West pulled me from the ambulance and wrapped me in his arms just as Xander reached Sage and did the very same thing, and at the realization I had the same exact thing she did, I melted a little deeper into him.
“Everyone’s okay?” Linc asked Hayes as he scanned the scene.
“Everyone’s just fine,” he confirmed.
“Well, not everyone,” I murmured, looking at my car mournfully before tilting my head back and frowning up at West. “I don’t think Gertrude’s going to come away from this.”
I could have sworn he was fighting back a smile. “We’ll get you another car, baby.”
I sniffled and nodded, blinking back tears. “She was such a good car.”
“I know. And we’ll send her off in a way she deserves.” Then he looked back to the police. “And the other guy? He’s not going to press charges, is he?”
“What for? It was an accident,” Trick said in a teasing tone.
Hayes added, “I think he’s got bigger things to worry about.”
Sage snorted from Xander’s arms. “Yeah, like all the meth scattered around the parking lot.”
“As soon as the fire department finishes cutting that piece of shit out of his car, he’ll be taken straight to booking. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
West heaved a sigh of relief and squeezed me even tighter. “So they’re free to go?”
“They are. Get them home, give them a few Advil, and they should be good by morning.”
I snuggled into West as he led me to his truck and tucked me into the passenger seat. I was sad to be leaving Gertrude behind, but I took comfort that her last act on this earth was putting a bad guy in jail.
“So,” West said as he started the engine and pointed us in the direction of home. “A spider huh?”
“Yup. A big one. And that’s all I have to say on the subject,” I decreed.
“I bet.” Then he let out a deep, soulful laugh that made that made me feel all warm and squishy, and all sadness over Gertrude was forgotten.
Because I was heading home with the man I loved. Which made everything totally worth it.
Thirty
Stella
My bones felt like jelly. My whole body was languid, and as I stretched, I felt West everywhere. He’d just made me come, hard, and I would have been content to spend the entire day in bed. If only my man was able to do the same.
“Are you sure you have to go into the office?” I asked, poking my bottom lip out and giving him a playful pout as I rolled to my belly and folded my arms beneath my cheek so I could watch him dress. It was a shame for all that sexy, hard-as-stone muscle to be covered up, but the man could sure wear the hell out of a pair of jeans.
“Believe me, grift, if I could stay in bed with you all day, that’s absolutely what I’d do. But I’ve got some shit to handle at the office.”
It was the first time since we started that I was staying behind while West went into work. Just as he’d promised, the threat of Grady O’Brien was gone, and with it, the two-ton weight that had been sitting on my chest for months. My life was finally my own, and while I didn’t have the first clue what I wanted to do with this newfound freedom, I was content to take my time and figure it out. There was no rush. No looming deadline. No clock ticking down. I could just be. All thanks to this man.
It had been two days since West’s meeting with Seamus Byrne, and as soon as he’d gotten confirmation that he’d spoken to his nephew, and that Grady had been receptive to his demands, the first thing I’d done—after bawling my eyes out while curled in West’s lap—was FaceTime with my family to tell them our nightmare was officially over.
My mom had burst into tears. Serenity had cheered and cracked open a bottle of champagne, Spencer had shouted “fuck yeah!” at the top of his lungs, earning a smack in the head from his wife. My dad had gotten misty-eyed, but managed to keep from crying when he told me how much he loved me.
The plan was to have them all over to West’s place for a big Ryan family celebration this weekend, but West and I were going to have a smaller celebration of our own tonight.
He was taking me on our first date ever. Dinner at some fancy steakhouse called The Groves, and then it was off to The Tap Room where I could kick back with my new man and my new friends and just enjoy a couple of drinks without having to case the place for marks.
It was all so blessedly normal. And I couldn’t freaking wait. Something so small, yet, until now, it had been so far out of reach.
I still hadn’t worked up the courage to tell him I loved him, but I was getting there. The plan was to drop that little truth bomb on him tonight, and while I might have freaked out at the idea of being so opened and exposed a few days ago, I was surprisingly content with my decision. I wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop. For the first time ever, I was looking forward to the future.
Once he finished pulling his boots on, West moved back to the bed and sat in the crook formed by my hip and knee. Brushing the hair out of my face, he leaned in to whisper a kiss against my temple, sliding his lips along my cheek until they met mine. The move was so tender, so meaningful, it nearly brought tears to my eyes.
“Don’t forget about tonight.”
I smiled big and bright, the dimples in my cheeks pressing deep. “Oh, I won’t. I’m ridiculously excited to try this steak you’ve told me about. I’m not sure I’ve ever had one so good it melts in my mouth like butter.”
“You’re about to have your world rocked. Mark my words.”
It already had been, by Weston Scott.
He gave me one last kiss before rising from the bed, and Rollie didn’t hesitate to fill the spot he’d just vacated. “Go back to sleep. I’ll text you later, yeah?”
I hugged his pillow to my chest, inhaling that musk and leather scent of his I loved as sleep tugged at my senses. “Okay, honey. Have a good day doing all your super-secret spy stuff.”
On a chuckle, he left the room, and a few seconds later, I heard the distant click of the door closing and locking behind him.
I snoozed for a while longer until the need for coffee became too strong to ignore.
To Rollie’s chagrin, I forced myself out of bed and into the shower. I went about my morning routine feeling like I was walking on air. Dressed in my Cheerios shirt and a pair of distressed boyfriend jeans, I padded into the kitchen with damp hair and bare feet, smiling when I saw the coffee maker was already on and the pot was full. Next to it was a handwritten note:
Grift,
Breakfast is in the oven. Please don’t try to cook anything while I’m gone.
Can’t wait for tonight.
-W.
I might have swooned a little bit as I pulled the oven door open and saw a plate with two fluffy pancakes, crisp bacon, and eggs waiting for me inside. Just one of the many ways West went above and beyond when it came to taking care of me.
If I’d thought for a minute that I might not have loved him, the swelling I felt in my chest at that very moment would have cancelled that out.
I scarfed down my breakfast and was just pouring a second cup of coffee when my phone started to ring, my sister’s name flashing across the screen.