Page 57 of The Unknown Colton
Harrison’s threat rang in his ears again, about losing more than his job if he went through with the lawsuit. Had he been talking about Troy’s life?
But the shooter had been waiting in the parking lot for Lakin, trying to get her alone. Well, if anyone knew Troy at all, they would know that it would hurt him more if Lakin was hurt. Hell, it would destroy him.
“We have to make sure Lakin is safe,” Troy said.
“You’re the one who nearly got shot,” Lakin pointed out. “You need protection, too.”
He needed her. He needed to close his arms aroundher and never let her go. But he wasn’t sure that would keep either of them safe.
“We’ll keep an officer in the area,” Reynolds said.
“We’ll be close, too,” Eli said, gesturing toward him and Kansas.
Reynolds nodded. He probably knew better than to argue with a Colton. When one of them was in danger, they were going to rally around their loved one.
Troy was counting on that. He wasn’t doing a very damn good job on his own keeping Lakin safe. But he definitely wasn’t going to leave her side from now on, either.
He told her as much when they were finally escorted safely inside her cabin.
Instead of the pushback he expected, she linked her arms around his neck and hugged him. Then she pulled back and touched his face below the bandage on his cheek.
“Never leaving my side isn’t safe or practical,” she said. “You could have been killed tonight.”
“And here everybody has been worrying about me working on the oil rigs,” he said. “I’ve been in more danger since coming back to Shelby.”
“But all you have so far is a scratch,” she said. “You were hospitalized from working on the oil rig.”
Hospitalized and paralyzed. The fear of feeling that helpless ever again never left him. Though he’d nearly felt that helpless tonight when he hadn’t known where she was or if she was safe.
“I was so worried about you,” he admitted. “WhenI saw the alarm going off on your vehicle and then I heard you scream…” He shuddered as he relived those moments.
She hugged him again. “I’m safe, Troy.”
For now. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you stay that way,” he assured her.
“So now you’re my bodyguard?”
He nodded. “Until you’re no longer in danger.”
“We’re safe here,” she said. “You know there are officers and troopers outside watching the cabin.”
Troy stepped back. “So you don’t want me close?”
“I want you even closer,” she said with a smile. She entwined her fingers with his and tugged him through the open bedroom door.
His pulse quickened almost to the speed it had been when he’d heard her scream. He’d been so afraid that he’d lost her. But she was here, with him. Safe.
But he was still so afraid he was going to lose her. Maybe not to a killer, but to his own stubbornness. “I love you, Lakin,” he said.
And he waited for her to say it again. But she kissed him instead, her mouth moving over his. As she kissed him, she undressed him.
Once he was naked, she dropped to her knees and closed her lips around his shaft. He groaned, and she lifted her head. “Are you all right?”
“No,” he said.
“Where are you hurt?”
“I ache,” he said.
