“You needed the rest, babe.”
“Have you been here the entire time?”
“Did you think I’d budge?” He leaned forward to press a soft kiss to her lips, then an even softer kiss to her temple where Delbert had hit her. “You don’t remember me waking you, to make sure you were okay?”
“No.” She remembered crawling into his bed, but not much after that. She must have nodded off right away once she’d gotten warm.
“Are you hungry?” Reyes asked. “Bernard held dinner for us.”
“Oh, no.” The thought of his family waiting on her made her want to crawl back under the covers.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s only been half an hour. The food will be fine and no one is starving.”
Using both hands, she shoved back her hair. “Is it okay for me to eat like this?” She held out the hem of Madison’s shirt. “Delbert bled on my clothes.”
“Bernard washed them, but yeah, they’re stained. What you have on is fine. Cade and I will be in jeans. No biggie.” He helped her out of the bed, then framed her face in his hands. “I found one of my flannel shirts for you to help keep you warm.”
So considerate. Kennedy wrapped her arms around him and rested her face against his chest. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
Tension stiffened his body. “If I’d taken better care of you, none of this would have happened.”
“Even you can’t predict every moment of every day.”
He changed the subject, saying, “I’m so damn proud of you.”
“Proud?” She leaned back to see him. “Why?”
“Why?” His expression was serious enough that it looked severe. “Damn, Kennedy. You were hurt and afraid, and still you kept your head and fought hard. Of course I’m proud.”
“I caused a wreck.” She still had the aches and pains to prove it.
“You disabled your kidnapper. That took a lot of guts. Most wrecks aren’t fatal, especially when there’s little traffic. It was a reasonable risk to take considering the alternative.”
He made it sound premediated and deliberate, but she knew the truth. “I wasn’t thinking clearly at all. I just...reacted.”
“Instincts,” he agreed, holding her closer, his heart beating a little harder. “You knew he couldn’t get you alone.”
She shivered, and it wasn’t from cold. It was knowing what Delbert would have done to her if he’d succeeded.
So far she’d managed to keep those thoughts at bay.
“I’m sorry.” He cupped a hand around her neck and gently rocked her side to side. “So damned sorry.”
Kennedy wasn’t entirely sure about his mood, and she didn’t want to add to his burdens or put him on the spot, but the words just sort of slipped out, maybe because they needed to be said. Or because she needed to say them. “I’m here with you and we’re both safe. I don’t have to sleep alone, and I don’t have to fear anyone.” She knew Reyes wouldn’t let her be hurt. “You’re my own personal hero, Reyes.”
“God love you, girl, you turn me inside out.”
Her lips parted. What did that mean?
Before she could work up the courage to ask, he stepped back, grabbed the flannel shirt and helped her into it.
“Okay?”
The material was soft, and the shirt smelled like him. “Yes.” Better than okay.
“I hope you’re hungry.”
She gave that quick thought and nodded. “Starved.”
Smiling, he said, “Come on. Bernard loves nothing more than an enthusiastic eater.”
She realized that was true when Bernard joined them for the meal in the formal dining room. Parrish sat at one end of the table, with Bernard at the other, and the siblings with Kennedy and Sterling on either side.
In deference to her injuries, the lights were kept low and everyone spoke in modulated, even tones.
It gave her the warm fuzzies to be treated so kindly. Not only that, they acted as if she were one of them. Not because she’d fended off Delbert, but because of Reyes. They saw her as his significant other.
And he wasn’t objecting.
If anything, he’d doubled up on the attention he gave her, often reaching over to touch her, constantly watching her. She knew she must look wretched with the bruises and her mismatched, borrowed clothes, but clearly he didn’t mind—and that made her not care, either.
Over a rib eye roast with buttery mashed potatoes and perfectly steamed vegetables, everyone caught her up on what had unfolded while she slept.
Reyes said, “I spoke with Crosby. He’s pushy—”
“Like most cops,” Cade added.
“—but he’s all right.” Reyes glanced at her. “He was real concerned for you. Wanted me to tell you he hopes you’re okay, and if you need him for anything, just call.”
“Why would I need him?”
Reyes, Cade and Madison all smiled.
“My thoughts exactly,” Sterling said.
Parrish explained, “To his mind, the only real assistance, the best assistance, is an officer of the law. Dedicated cops have a difficult time accepting that their way isn’t always the best way.”
“He wanted to know where Golly is holed up,” Madison added, keeping her gaze on her plate. “Reyes didn’t tell him.”
“Neither did you,” Cade said. “I’m curious what the two of you discussed when you met at the park.”
Parrish looked up. “You did what?”
Reyes scowled.
Sterling, who’d been mostly silent while she ate, looked up with a grin. “Sneaking out from under their eagle eyes, huh? Go you.”
“My eagle eyes,” Cade pointed out, “didn’t miss it.”
Madison affected a casual shrug. “I met with him, explained a few things, and got his number for Reyes to call. That’s it.” She quickly shifted the topic by saying to Kennedy, “By the way, we have everything worked out if you want to visit Jodi.”
“I do.” They’d already explained where Jodi was. Trying to imagine her friend in a fancy hotel left Kennedy boggled. Jodi couldn’t like it. Still, according to Reyes, he’d spoken with her and she’d promised to stay put this time.
He claimed Jodi had agreed because she didn’t want Kennedy stressed over it.