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Do you really think I’m that much of a dick?
No, I typed quickly. Sort of, I thought.
“Not to interrupt, but are you going to make it official with my future sister-in-law?” Gabe asked.
I coughed, almost choking on the steak. “There’s an awful lot of gossip happening at this table. I’m feeling emasculated—can’t we talk about the game?”
“We could.” Gabe cut another piece of steak. “Or we could talk about work, instead…”
Everyone booed. We were still mulling Hannah’s somewhat out-there idea about trapping Li Na.
“How about another round instead?” Gabe suggested.
This time, we met him with cheers.
* * *
I wasn’t drunk, but I wasn’t exactly sober when I got into bed later. Hannah slept soundly, rolled over on her side. She didn’t move when I climbed in next to her.
I leaned closer, careful not to wake her as I inhaled the heady mix of her scent—some sort of hippie-ish essential oil and her own smell, clean and healthy. She smelled like sunlight.
I thought about what she’d told the shrink. About what that guard had done to her.
I cringed, wishing I’d been able to be there for her, to help. I also wished that I’d been the one to kill the bastard. That was a terrible wish, I knew, but he’d hurt her…terrorized her, preying on her when she was at her most vulnerable.
Sonofabitch.
But he was gone, and I had to let it go. Now I needed to support Hannah as she led the charge against Li Na. I’d never seen her pissed like this before. In addition to the fact that it was sort of hot, I loved watching her mind work.
That wasn’t all that I loved.
No matter what happened, I had to keep her safe. Because if Li Na came after us again?
This time, I’d be ready.
Chapter 16
Fiona
I watched Katie and Quinn as they slept. Their faces were relaxed, a far cry from how they’d looked in the terrible days since their dad died. My poor girls. I took another step into the semidarkness of their room, making sure that each of their chests was rising and falling.
When they were babies, Jim and I took turns checking on them. We were both paranoid—a fact I relied on and relished. We used to joke that the kids never slept through the night because we were always poking and prodding them, making sure they were breathing okay.
I clutched my chest as I watched the girls sleep peacefully now. Oh, Jim…
I heard a noise behind me and whirled.
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“It’s just me,” Ellis said.
It was the most he’d said since he’d been assigned to protect me.
“I was just checking on them.” I kept my voice low.
“I get it.”
I stepped out of the girls’ room and headed to the kitchen, Ellis close on my heels. At first, I’d been unnerved by his constant, silent presence. But I’d gotten used to him. It felt safer having his six-foot-four, two-hundred-and-something pounds of pure muscle nearby.
