Page 60 of King

“Because if I didn’t get out of the car, we’d still be in there,” he said, voice low and husky. His fingers skimmed along her lower back, sending shivers up her spine. He leaned in, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear as he finished. “And it’s not safe for you if I’m distracted. And honey, you are definitely a distraction.”

Her breath hitched, her frustration melting into something much more dangerous.

“Oh, ah, okay,” she murmured, frowning to herself. How did he do that? One second, she was mad, demanding answers; the next, she was putty in his hands.

Her entire life had been flipped upside down. People were after her. Danger lurked around every corner, yet all it took was one kiss, one touch, and she forgot everything except him. That should scare her, but it didn’t.

“Well,” she said, forcing some air back into her lungs. “I guess I should be thanking you, then.”

King smirked, taking her hand as they walked toward the hospital entrance. “No thanks needed.” He squeezed her fingers, glancing down at her with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “The sooner we get Joey home and settled, the quicker I can have you all to myself.”

Her stomach flipped. The way he said it—deep, possessive, like a promise—sent a rush of heat through her.

The silence between them was comfortable as they entered the hospital and rode the elevator up to Joey’s floor. King kept a firm grip on her hand, his attention scanning everyone around them. His presence was steady and protective—like a shield she hadn’t realized she needed until now.

As soon as they stepped out into the hallway, her phone rang.

She stopped outside Joey’s room and pulled it from her pocket. “Hello?”

“Ms. Tarvin?”A deep male voice echoed through the line.

“Yes?” She glanced up at King, who had already leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching her closely.

“This is Mike Duffy from Duffy’s Funeral Home,”the man informed her.

Amara’s stomach clenched.

“I’m calling to let you know that we have taken care of your brother after our conversation,” Mr. Duffy continued, his voice professional but kind.“Do you have a date in mind for the service? We do have an opening this Saturday if that works for you. I wasn’t sure what kind of timeline you were looking at, but I wanted to let you know it’s available as of right now.”

Her throat tightened with that suffocating weight of grief pressing against her ribs. Saturday. It felt too soon, and yet not soon enough. She forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat. “Yes, that would be fine.”

“We have everything on our end. A friend of yours brought in a suit you wanted your brother to wear yesterday.”Mr. Duffy assured her.“Again, we are very sorry for your loss. I’ll send all the details to your email. And if there is anything else we can do, please don’t hesitate to let us know.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. She needed to remember to thank Jessie for doing that for her. She forgot to say anything when she saw her last night. “I’ll look for the email.” She hung up, exhaling shakily as she lowered the phone from her ear.

King hadn’t moved. He stood there, silent, his piercing gaze locked onto her like he was waiting, assessing.

“The funeral is Saturday.” Her voice barely rose above a whisper.

For a second, she thought he might say something, but instead, he just reached for her, pulling her into his chest without hesitation. No words. No forced condolences. Just comfort.

Letting herself soak in his strength for a few minutes, she finally pulled away, wiped her eyes, and straightened her shoulders.

“Let’s get Joey out of here,” King said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

Nodding, Amara let King lead her into Joey’s hospital room. Joey sat on the edge of the bed, fully dressed and ready to go, his arms crossed in impatience.

“Finally!” he huffed. “I almost asked Jill and Slade to adopt me just to get me out of this place.”

Amara smiled, but the weight in her chest tightened. She hated that she was about to tell him about the funeral. He seemed to be handling their father’s death almost too well, and that worried her. But grief worked differently for everyone, and all she could do was be there when he needed her.

“You sure they don’t need to keep him here another day?” She arched a brow at Slade, then narrowed her eyes at Joey. “I think more hospital food would do him good.”

“Ha. Ha.” Joey snorted. “Real funny.”

“I thought so.” She shrugged with a grin.

“Okay, Joey, I gotta get going.” Jill gave him a high five before stepping back. “Sloan’s gonna fire me if I’m late again.”

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