Page 119 of Every Which Way

She ducked her head and pressed her forehead against his shirt, wanting to wrap her arms around him. Stay there forever.

His fingers slid into her hair, and he held on to her.

“You got shot.” Her ears still hurt. “I can hear now.”

“I figured the flash-bang would knock you out.”

“I saw it coming and hid behind Woodford.” Talking was tiring her out. “Tell me all of it. Tell me you got Amara and Zeyla.”

“Ramon and Stairns covered that part. They got your location from the necklace.” He shifted. “I don’t know where it went, but when we find it, we’re keeping that thing because it saved your life.”

She agreed. “They’re okay?”

“Zeyla is here in the hospital. She’s in a bad way, and your mom is with her.”

Kenna let out a long breath.

“Ramon is fine. Stairns got grazed. They found Bruce nearly dead in a parking lot.”

Her hands tightened on his shirt.

“He’s alive, but it’s critical. He lost a lot of blood.” Jax dipped his head. “Did he betray us?”

“I don’t know. I need to figure it out in my head, but I can’t do that right now.”

“Okay. Get some sleep?”

Kenna asked, “Your mom and sister are okay?”

“They’ll be okay.”

“And your dad?”

“He’s with Miller.”

“There are more loose ends. People. Parts of this. So much more.”

“And we’ll tackle all of it together. Okay?”

Kenna nodded against his chest. Part of that was what they’d done to her when she had been unconscious. She’d taken a pregnancy test before in her life, and it had been positive. She’d lost that baby. If she was pregnant again, she would deal with the change in direction her life would take. In the end, the answer was that simple. She’d escaped, and her baby would live free of theDominatus. Not captive. Not bred for their purposes.

She needed to talk it over with someone, and the best person might not be Jax. He was just a little too close to the whole thing. “I need my ring.”

He let out a breath that sounded like a note of humor. “Where did you leave it?”

“My dresser in the RV.”

“I’ll have Maizie bring it when she comes back. She and Ramon were working with Langford on picking apart Woodford’s life so they can prove a tie to the judge. The one that was going to perform the wedding…he was caught by one of the Denver FBI agents, but he’s claiming he was coerced.”

“I guess he might’ve been, but he didn’t act like it.”

“They need to prove it if we’re ever going to set the record straight about what’s going on.”

Kenna let out a long sigh.

He chuckled. “I know. The whole thing sounds exhausting. It’s been a long week, so close your eyes, and I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Thanks.”

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