AllFreeNovel
Share Us
With a soft curse, Shade released my legs, though my feet were still suspended in the air, and scooped Gracie up with his free arm, holding her tightly against his chest. I looped my arms around his neck to help lessen the strain of my dangling weight.
Movement had me squinting down the road to where a car sped closer, this time a familiar restored Bronco. The driver slammed on the brakes, bringing the two-door SUV to a skidding stop. Anne jumped out of the passenger seat and raced toward us while Grayson stalked down the road in the direction we’d left Trap and my attacker.
A forceful chill raced down my spine. I burrowed my face in Shade’s Kevlar vest, wishing it was just his hard chest I was snuggling against.
“Are they okay?” I heard Anne ask, a slight panic in her voice. “Fuck, I knew something was wrong when you called asking if I knew where they were. I never expected—”
“Call Caradee,” Shade interrupted. “Take Georgia and Grace to your place and wait for us. We’ll handle things here while you take care of them.” He paused. “You’re carrying, right?” His hold tightened to keep me secured against him as he strode across the road toward Anne’s Bronco.
“Of course, I’m fucking carrying. And you know I’ll protect them.” She yanked open the passenger door and stepped back, allowing Shade to maneuver me onto the seat.
When I didn’t let go of his neck, he turned his face, nose pressing against mine. “You’re safe now, baby, but I need you to go with Anne. Our friend Caradee, the doctor, will be by soon to check you over—”
“I’m okay—”
“You’re not okay,” he hissed, hot breath fanning over my face. “You’re trembling, blood is dripping from your foot, and your cheek is swollen. Since I’m the one officially on duty, I have to stay here to deal with this fucker, or else I’d go with you.” The last part was whispered, his lips brushing mine. “Please go with Anne. I won’t be able to focus on what needs to be done if I’m worried about you.”
With a small nod, I dropped onto the seat and reached out for Grace. He sat her in my lap, pulling the seat belt over both of us and buckling us in before turning to Anne. Her normally stoic features blanched at whatever was written on his face before he stalked off at a fast clip toward Trap and Grayson, who hovered over a large lump in the road.
“Mom,” Gracie said, voice quivering. “What just happened?” I shifted in the seat, adjusting my hold to face her. My heart cracked at the fear clearly written on her sweet features. “Was he trying to rob you?”
A ball of emotion clogged my throat, making it difficult to talk or swallow. “We’re okay now,” I finally got out. “Trap and Shade are handling it. We’re safe and going to Anne’s for a little while. Don’t be scared, sweetie. We’re okay.”
And we were, though I couldn’t stop the various worst-case scenarios of what would’ve happened, if Trap and Shade hadn’t shown up when they did, from running through my mind. I realized then that I had no idea how they even knew I needed help or where we were. Not that I cared about that now, because they’d come when I needed them, and that was all that mattered.
The Bronco shook, the slam of Anne’s door echoing through the small cab. She chanced a wary look my way, then pursed her lips and bent forward to crank the engine. Gracie jostled in my lap as the SUV rumbled forward, the entire frame jolting every time Anne shifted gears. We were a minute down the road when she finally spoke up.
“I’m sorry,” she said, fist pounding on the steering wheel. “I should’ve realized you two had taken way too long to show up. If it hadn’t been for Shade calling saying he hadn’t heard from you in a while, asking if I had, I wouldn’t have even—”
On instinct, I stretched across the console and laid my hand over her forearm. “It’s not your fault. It was a freak accident that no one could’ve seen coming.”
Though she dipped her chin in acknowledgment, sending her golden-blonde hair falling in waves over her shoulders, she still wore a deep frown. Slowly, I slid my hand back and wrapped the arm around Gracie’s middle, securing her even tighter against me, hoping that would help stop the tremors racking my body. Hot air blasted from the vents pointed directly at me, yet I couldn’t stop shaking, though whether that was from shock or cold, I wasn’t sure.
By the time we pulled through the circular drive in front of Anne’s place, my whole body trembled, movements completely out of my control. The second the engine cut off, Anne hurried to our side and helped Gracie down, who then ran into the house like she lived there. I watched her until she disappeared before meeting Anne’s worried gaze.
“I’m okay,” I said, voice shaking.
“You’re not, and that’s okay because you will be. Women like us don’t get knocked down. We just stumble for a quick second before we right ourselves and castrate the person who tried to hurt us.”
Despite it all, a sharp smile tugged at my dry lips.
“Now, I can carry you like I do newborn calves, around my shoulders, or bridal style—”
I sliced a hand through the air. “How about you just help support my weight?” I offered, sticking out the one foot that still had a shoe on it. “This foot is fine.”
“Fine, but if Trap asks, I carried you,” she said with a cringe.
I huffed a brash laugh as I slowly lowered myself to the smooth concrete drive. “I think Shade is the one to be worried about. He looked ready to shoot first, ask questions later.”
Snaking an arm around my waist, Anne supported the side with the scraped foot, and we slowly made our way up the front porch steps. “Yeah, Shade was pissed, but Trap is the wild card of those two. He’s crazy protective of the people he considers family and has a hair-trigger temper when provoked.”
I swallowed, unsure if her statement scared me or turned me on. “Well, that’s something.”
“Fuck, that makes him sound unstable. I swear they’re—”
“I know what you mean. I just haven’t seen this intense side of them.”
Reaching forward, she twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, helping me through first. “You seem to get along with both of them, though.”
