“I’ll pay for her to be in a specialty care center,” Smoke said.
Taylor turned to gape at him.
He didn’t take his eyes from the detectives. “I’ve got the money. I’ll get in touch for the details about where she is and take care of it. The woman didn’t deserve what happened to her.”
Taylor was crying again, but she couldn’t help it. How she’d somehow found the most generous, compassionate friends, she had no idea, but she vowed never to take them for granted.
“Generous of you,” the detective said. “I’ll be in touch with the name of her doctor.”
Smoke nodded. “’Preciate it.”
“Do you all have any more questions?” Detective Allen asked.
Taylor’s mind whirled as the Silverstone men asked several more questions. All she could think about was how close she’d come to disappearing exactly like the eleven women before her. She’d been extremely lucky. A serial killer had fucked with her for months, and she’d had no clue.
Not only that, but she’d put Eagle in danger. And Skylar. And everyone at Silverstone Towing. What if Brett had seen Skylar and decided he wanted her too? Or little Sandra? Or Christine or Leigh? He could’ve sabotaged his own car and called for a tow. Would the others have been as lucky?
Taylor’s head throbbed, and the longer she sat in the small room, the more claustrophobic she felt.
But as usual, Eagle was in tune with her and noticed. “I think that’s enough for today,” he announced, and Taylor lifted her head to look at him.
“If we have any more questions, we’ll be in touch,” he went on, scooting back his chair and standing. Since he hadn’t let go of her hand, Taylor had no choice but to stand as well. As soon as she was on her feet, Eagle released her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side. She might’ve protested his heavy-handedness, but she was more than happy to get out of the police department.
Eagle shook both detectives’ hands, then Taylor did the same before Eagle steered her out of the room and down the hall. Feeling as if she was in a daze, she allowed herself to be led outside, taking a deep breath of fresh air the second they were in the parking lot.
Eagle turned her to him then, keeping one arm around her waist and using his other hand to lift her chin so she had to look at him. “You okay?”
Taylor nodded, but said, “Not really.”
She hated the look of concern on his face.
“How do your ribs feel?”
“They’re okay,” she told him.
“And your foot?”
Sometime during her flight from Williams, she’d stepped on a piece of glass, which had imbedded itself in the arch of her foot. It was infected, but the doctor said because she was otherwise healthy, and with the antibiotics she was taking, it should clear up quickly.
“Sore, but not bad.”
Her arms itched from where she’d been scratched by all the thorns in the forest, but she wasn’t going to complain. She’d been very fortunate; having a few scrapes was nothing more than an inconvenience at the moment.
“Come ’ere,” Eagle said, then wrapped both arms around her.
Taylor immediately snuggled into him, grabbing him as if she’d never let go. She rested her head on his shoulder and inhaled his clean scent.
“Christ,” he muttered. “I can’t believe how close I came to losing you. For the record,” he said without letting go, “I never would’ve stopped looking for you. And I would’ve found you, and rescued you too.”
She wasn’t sure she believed that, but she loved the thought that he wouldn’t have given up trying.
How long they stood pressed together in the parking lot, she didn’t know, but eventually Bull wandered up to them and asked if they were ready to get out of there. Eagle nodded and opened the back door of Bull’s Altima. The other man had driven them to the police station, as Eagle hadn’t gotten his Jeep replaced yet.
No one said much on the way back to Silverstone Towing until Bull parked. He turned to look at her and Eagle in the back seat.
“So you know, this wasn’t my idea. In fact, I tried to talk Skylar out of it, but she insisted.”
“Out of what?” Eagle asked wearily.
Taylor wasn’t in the mood to really do anything other than go and lie down, but she had to admit she was curious as to what Skylar had done.
“Everyone’s inside,” Bull said.
“Everyone?” Eagle asked.
“Yup. All of Silverstone’s employees. Archer made a shit ton of food, and there’s a huge party going on.”
“Take us to my apartment,” Eagle clipped.
Taylor put her hand on his arm. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay. You’re stressed way the fuck out, and so am I. Neither of us are in the mood to pretend to be happy about this. I don’t want to hurt any of their feelings by being short and grumpy, and I know you don’t either.”
She didn’t. And it felt good to have Eagle so firmly on her side. She’d never had a champion, and it would never feel anything less than amazing.
“I think it’ll be good for us,” she said softly. “I don’t want to dwell on what we learned today. I don’t want to think about how close I came to dying at the hands of that crazy bastard. I’ve never had a surprise party before, never had friends who cared enough to do something like this for me. And . . . Shawn made food . . . I’m not sure you have anything edible in your apartment, and I sure don’t feel like cooking. Besides, I’m starving.”
Eagle studied her. “You aren’t just saying that, are you?”
“No.”
“Okay. But the second you’ve reached your limit, let me know, and I’ll get you out of there.”
Taylor nodded. “I will.”
“Skylar didn’t mean anything bad by this,” Bull explained. “She knows firsthand how it feels to escape death. She just wanted to help.”
“I know,” Taylor reassured him. “I’m lucky to have a friend like her.”
“Come on, let’s put everyone out of their misery. I’m sure they’ve been watching the security camera, wondering what the hell we’re talking about out here,” Eagle said, reaching for the door handle.
Taylor scooted after Eagle and followed him out of the car. She could’ve gotten out on her side, but she wasn’t ready to let go of his hand yet. She felt somewhat weird that she needed to keep in physical contact with him, but he didn’t seem to mind.
The three of them walked into Silverstone Towing, put on their name tags—which were the last three attached to the metal board next to the door—and headed into the great room.
Bull hadn’t lied; every single employee of Silverstone Towing was there—those who weren’t out working, that was. Everyone yelled out a greeting when they entered, and Taylor couldn’t help but tear up. How she’d gone from living a lonely existence to this, she didn’t know . . . but she did know she’d do whatever it took to keep it.
Skylar came rushing up to them and gave Taylor a long heartfelt hug. When she pulled back, she asked, “Are you okay?”
“I am now,” Taylor said with a smile, and it was true. A minute ago, no matter what she’d told Eagle and Bull in the car, she hadn’t really been sure she wanted to be around anyone other than Eagle. But now that she was here, and after seeing how genuinely relieved and happy everyone was that she was all right, Taylor didn’t want to be anywhere else.