I don’t want you to worry about that. The Hales, the cops—no one knows we were there. No one cares.”

He’s wrong. Someone knows.

My heart seizes as my mind remembers.

Craddock.

The lines on the heart monitor jump. BEEPBEEPBEEP.

Cole tenses. He frowns, his eyes surveying my face. “What aren’t you telling me, Delilah?”

“That man, that cop.” A breath explodes out of me. Tears sear my eyes at the awful memory. “Craddock. He saw me.”

“Saw you what?” A muscle tics in his jaw.

I shouldn’t tell him this. I know the second he hears it, he’ll lose it. But Cole won’t let me out of his hard gaze.

He nudges my chin up with a big finger. “Baby, talk. Now.”