Page 46 of Cold Foot Revenge
Gah, she really liked him. Through the motel window, she watched him pay for a room for them. He was trying to save her, and she appreciated it more than he would ever understand.
What he didn’t realize was that she wasn’t salvageable. Not as she was. Not right now.
He wanted to wait for Wreck, for some sort of revenge-plan, but she already knew what she would do.
Roxy was going to grenade him after tonight, and she was going to go her own way and build a life from the ground up without being an anchor on a good man.
And then someday, somehow, she was going to be good enough for a man like Dylan Hoffman. Someday, perhaps, she would find him again when she was in a better place.
Someday, she was going to deserve him.
That plan was for tomorrow though. Tonight, she needed rest, and she wanted to disappear into him for a little while. Even if he was upset with her and quiet, just being around him felt so good.
Dylan’s goodness was like a balm on a burn.
Don’t run.
Just breathe.
Chapter Twelve
“You have to put your pin number in,” the receptionist said, and Dylan realized he hadn’t been paying attention.
“Oh, yeah. Right,” he murmured, entering it on the keypad. He cast a look over his shoulder at his truck outside, wishing he would see Roxy through the dark tinted window. She’d stolen a Turn dose. For him.
So he could have a bear like Garret’s?
So he could be a part of the Cold Foot Crew.
He’d mentioned it a little, but she’d clearly listened and thought about it. Dylan was starting to understand Roxy. She paid meticulous attention when he spoke of his life. She was a grenader, sure…but she was also a carer.
He hated the absolution and acceptance in her voice when she’d told him Grave would hunt her forever. No, he absolutely would not. By this time tomorrow, Wreck would be here with reinforcements, and they would burn the fucking poison right out of the Rabbit Hole. He was going to set Roxy free in one day. He had a plan. He hoped afterward, she would choose to stay with him. Get to know him better, tether her heart to him, give him a shot at dating her, after her life calmed down and her nervous system reset.
That’s what he hoped for, but it’s not what he expected from her. Roxy would owe him nothing after tomorrow because that was the point, right? Setting her free? Giving her the opportunity to see what kind of woman she was outside of the cage of the Rabbit Hole?
He wanted to watch her rise. He wanted to be there when she figured out she was really safe. Did she know? Did she understand men like him? He’d spent years making sure hisbrother was good, and he was better with a purpose. He was better as a protector. He was better if he had someone to care for. It kept him out of trouble and just made sense to him.
Maybe he was doing this all wrong, attaching to her like this, but fuck it.
He liked her, and he didn’t like people easily. There was just something about her that felt important.
Whether she stuck with him or not after he cut her anchors tomorrow, he knew she was going to make him into a better man.
He took the key card from the receptionist and made his way outside, eyes downcast as his thoughts swirled around and around in his busy mind. He needed the police to stay out of the Rabbit Hole after what had happened tonight. He needed some luck on his side for his plan to come to fruition. He needed those assholes to stay out of jail. Hopefully, they’d gotten away. That would all depend on how much damage they caused. If they hadn’t attacked anyone or caused too much damage to cars, they could stay out of jail. He’d learned that with Garret’s accidental Change in this town years ago. Changing into a shifter animal wasn’t illegal. Frowned upon by humans, yes, because it could be jarring and terrifying, but it wasn’t illegal as long as the shifter was in control and non-violent. Grave and his boys hadn’t caught up to Roxy, so…no blood on their paws.
He climbed into the truck and slid his hand to Roxy’s thigh. She was wearing his oversized T-shirt and nothing else. He’d had an extra hoodie in the back that he was wearing, but for Roxy, the hem of his T-shirt was hiked up, exposing the soft curves of her thighs.
There was worry in her still-too-bright eyes.
“There’s parking in the back of the building. I asked.”
She huffed a tremulous laugh. “Oh, so you’re a mind-reader now?”
Dylan shrugged. “I know you’re worrying about your Crew finding you. I think we’re good though. They’re going to be watching your place. I’m sorry we can’t go get clothes for you or anything. I think it’s too big a risk to go back there right now.”
She nodded but still looked uncertain. She smoothed wrinkles from the shirt. “This is comfortable, thank you.”
He didn’t miss the awkwardness that was building between them though.
