“I’m sure you do, and I can’t say that I wouldn’t mind spending a lot of time there myself,” he said. “But we still have to deal with the business of living.”
“I was dealing just fine,” she snapped.
He chuckled and pulled her closer. Yelling came from the side, but he wouldn’t let her see what was happening; he remained strong and steady. He looked at her and smiled. “Are you really okay?”
“I am, yes,” she muttered against his chest. “But it sucks. I was away from all the violence and human depravity, and now I’m back in it again.”
Just then someone called out, “Ahoy!” Gunfire rang out, and she winced and ducked under the water instinctively.
He pulled her back up. “Listen. We may have to dive again,” he said, “so stay calm and quiet. Slow down your breathing, if you can.”
She clung to him, her body chilled once again, after barely having enough time to warm up between her kidnappers. But Bullard was a fire in and of himself. Just this huge massive stalwart brick of flame. She cuddled up as close as she could.
“It will be okay,” he promised.
She squeezed her arms around his neck and just hung on to him. He held her close, and she loved the feeling of being secure in his arms. “Does this mean I’m coming with you then?” she asked, with a burble of nervous laughter.
“It means you’re coming with me, wherever I go,” he said, “just to keep you safe.”
“But that won’t be at my island, will it?” she said sadly. “How about we come back to the island for half the year?”
“How about at least a couple times a year for a long visit?”
She pulled back, glaring at him.
He grinned. “Maybe we should use it as a hideaway for all my company.”
She thought about that. “I think they’ll need a bigger cabin,” she muttered.
He chuckled. “Maybe we can buy some other lots there and build enough for several of us to go there at a time. I have a dozen guys at any given time, and, according to what I’ve heard from the others, several of them got partners while I was away.”
At this point, Dave just chuckled. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“And that will be a joy to have them all there,” she said. Then she looked at Dave and smiled. “Do you have a partner?”
Dave shook his head. “Nope,” he said, “but maybe after seeing all these guys and Bullard find someone special, I might just be tempted.”
She reached out and said, “You and me both. I had decided I wouldn’t ever go back into the world again. Mostly because of that damn asshole doctor.”
“Well, you can’t let him determine what you do with me,” Bullard said.
She turned and looked him straight in the eye. “What about your feelings for Ice?”
He looked at her in surprise, smiling gently. “I will always love Ice,” he said calmly. “But my heart is big enough to love more than one woman.” She frowned at that, but he reached up and chucked her under the chin. “Ice belongs to another man,” he said. “We’ve never been lovers, and we never will be.”
She said, “I’m being foolish, aren’t I?”
“No,” he said, “you’re insecure, and I understand that. Now it’s my job to make you feel confident in yourself and in the two of us.” Just then, a ton of commotion was heard off to the side. “But first we have to focus on this.”
*
Now that he had her safely by his side, Bullard wouldn’t let her go. He didn’t care how her arguments flew from one side to the other. She was staying with him; then he would find this asshole of a doctor. Then he had to deal with his own issues too. He was putting her in danger by hitching her life to his, but together they were stronger. All alone, she was vulnerable, and, as his last flight came to mind, he remembered he wasn’t exactly immune from sabotage and assassination attempts either.
He recognized the voices, and, as the boat came around, he felt her trembling in his arms. But, sure enough, Kano was on one boat, driven by Cain. Bullard swam with her over to the side, and, with help, they lifted her into the boat and then him. Fallon and Garret were there as well. As was Dave. With everybody up in the boat, they distributed the weight between the two speedboats, the other one driven by Eton. They all looked at Bullard, their faces wide with grins.
“Damn,” Bullard said, “it’s good to see you guys all together.”
“Ditto,” Eton said.
“Quinn is really bummed he’s not here,” Fallon said, “but he’ll be healed up in no time.”
At that, the smile fell off Bullard’s face. “This asshole, whoever he is, has a lot to answer for.”
“I know. I know,” Dave said. “And we’ll get there. We will. Honest.”
Bullard nodded. “We also have to help—” He looked over to Leia, curled up next to him, her arms around her knees, and said, “Everybody, this is Leia. She’s the only reason I’m still alive today.” All the men looked at her, and, embarrassed at the attention, she lifted a few fingers and gave a small wave.
“Hey, guys,” she said. Then her teeth started to chatter. With a muffled exclamation, Dave went to one of the back panels in the boat and pulled out a heating blanket. He quickly wrapped her up.
“Come on, guys,” Bullard said, “we’ve got to get back to base. We’ve rescued her, but we don’t have whoever he was supposed to hand her over to,” he said. “The gunman should have something on his person.” The men in the second speedboat headed back over to where the gunman’s boat drifted.
Leia watched as they transferred to the other boat and searched the bodies. When they had everything they could possibly find, they headed back to their boat, and together, the two speedboats took off, quickly picking up speed.
Wrapped in a solar blanket, she felt some of her strength returning, but shock was setting in as well. Bullard kept an eye on her, but he wasn’t at all happy with her color. He sat beside her and picked her up and settled her in his lap.
“I never really realized how big you were,” she muttered.
“That’s because you’re the one who’s been looking after me,” he said. “Now it’s my turn to look after you.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” she said. “Why don’t we go back to the island and live an idyllic life together in paradise?”
He chuckled. “How much idyllic life do you think we’ll get, now that the world knows we’re both alive?”
“So what’s next?” she asked, with a sigh.
“First, we’ll get a hotel and get you warmed up. Then we’ll have your purse and ID brought over from the island, then get flights arranged and head to New York.”
She groaned. “Do I have to go?”
“Yep, you sure do,” he said, “because we’ll take down this Leo guy once and for all.”
“What about you?” she asked. “I’m just in more danger by being close to you,” she said, reiterating his own thoughts from earlier.
“Absolutely,” he said. “You are. But, at the same time, that’s really not much of an issue just now.”