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I attempt to shrug but stop when my entire body rebels, pain seizing me harshly.
“Be careful, V. You literally just used your body as a human shield.” She quirks a brow. “One of the only reasons I’m not kicking your ass here and now.”
“Sara, I—”
She holds up her hand, halting my words. “I don’t have to like it, but you clearly love my daughter. And knowing what it’s like to live without the one you love…”
I swallow roughly when she trails off, a devastating sadness haunting her features before she squares her slim shoulders, her eyes snapping back to mine.
“I would never take away her happiness. But know this.” Her eyes narrow, and her tone drops half an octave. “If you hurt her, Iwillkill you while you sleep.”
And though both women look nothing alike, in that moment, I can see an uncanny resemblance that almost makes me smile. Thinking better of it, I slowly nod my acknowledgment.
“Your daughter owns me, Sara. I’d die before I’d see harm come to her, least of all from my hand.”
Sara’s face softens, and a silent understanding passes between us before the room door opens. “They only had sparkling…”
Wren’s eyes fill with tears when they land on me as she trails off. The bottled water in her arms drops to the floor, the plastic bottles bouncing as my name leaves her mouth on an exhalation.
“Vaughn.”
I pat my chest with the tips of my fingers before opening my arms, and she flies across the floor, gently sliding into my embrace, resting her head over my heart. I hold her as tightly as my wounds will allow before she angles her face up to mine.
The door closes softly as Sara takes her leave, and Wren’s eyes fill with tears. “I thought you were dead. Youshouldbe dead. Your surgeons said it’s a miracle…”
She trails off as emotion clogs her throat, and I gently rub her back as I press a kiss to her brow. “I told you before, little bird. Not even the hounds of hell could take me from you.”
I pull back, my eyes piercing her with an intensity that physically hurts me.
“When you first came into my life, I tried to keep you at an arm’s length despite the instant pull I felt toward you. You weren’t justmadefor me, Wren Caputo. We were made to be soulmates, destined for one another long before either of us came into being. And I’m sorry it’s taken all this time for my head to catch up to what my heart knew the moment it felt your presence.”
Her lips turn upward, even as a small sob tumbles from her lips. Two fat tears crest her long dark lashes, spilling down her emotion-stained cheeks as she closes the gap to brush her lips over mine. A fleeting kiss.
A kiss filled with promise.
“I love you, Vaughn Burton.”
Her words dance over my lips, and I smile into gray eyes that mirror mine in their fervor. “Love is too small a word to encompass how I feel for you, Wren Caputo.”
Her smile grows as I press our brows together, whispering softly, “But it’s a starting point. And we have forever to make it count.”
“We do now.”
I frown slightly, pulling back enough to find her eyes with mine. “What happened after I passed out?”
She blows out a heavy breath. “Ford is helping Detective Fratelli to deal with everything relating to the South Brook police department. There’s going to be ahugeinvestigation.”
I nod at that, glad to see that Jo is finally making that change he’d spoken of wanting before Wren continues softly.
“Elliott and Matt are looking at spending the rest of their lives behind bars.” Her eyes cloud over, and my chest tightens at seeing her in such open pain. “Delilah Porter’s body was found in the back office of Zephyr. Foul play is evident, but neither of them are saying a thing.”
“I’m sorry, Wren. I know you looked up to her.”
She blinks before shaking her head, a frown marring her features. “I just can’t believe I never really knewanyof them. I think that’s the scariest part.”
Then she half snorts, half sobs, as her eyes flicker between mine. “Well, that and the fact that you took a bullet to save my life.”
I gently cup her cheek in my hand, tracing the pad of my thumb across her delicate skin. “You saved my life long before I saved yours.”
