Page 110 of The Convict Gets His Girl

Chase chuckled, his head pulsing. "Trouble just finds me. I certainly don't go looking for it. It was a normal Halloween party until you showed up. Weddings, fights, arrests, people getting high and drunk off their asses. Nothing new, from what I hear. Welcome to Crimson Creek."

Chase gave Raul his phone number as he climbed into Jewel's passenger seat. "You have a place to stay? A ride?"

Raul shrugged. "Living in my car at the moment. I'm fresh out, Lord Chaslemagne."

Chase chuckled at the old character name, holding his ribs with a wince. "Alright, you got a phone? GPS? Or you want to follow us?"

"Follow you where?" Raul asked, shoving his hands into his jean pockets, forehead wrinkled in a frown.

"Back to our house," Chase said, head swinging to Jewel and making him dizzy. He held a hand to his head as he asked, "Is that alright?"

"Of course," Jewel said as she shut the driver's side door and started the engine. "There's plenty of room for a few days."

Raul's eyes found Chase's in the soft interior light of the truck, surprise and gratitude warring in his dark gaze. Chase grunted and shifted on the seat so he could close the door.

"Just get in your fucking car and follow us, dipshit."

"Right away, my liege." Raul chuckled and shut the door, striding through the parking lot. Chase saw him wipe at his face, and his own throat closed up.

He turned to Jewel, frowning. "I'm sorry, I didn't plan any of this. I know Destini's moving in next weekend. I'll find a place for him to stay before?—"

Her hand on his knee stopped him. "We'll figure it out," she said softly. "He had your back tonight, and it seemed like it wasn't the first time. Do you want to go to the hospital first or?—"

Chase winced and shook his head. "No, I just want to go home."

"That's a pretty nasty head wound that's still pouring. If I can't get it patched up, I'm taking you in."

Chase knew better than to argue with Jewel when her voice took on that tone—part medical professional, part stubborn partner. He leaned back against the seat, the dried blood crackling against his skin. Jewel's hand found his, her fingers interlacing with his own, and he drew comfort from her presence.

Jewel's eyes were soft in the moonlight, concern etched across her features as she parked in the driveway. "You okay?" she asked.

Raul pulled up behind them in an old sedan, parking carefully in the gravel driveway.

"I will be," he said. "I'm worried about how this is going to affect Destini when she moves in. If it all gets dragged up again?—"

"We'll weather it together," she said softly, firmly, brooking no argument as she opened her door and got out.

A part of him sank into the seat in relief at her words. He was still afraid she was going to run out again. After they'd saved the dog from Andre, he'd told her she was the only one he'd ever wanted. Then she'd run away.

It was what had been keeping those three little words locked up inside him, that knowledge that if he admitted it, she'd run again.

But her words tonight… maybe she—and therefore Destini—had decided to stick around for good. His eye stung behind the eye patch as tears threatened, and he sniffed.

Raul walked around the truck, silhouetted against the moonlight, waiting at the hood for them to go inside. His presence felt both strange and comforting—a ghost from Chase's past suddenly materialized in his present.

Chase exited the truck, his muscles and joints aching, but his body still humming with energy.

Raul slung his backpack over one shoulder. "So this is home?"

A sense of pride filled him, making the knot of emotions in his throat even thicker. He'd worked nearly around the clock for a week to clean the house and get them all moved in, ever since they'd returned from Houston.

"Thank fuck I finished moving everything in this week because I'm not going to be lifting anything for a while. Fucking bruised ribs."

The house stood quiet and dark, a sentinel against the night's chaos as they walked up the broken sidewalk. Chase's new beginning, solid and waiting, welcomed them all, a haven for broken people and—if Jewel had her way—broken animals.

He pulled the keys out of his pocket and opened the door, waving Raul inside. "Then again, I want to begin how I intend to end."

He grabbed Jewel's arm and tucked her stomach into his shoulder, lifting and wrapping his arms around her naked thighs, the cop's dress sliding up and barely covering her ass.

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