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“I promise. We can carry you out of here right now.”
Penny continued gazing at Sloane, and it was obvious the reality had only partially sunk in. She was somewhat heavily sedated, and between that and the effects of her long-term confinement, she was pretty out of it. Still, she stopped shaking, willingly accepting their assistance. “Okay.”
She sounded like a child. That broke Sloane’s heart. But she reminded herself that it could have been a lot worse. Penny was alive. Alive and physically unharmed. The emotional healing would come—with time and counseling.
Sloane and Derek made a chair with their hands, and together carried Penny outside. Penny gripped Sloane’s chiton the entire time.
“You won, Penny,” Sloane said adamantly. “And so did all the other women. Everyone’s fine.”
Sloane’s words were swallowed up by the sound of approaching ambulances.
“Great timing.” Sloane waited, then she and Derek carried Penny over to the trained medical techs who would transport her to the hospital. “I’ll call your parents,” she promised her friend. “They’ll probably charter a helicopter and fly to meet you.”
A tiny flicker of amusement touched Penny’s lips—the first human reaction Sloane had seen her show.
“Aren’t you coming, ma’am?” the medical tech asked Sloane.
“It’s not necessary. I’m fine.” She shook her head.
“She’ll be there,” Derek amended. “I’ll bring her myself.”
He shut the doors so the women could get to the hospital ASAP.
“Is everyone out now?” one of the state troopers asked Derek.
“Yes.” Derek nodded. “Everyone’s out.”
The trooper trudged back to the scene as the ambulances drove off and the tension began to ebb.
Once the din had died down, Derek turned to face Sloane. She looked disheveled, pieces of her braid having come loose to dangle down the sides of her face. Her ridiculous tunic-thing was hanging on her like a queen-size sheet, with no belt to hold it in place. She was a total mess—and Derek had never seen a more beautiful sight in his life.
“You got my text message,” Sloane breathed in relief.
Derek tugged her against him, held her tightly. “Are you really okay?” he asked in a rough voice.
“Now I am.” She pressed her face against his SWAT vest, wrapped her arms around his waist.
“You scared the shit out of me.”
“I’ll try not to let it happen again.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
“Okay.” Sloane’s adrenaline was rapidly dropping as the full impact of what she’d been through sank in. “If I promise to go and get checked out at the hospital later today, can we just go home now? I’m going to have to answer tons of questions for the Bureau and the NYPD anyway. For now, all I want is a hot shower to wash away the past twenty-nine hours, and an afternoon in my bed—complete with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, all three hounds, and you.”
“You know,” Derek speculated aloud. “I did an awesome job solving this case. So if I ask for a few days off, just this once, I’m pretty sure I could get them.”
“You did an awesome job?” Sloane leaned back to stare at him in amazement. “I’m the one who—”
Derek shut her up with a long, bone-melting kiss. “I know. But you know what an arrogant hard-ass I am. I have a reputation to uphold.”
“True.” Sloane’s eyes sparkled with provocative amusement. “Actually, you have several reputations to uphold. Two of which are performance related—one for the Bureau, the other for me. I should warn you, my standards are even higher than the Bureau’s. Think you’re up for it?”
“Definitely. Besides, I like a challenge.”
“Good. Because, Special Agent Parker, you’ve got one.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
