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My father stayed by my side, keeping his hand on my shoulder to comfort himself more than to comfort me. When I was back in his arms, he didn’t hide his tears. He told me he loved me, squeezed me as he wept, and showed a vulnerable side to him that I’d never witnessed before.
It broke my heart.
He squeezed my shoulder, keeping his hand on me like he might lose me. “You did the right thing, tesoro. He would have regretted it.”
I looked across the desert, waiting for a car to appear with Bones inside of it. “He wasn’t thinking clearly.” I had to believe he would have come to his senses on his own, that he wouldn’t have murdered innocent people.
“When it comes to the people we love, we never think clearly. If the same situation happened to your mother…I would probably do the exact same thing.”
“I really hope not.”
“It’s hard to understand, tesoro. But when a man wants to protect his woman…he’ll stop at nothing.”
I would stab a man in the heart for hurting Bones, but I would never stab his wife. I crossed my arms over my chest as I waited, wanting to touch the man who’d saved me. I was never afraid he wouldn’t come for me, but I still wanted to feel him, see that he was safe without bullet holes in his flesh. “I hope all of this doesn’t change your opinion of him…”
He lowered his hand and followed my gaze across the horizon, watching the sun rise. “No. He got you back. That’s all that matters. He quit that line of work, so this should never happen again.”
“No, it shouldn’t.”
“I was so scared, tesoro. But I also felt better knowing he would stop at nothing to get you back. He’s a strong man, one of the strongest I know. If anyone could save you, it would be him. I know he’ll protect you for the rest of your life.”
“He will.” My eyes narrowed at the horizon when I finally saw a black vehicle in the distance. Dust kicked up into the air as the wheels propelled the SUV forward. It approached quickly, covering the distance rapidly because it was driving as fast as it could. “That must be him.”
Father walked away and shouted to the crew. “Get the chopper ready. We need to leave as quickly as possible.”
The rotors started to circulate, and my hair began to fly in the wind.
The SUV finally arrived, and Bones hopped out of the driver’s seat. He looked like he was in perfect condition, not a drop of blood anywhere on his clothes. His eyes appeared to have sustained the most damage, the pain and rage still throbbing from my kidnapping. He closed the door then marched toward me, the same look in his eyes as when I shot him in the snow. His shoulder took the bullet, but my insanity only made him want me more. With nostrils flared and a fire in his eyes, he closed the gap between us then grabbed my face with both hands. He kissed me hard, just the way he did right against the van in the middle of the snow. Indifferent to my father and uncle standing right there, he embraced me like we were the only two people in the world. With crushing force from his mouth and a tight grip with his hands, he held me so fiercely, it seemed like he would never let me go. Words failed him, and he expressed himself the only way he knew how—with his touch.
Once I felt him hold me like that, all the fear I’d held for the past twenty hours evaporated. I knew he would save me, but now that we were together, I felt at peace once more. He annihilated everyone who wanted to do us harm so there was no one left to haunt us.
He pulled his mouth away and looked into my face, still possessing that maniacal gleam in his eyes. He breathed hard as his fingertips dug into my neck. He moved his lips to my forehead and kissed me as he wrapped his arms around me and held me close. His heavy breaths fell against my skin, and he gripped me so tightly I could hardly breathe. His palm moved to the back of my head, and he cradled me like I was fragile. “Fuck. I’m so sorry, baby.” He rested his chin on my head, his chest pressing against my body every time he took a deep breath. “I’ll never let anything happen to you ever again. You have my word.”
“It’s okay—”
“It’s not okay.” His voice broke, the emotion entering his words and forcing him to stop speaking.
I knew he didn’t want me to look at him like that, so I kept my face against my chest. I remembered the day he’d left me, the way his eyes glistened and turned red. He was a man of limited emotion, preferring anger and rage over anything more vulnerable. But with me, he wasn’t the same man. “I knew you would save me, Griffin. I knew you would come.”
