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“Right here.” He brushed his finger gently over her eyebrow. “Your forehead.”
She swept her hand over her forehead, and her fingers came back smeared with blood. “Broken glass.” She nodded at the jagged fragments of glass remaining in the car door. “They blew out the window.”
“Don’t move,” he said, running his hands up and down her arms. Scanning her for any other signs of injury. “I want to get you away from all this. Let’s go to one of the Suburbans.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her down the rutted, bumpy driveway. The big black SUV was close, just out of sight of the cabin. Once there, Gideon opened the back door and eased her onto the seat. “Hold on while I get the first aid kit.”
He brushed his fingers over her cheek, then hurried around to the back of the SUV. Jerry rose from his crouch behind the car and turned toward her. “Broken glass cut your head? Boo hoo. They cut off my fucking finger.”
“Really, Jerry?” She swiveled to narrow her eyes at her former husband. Seeing Jerry, with his bruised face and mutilated hand, should have evoked sympathy. Instead, she felt nothing but disgust for him.
Sliding off the seat and onto her feet, she stared down at him. “Not even a thank you for risking my life to save your worthless ass, Jerry?” Why was she surprised? Jerry had been completely self-centered since the day she met him. “Instead of whining about your finger, go inside and find it. Surgeons can reattach it if you get to a hospital in time. Put it in a bag of ice,” she called after him as he stumbled toward the cabin.
A few moments later, Gideon returned carrying a large bag. “Where’s Trotter?” he said, scanning the area.
“He was whining, so I sent him to find his finger. Put it on ice. Maybe there’s a surgeon in Helena who can re-attach it.”
“The sheriff and a couple of ambulances should be here any minute. Mel and Dev called him right after my last call to them. Told him to send ambulances, just in case.” He eased her back onto the seat. “Sit down while I take care of this cut.”
In a couple of minutes, he’d cleaned the cut carefully. Made sure no glass fragments remained. Then he applied antibiotic ointment and positioned three small strips of tape over it. Smoothed his finger gently over the bandage. “Butterflied it,” he murmured, staring at her forehead. “Should heal without leaving too much of a scar.”
“That’s too bad,” she said, trying to keep a straight face. “I was hoping a badass scar would make me even scarier in court.”
Gideon rolled his eyes as he dragged her up and against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her, he buried his face in her hair. Inhaled deeply. “From what I hear, you’re pretty scary already. Don’t need any scars to terrify clients and prosecutors.”
Holding him tightly, Alex allowed herself to melt into him. “Thank you, Gideon,” she whispered. “For not pitching a fit when I needed to do this. For organizing everyone to save my ass and Jerry’s.” She lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “You’re incredible.”
“You’re not so bad yourself,” he murmured as he bent and kissed her, and she shuddered against him. Way before she was ready, he pulled away. “We’ll talk more when we get back to the compound, okay?”
When she nodded, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her a few steps away from the Suburban. “Let me take a look at your hair. You probably have glass in it.”
With gentle fingers, he combed through her windblown, tangled hair. Dropped the glass fragments he found into his jacket pocket. Finally, he said, “Looks like I got them all.” He eased her back onto the SUV’s seat and said, “The sheriff should be here soon, but let me help you get that tactical vest off. Heavy by now, right?”
The surge of adrenaline had kept her from noticing the weight, but now the danger was over, her shoulders ached. The vest squeezed her chest. Drawing as deep a breath as she could, she said, “Yeah. I can feel it now. Just like I can feel that cut on my forehead.” She touched the strips of tape, then took Gideon’s hand. “Thank you for taping me up.”
He brushed a kiss over her mouth while he helped her get her jacket off her right shoulder, then her left, taking care not to jostle her broken arm. Then he opened the Velcro and lifted the vest over her head, being careful not to bump her cast. Finally, he tossed the vest into the back of the big SUV. “Thank God you didn’t take a hit to the vest,” he said. “A bruise to your chest would have hurt like hell for days.”
She smiled at him. “I wouldn’t have noticed. I was too focused on what I was doing.”
Gideon smiled back. “Trust me. You definitely would have noticed. But I’m glad you didn’t have to hurt like that.”
His smile faded as he looked around. Frowned. “Why isn’t Trotter back? You think he’s trying to get away?”
“Hell, no.” She rolled her eyes. “We’re in the middle of a wilderness area. This is not his comfort zone. And besides, he wants those files I have. He’s not going anywhere.”
“Can I make a copy before you give them back to him?” Gideon asked. “I’d like Tony to see them.”
“Of course you can.” She cupped his face and tugged him closer. Kissed him again. “Make yourself a copy, too.”
Finally he smiled. “Thank you.”
He settled on the seat beside her, taking her hand and twining their fingers together. Alex gripped his hand tightly, feeling lighter than she’d felt since she’d walked into her house and heard Jerry and a terrifying hitman planning her murder. It had been less than two weeks, but it felt like a lifetime. She was a different woman from the one who’d run from the killer Jerry had hired.
Now she just wanted to make things right with Gideon. They’d talked last night and smoothed things over, but she wanted everything on the table.
She wanted a future with Gideon, but was that even possible? His life was complicated right now, and she had no idea what came next for him.
Determined to ignore her fears, she rested her head on his shoulder. Letting go of his hand, she slid her arm around his then took his hand again. She needed to be as close to him as possible.
