Her gray gaze locked on Hunt’s face.
“Savannah.” As he shifted beside her, Vander rose and stalked over to Walkson.
He toed the man and Walkson groaned.
“I…need a doctor.”
“Be thankful I don’t gut you,” Vander said silkily.
Walkson’s mouth snapped shut.
Vander lifted his cell phone and looked at the screen. “Brynn’s on the way. With the cavalry.”
Hunt focused on Savannah. “Baby.” He pressed the rag down.
“I knew you’d come,” she whispered. “I knew you’d work it out, or Ella-Mae would find you.”
“I’m pissed at you.”
“You can’t be, I’m injured. You need to nurse me back to health.” She winced. “It really, really hurts.”
“You shouldn’t antagonize serial killer stalkers with knives.”
She gave a hiccupping, slightly hysterical, laugh. “Ella-Mae?”
“She got out.”
Savannah’s breath was shaky. “Good. Facing him, I wasn’t terrified anymore. I’m so sick of him dictating my life.” She cupped Hunt’s cheek. “And I realized I had something, someone, really important to live for.”
“Say the words,” he said huskily.
“I love you, Hunter Morgan.”
“I love you too, Savannah Cole.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
Then Brynn burst in, handgun in hand. Cam, Rhys, Saxon, and several police officers were right behind her.
“Clear,” Brynn barked.
A moment later, several paramedics appeared.
“She has a stab wound,” Hunt said.
The officers headed toward Walkson, while the paramedics nodded, and got to work on Savannah.
Hunt shifted.
“Don’t leave me,” she said.
“Never.” He took her hand. “After this, when you’re better, I’m going to yell at you, and paddle your ass for sneaking out to meet a killer.”
“I had to save Ella-Mae.”
“Then I’ll tell you how damn brave you are, and beautiful, and how you’re going to marry me.”
There was no fear in her eyes this time, just a smile.
“Nice to see you aren’t so panicked by that,” he said.
“I just got stabbed by my stalker, nothing can shake me now.”
Shit. Just remembering his terror, knowing she was locked in with Walkson, made it hard to breathe. Knowing how much danger she’d been in… He squeezed her fingers.
“It doesn’t look too bad,” the paramedic said. “From what I can tell, it missed anything vital, and you don’t have any internal bleeding. We’ll give you some painkillers and get you to the hospital for a more thorough check.”
Savannah frowned. “Hospital? Can’t you just glue it, or something?”
“Nope,” the paramedic said cheerfully. “Hospital for you.”
“Hunter—”
“Baby, no matter how much you plead, I want the doctors to check you over.”
Her fingers clenched on his. “I’ll cook for a month, I’ll promise you sexual favors…”
The paramedic chuckled.
Hunt kissed her temple. “As tempting as that is, I’ll cook for you until you’re better, and when you’re healed, you’ll give me sexual favors anyway.”
“Dammit,” she muttered.
Another paramedic rolled a gurney in.
“The other guy’s going first,” Savannah’s paramedic said.
Hunt didn’t bother to watch them shift a now-handcuffed and sobbing Walkson to the gurney.
Brynn stopped and crouched by Hunt, touching his shoulder. “I’ll escort Walkson to prison. Savannah, I’ll see you soon.”
Savannah nodded. “Thanks, Brynn.”
“And I’ll stay with you,” Hunt told Savannah. “Every minute.”
She smiled weakly. “Promise?”
“Baby, if you haven’t worked it out yet, I’d do anything for you.”
“God, I’m so in love with you.”
He kissed the end of her nose. “I love you, too.”
Chapter Nineteen
The next day, Savannah sank back on the couch and laughed.
Ryder smiled at her. On him, the smile was slow, sexy, and designed to drive a woman to make bad mistakes.
“Okay, lie back and let me check your wound, babe. You know you want to get your clothes off for me.”
“Stop flirting,” she countered.
He winked at her. Despite his teasing, he was brisk and professional as he lifted her shirt. Charming demeanor aside, he was clearly good at his job.
She noted that he paid no attention to her old scars, just zeroed in on her wound. Thankfully, the hospital had confirmed that the knife had missed anything vital.
Andrew Walkson was in jail. He was in the medical wing at the prison, getting his neck wound monitored, and awaiting trial.
He was locked up, as Hunt had promised, and would never be a free man again.
A weight had lifted, but to be honest, she couldn’t quite believe it yet. She’d been living on the edge for so long, and it was hard to let go. To relax and trust that she was safe.
She rubbed her temple and blew out a breath. “It’s hard to believe it’s over.”
“It gets easier,” Camden said from a stool at the island. “Eventually, you start to lose the fight or flight mode. And trust that you don’t have to watch your six all the time.”
“Quit reading my mind,” she said.
He shrugged a broad shoulder. “Or so they say. So far, it seems to get a little bit better every day.”
Warmth hit her. She hadn’t realized what she had in common with Hunt’s youngest brother.
“Thanks, Cam. I’m so sorry I snuck out on you.”
His lips quirked. “A girl is alive because you did, but it still stings to know you pulled it off.”
She laughed. “I almost didn’t. When you were chasing me down the street, I almost wet myself.”
“You run well. You have impressive form.”
“Thanks, I think.”
Her thoughts turned to poor Ella-Mae. The teenager was recovering at home. She’d dropped by this morning to see Savannah, and they’d both hugged and cried.
Ryder pressed a fresh bandage to Savannah’s belly. The wound was mostly off to the side. It hurt, but the painkillers helped. The bruises on her neck were healing too, but were unfortunately turning hideous shades of green and yellow.
“How about you run away with me, Savannah?” Ryder winked again. “We can rent a yacht. Sail the Caribbean.”
“Will you two quit flirting with my woman?” Hunt yelled from upstairs.
Savannah smiled. She tapped Ryder’s nose. “Someday, some woman is going to knock you off-kilter. And she’ll be impervious to all that Ryder Morgan charm.”
“Never.” His gaze flicked up to her painting. The one of her and Hunt. He’d hung it in the living room. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it since she was naked in it, but she hoped she could talk him into putting it back in the bedroom eventually.
“He loves you,” Ryder said.