Page 75 of Shattered Secrets

“I don’t know. It’s doubtful, but if most of them were hauled off to prison... who knows? What I do know is that Bates gave me a generous stipend and let me keep my new identity, so there’s that.” She’d been beyond petrified. But she’d made it, dammit. Through grit and a whole lot of luck, she’d made it. And she would continue working her ass off for as long as it took to keep her daughter secure and healthy. “I think I mentioned Rita and Walt before?”

She felt him nod. “They’re Ray and Martha’s friends who own the diner you worked at in Arizona, right?”

A grin split her lips. It still boggled her mind that this man remembered all the things she’d said. “After I got out of witness protection, I told them about my past. I wasn’t quite ready to make another change, so they helped me for a few months. And then they helped me with the move here.”

Matt guided Scarlet onto her back so they could see each other. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest as she tried to read his expression.

“I know I’ve said it before, Scar, but I’ll say it again. You’re so damn strong.” He touched the side of her face, pushed her hair off her forehead. “It kills me that you’ve suffered some of the greatest atrocities a person can suffer. I want to dig up those assholes who hurt you and kill them all over again.”

She reached up and cradled his jaw. “It’s over, Matt. It’s in the past.”

“That’s right. And we’re looking to the future.” He kissed her palm. “But please know that I will help you in any way I can.”

Scarlet pulled his face down to hers. “Then make love to me again.” She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Because you makeeverything better. It’s like you’re my prize. I had to go through hell, but it’s okay because I got you and Daisy out of it all.”

“You have me,” he murmured, settling between her thighs. “Forever, sweetheart.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Matt had been wrong. He’d thought lying in bed with Scarlet in his arms after making love for the first time was the most content he would ever be.

Nope. It wasthis. It was waking up with her snuggled into his side after a full night of not only savoring her body, but being entrusted with her secrets.Thiswas the most content, the happiest, and the most at peace he’d ever be. Surely.

Glancing at the clock, he saw it was just before five. He should get out of bed and go for a run. Instead, he buried his face in Scarlet’s hair and inhaled. Running was off the table this morning. He’d rather lie here with her for the next hour and enjoy this moment. Enjoy her.

Trailing his hand over her arm, gently so as not to wake her, he stared at the ceiling and grinned. He wanted to pinch himself, not quite believing that this, thatshewas real. That they were going to give this a shot.

Oh, who the hell was he kidding? He wasn’t giving this a shot. He was all in. Completely.

And yet... doubts lingered in the back of his head. With his history, how could they not?

Matt was terrified that she would change her mind. That after a few weeks, months, years, or even longer, she’d decide he wasn’t what she wanted after all. He knew there were no guarantees in life, but the mere thought of that possibility gutted him, hollowed him out in the most devastating way.

He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t lose Daisy. They’d quickly become his world.

“Good morning,” Scarlet said, her voice raspy. “What time is it?”

Glancing down, Matt met the most beautiful pair of brown eyes. She’d pulled one of his T-shirts on before bed last night, and yeaaah... Seeing his woman in only his shirt, with that sleepy gaze and rumpled hair, made his cock twitch. He kissed the top of her head. “It’s not even five. Go back to sleep. You have another hour.”

“Are you going for a run?” she asked, toying with the hairs on his chest.

“I think I’ll skip today.”

Her head lifted off his shoulder, and she looked at him in obvious surprise.

He let out a quiet chuckle. “What can I say? I’m comfortable.”

“Me too,” she said with a soft grin, lying back down. She resumed caressing his chest, then paused at the top of his right pec.

Matt went absolutely still as she touched his most recent scar—a raised circular mark. From the bullet he’d taken.

“Does this hurt?” she asked.

Remembering to breathe, he shook his head. “No. You know, funny enough, I’d kinda forgotten about it.”

For so damn long, he’d been consumed by his injury. Not so much the actual bullet through his chest, because even now, he’d take a bullet for his brother any day of the week. Rather, he’dbeen consumed by the aftermath of the shooting. The implosion of his marriage. His subsequent divorce. Leaving the force.

Recently, however, he hadn’t given any of those things much thought. He could say it was because he’d started working with Hudson Security. That reason held a small grain of truth. But the fact was, his thoughts and emotions were now consumed by Scarlet and a tiny little four-year-old. Both ladies had stolen his heart and mind.

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