Her lips trembling, she rested her forehead to his chest and mumbled something low.
“Hey, you okay?”
She took a solid step back so that his arms dropped to his sides. Her eyes widened when she saw the blood on his shoulder. “Oh, my God, you’re hurt!”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Voice rising, she snapped, “Why is it never anything when you’re hurt, but it’s a big deal when I am?”
Wow, she’d been so calm up to that point that her agitated tone took him by surprise. Gently Reyes cupped her face. “Maybe because you mean so much to me?” He touched his mouth to hers again, lingering a few seconds this time. “Swear to God, Kennedy, it hurts me the most to see you hurt.”
She hesitated, her gaze on his injury. “You promise it’s not bad?”
“A tiny sting, that’s all.” He kissed her again. “As long as you’re okay, I’m fine.”
“Reyes.” Releasing a long breath, she glanced around at the activity, then briefly at Jodi, who now stood beside Crosby, peering down at Golly.
Turning back to him, she gazed into his eyes and said, “I love you.”
Reyes felt his face go blank. “Say again?”
“I love you. So damn much, and I know I always will.” Her lips trembled. “Seeing you hurt devastates me, but I guess it’s bound to happen again.”
Holy shit, the lady had terrible timing. “You love me?” He had a difficult time grasping the words, coming out of the blue like they did.
Her chin lifted an inch. “I just thought you should know.”
Of all the... Slowly he grinned. “Way to blindside me, babe.”
“Sorry.”
Reyes hugged her off her feet, turned her in a circle, then kissed her in front of gawking officers, a disgruntled detective and her smiling friend.
“Get a room,” Jodi said, laughing.
Kennedy freed her mouth. “Oh, Reyes.” She looked stunned. “Despite all this, Jodi just laughed.”
“So she did.” Jodi would be all right. The girl had a backbone of steel and a survivalist’s instincts.
And she had Kennedy, the biggest asset of all.
When he realized Kennedy was shivering, he stepped to the truck, grabbed her coat and helped her into it. Then he led her over to Crosby, where the front desk manager was busy rattling off what he’d witnessed.
All in all, the dude made it sound like Golly was a lunatic and that Reyes had saved the day. Pretty accurate, really.
A cop quickly led the manager back to the office so they could talk.
Crosby looked at Reyes. “I’m guessing you know the drill.”
“Arresting me after all?”
“No. But I need statements from all three of you.” He gave an apologetic smile to Kennedy. “You can’t keep her glued to your side.”
“Wanna bet?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Crosby said with insistence, “I gave you a few minutes, but now I need to sort this out.”
Reyes was about to argue—because seriously, Kennedy wasn’t going anywhere without him—when a sleek black car pulled into the lot. Recognizing it, Reyes breathed a sigh of relief. His dad had arrived.
“Now what?” Crosby grumbled.
Parrish McKenzie brought a whole lot of consequence with him. As he climbed out of the car, he looked like a stately senator and carried himself like a benevolent king. Better still, he had the instincts and ability of a warrior.
Content with how things were rolling out, Reyes said, “You can talk with Kennedy, but my dad will be with her.” He bent to Kennedy’s temple. “Everything is fine. I’ll be back with you in just a few minutes.”
Her gaze searched his, maybe because he hadn’t yet returned her declaration. Soon, he promised himself. Very, very soon.
* * *
IT WAS FOUR in the morning when they finally got to bed, still at Parrish’s house. Kennedy hoped she’d get a good long break now, because her system wasn’t cut out for such constant cloak-and-dagger drama.
Reyes ended up with three stitches in his shoulder, and a mess of colorful bruising. A tiny sting, he’d said. Ha! The man had a small gouge taken out of his flesh. She supposed she’d have to accept that he wasn’t one to complain.
He was usually too busy protecting, nurturing and being all-around awesome.
They’d found pieces of shrapnel from Golly’s bomb scattered everywhere, including embedded in the side of Reyes’s truck.
Recalling the awful shape of Golly’s body, she knew she could have lost Reyes. He’d saved Jodi by risking himself, but he had survived. Given his personality and vocation, she’d have to focus on that.
Jodi was back at the hotel, where she’d stay for another week until a more permanent residence was ready for her, though she could now come and go as she pleased. They’d offered her alternatives, but she no longer minded the fancy suite—as long as it was temporary.
After her heartbreaking cry, she’d done an amazing about-face, looking forward to the future and, thankfully, glad to be alive. There was a new optimism about her, a zest to see what the next day would hold.
She’d be meeting with many people over the next week, including Reyes and her, to help her figure out the next steps. Kennedy was determined to make Jodi feel secure.
Just as Reyes had done for her.
Cade and Sterling had grabbed their targets without a hitch, which had led to information indicating a much larger trafficking network.
Parrish had made the decision to clue in Crosby so he could tie up all the loose ends. Kennedy discovered that the senior McKenzie had made allies with a few different people in the legal system—and some in political circles.
It seemed to her that Crosby had just been included in the hush-hush details of the McKenzie family enterprise. She knew Madison would be happy about that—if things progressed as she preferred. She’d put her money on Madison.
Now she and Reyes were stretched out in his bed, only one dim light breaking up the darkness. Tucked close to his side, Kennedy couldn’t stop touching him. And kissing him. Though he kept smiling at her, he hadn’t said anything about loving her.
She didn’t mind. He’d had a lot on his plate dealing with Crosby, talking to his family and being very attentive to her. She didn’t regret telling him she loved him, either. At that moment, she wasn’t sure she could have held it in anyway. Honestly, she wanted to tell everyone, him, his family, Crosby...the whole world.