Page 32 of Marked

“There’s some ice in the cooler?—”

“No,” he broke in. “Thank you, but no. The only thing worse than bruised balls are frozen balls.”

“What about blue balls?” I snickered, looking to my right in time to watch him shudder.

The trees were far enough apart at this point that the horses were able to fit comfortably side by side. It was obvious the farther we went into the woods; the path Beth and I followed almost daily hadn’t been used in quite some time. There was so much overgrowth it was difficult to see the actual trail. Thankfully, I knew the area well.

“Can we talk about something other than the state of my manhood?”

“But it’s such an interesting topic.”

“Brat,” he muttered.

Time passed quickly as our conversation shifted to the case we’d left behind. We’d successfully avoided the subject far longer than we should have.

“Do you think we were wrong to disappear?” I asked the question which had been burning a hole in my gut for over a week.

“We reacted to a credible threat.”

“Is that your roundabout way of saying no?”

“I’m not saying yes or no, Lanie.” He met my gaze. “What I’m saying is there wasn’t a chance in hell any of us were going to stand by while the DEA put you in protective custody. I was already thinking of places to take you when you told them you’d disappear.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “It was the only alternative.”

“Was it though?

He hiked a brow, giving me the answer I already knew deep down. I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d jumped the gun. It wasn’t in my nature to go on the defensive, I was an offense girl all the way, but we weren’t dealing with a player who followed a set of rules. The Bratva wanted me dead, plain and simple. They wouldn’t think twice about using one of my friends in order to lure me out. It was the onlyreason I even considered leaving Huntington; to protect Henley and Jade. As much as it killed me to be on the sidelines, I had to trust the process; trust our team to pull out all the stops to get us home. Until then, all we could do was wait.

Maybe I should be thanking the Russians. If it wasn’t for them, I’m not sure I would’ve taken the steps to reconnect with my family, at least not anytime soon. I was too stubborn to look past my own insecurities. If I had, I would’ve realized what my parents were doing long ago.

Everything in my world had flipped upside down and inside out in the last week. The assassination attempt alone would’ve brought most people to their knees, but I had a secret weapon.

Noah Anderson.

He grounded me in a way that let me shine, rather than held me back. He was the lightning rod in my chaotic storm. The organ beating frantically in my chest had belonged to Noah almost since the day we met, but a year ago, I’m not certain I would’ve readily accepted his dominant side. I had to believe there was a good reason we were thrown off course for a while.

So much had changed in the months that followed. Henley and Jade for starters. Not since Beth had I had a girlfriend, let alone two. Watching them battle through hell, not only surviving, but thriving, made my struggles pale in comparison. Our bond was stronger than any twisted strand of DNA. They were the sisters of my heart, and it was because of their love and encouragement I had finally removed my head from my ass long enough to hear Noah out.

Thank God for small favors.

While the idea of submitting was still a foreign concept,I trusted him with my life, so trusting him with my body seemed like a natural progression.

A grove of juniper trees ahead pulled me out of my thoughts. I smiled, knowing our destination was just beyond them. Only a short hike and we’d be in heaven, or at least as close as you could get with your feet still planted on solid ground.

“It’s peaceful here,” Noah mused.

“Just wait. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Pulling back on the reins, I brought Whiskey to a stop as Noah did the same with Smoke. Once we dismounted, he helped me unfasten the backpacks and small nylon cooler from the back of both horses, then we tied them to the nearest tree.

“Almost there. Come on.”

He took my hand, interlocking our fingers as I led him off the marked trail, over a small ridgeline toward the wide open valley below. The forest opened up, revealing carpets of thick grass, still a brownish-yellow color in spots from being snow covered throughout the harsh Colorado winter. We paused halfway down to watch a swarm of rusty brown butterflies fly between various wildflowers, which had pushed their way to the surface.

“I missed the raw, untouched beauty of this place.”

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