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“Doc took a look at you when we got back here, and he said it was probably shock.”
He reached her chin, and she tilted her head to the side to give him access to her neck. He nibbled lightly along her collarbone, and she gasped in delight. “And Travis?”
Trent stilled. “I’m not sure I like you asking about my brother at a time like this,” he teased as he bit down.
Chloe squealed. “Trent! Is he okay?”
He licked at her neck. “He’ll be fine. Doc got him stitched up and he’s resting. He’ll have another scar, but he really should have ducked.”
“Trent,” Chloe whined as he went back to nipping at her neck. “He couldn’t have ducked that shot.” She tried to push at him to get his attention. Rising up on an elbow, he looked down at her in the dim room.
“You scared the crap out of me, Chloe. When I found out you’d arrived in Jawhara ahead of me, I didn’t know what to think.”
Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him against her. “I’m sorry. Brad and Anna asked me to go, and I thought…well, I don’t know what I thought. I guess I’d hoped that maybe if they wanted me along, they really weren’t the bad guys, and it was all some big misunderstanding. But it wasn’t, was it?”
“No. It wasn’t. Why didn’t you call?”
“I tried, but you didn’t respond to my texts and then my battery died, and I couldn’t find my charger.”
Trent had been rubbing her head, but he stilled. “You left me messages?”
“Several. I figured you were busy in Jawhara and didn’t see them.”
Trent shook his head. “I hadn’t left yet. I bet someone put a block on your phone. We’ll check it in the morning.”
Chloe couldn’t hold back her yawn, and Trent chuckled. Shifting off her, he rolled her so she was facing away from him and pulled her in to spoon. Kissing the top of her head, he said, “Get some sleep, Chloe. We’ll talk more in the morning.”
She didn’t want to go to sleep. She had so many questions to ask and she needed to talk to her dad. “My dad…I need to call the hospital to check on him.”
Trent pulled her tighter to his chest. “Your dad is fine. We sent someone over, and he’s doing fine, but I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear from you in the morning.”
Nodding, Chloe could feel sleep starting to claim her. Tilting her head up, she kissed him before getting more comfortable. She could wait to talk to her dad. In the meantime, she was exactly where she wanted to be. In Trent’s arms.
21
“Chloe? Come in.” Slade gestured for her to enter, and she walked in slowly, feeling as though she’d been sent to the principal’s office. “It’s okay, I promise not to bite you,” Slade teased with a smile. “I thought we should chat before the others get here. Would you like some coffee?”
She tugged at the borrowed clothes she was wearing. From the designer brand, she was assuming it was one of the cousins’ outfits, but she had no idea, and she was afraid to get anything on them since she couldn’t afford to replace them.
The coffee smelled wonderful, so she poured herself a cup from the carafe and added some cream. Sitting down across from Slade, she fiddled with the cup before setting it down, too nervous to take a sip.
Slade took a drink from his own cup and watched her for a few moments until Chloe felt herself begin to squirm. Setting his drink down, he sat back in his chair.
“Looks like you’ve had a busy couple of days. How are you doing?”
Well, that wasn’t what she’d expected. Taking a couple deep breaths, she tried to figure out how she was doing. When she’d woken up in Trent’s arms this morning, she felt like she was in heaven. After everything that had happened, it felt right lying there with him. But she didn’t think that’s what he was asking about.
“I think I’m still in shock. Or maybe it’s denial, I’m not entirely sure. So much has happened since I left Wyoming, and then all this…” She waved her hand at the room where they were sitting. In a palace. “It’s all so overwhelming and that doesn’t even include the dead bodies. I…” Chloe shuddered. Okay, maybe she was a bit more than overwhelmed.
Grabbing her cup, she took a large sip and then choked on the hot coffee, spilling some of it on her pants. Setting the cup back down, she held a napkin to her mouth as she coughed. She felt a hand on her back and looked up to see Trent. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, but then changed her mind. She was not okay. She was definitely not okay. Before she could say anything, Trent scooped her up in his arms.
“Slade, this needs to wait. I’m taking her back to our room.”
The older man nodded. “We’re wheels up this evening. We can talk on the flight home.”
Chloe wrapped her arms around Trent’s neck as he carried her out of the room. The shock over the last twenty-four hours was hitting her hard, and she worried that she might never be okay again.
