Page 106 of Good Enough
“Kubrick’s house. Need a cleaning crew. Big Bird got canceled. Heat is out, but I'm not sure how long it's been.”
“Already on their way. ETA six minutes. Do we still have eyes?”
“I’m not sure if Midas removed them when he knew she was coming home.”
“Ask him when he gets there. He’ll have to remote access if Cyclopes is up but dormant.”
Waters stepped through to the porch, closing the door behind him by pulling the lip of the door up top as far as he could. He forced himself to walk slowly and deliberately back to the truck, like he didn’t have a care in the world. In reality, his eyes were canvassing everything around him.
Based on what he just saw, Kubrick was clearly in a whole heap of trouble that looked really, really fucking bad. He snorted.
I knew she was in trouble, and I followed God’s orders anyway, leaving her on her own and vulnerable once she came back home. Fuck me.
She was still staring straight ahead, but he could tell she wasn’t seeing anything. If she was retreating into herself, that meant it was even worse than he thought it was. She flinched as he unlocked the passenger door. Grabbing her knees, he swung her ninety degrees in the seat to face him. Her eyes were wide, and pupils dilated in fear and panic. To her credit, she wasn’t shrieking or crying, but he wouldn’t have blamed her if she had been. Seeing she was not in a good headspace, he gently pushed her knees apart, and he settled in as close as he could to her, his palms gently bracketing her face as he gazed into her eyes. He tilted her face to him and ducked down to meet her eyes. “Kubrick, look at me.” Her eyes looked up into his. “We’ll get through this. The guys are on their way.”
“You’re not going to call the police?”
“Hell no. There’s a dead body in your living room.”
She gave one quick nod of her head. Finally, she broke down. In less than the time it took to inhale her lilac scent, her knees involuntarily squeezed tight at his hips, she burrowed into his chest, face first, and wrapped her arms around his middle, the hands clawing at his Henley. Inwardly, he groaned in pain and pleasure.
His arms went around her shoulders, and he gripped her firmly in his arms, creating a shield with as much of himself as he could. Then he closed his eyes and tried to exhale with control. Soothingly, he stroked her hair. “Babe? What did you do with the gun?”
He felt her breath catch, and the exhale didn’t come.
“Exhale,” he softly ordered. “I’m going to help you, but you have to tell me what you did with it.”
“I panicked.” Her muffled reply came from his shirt front.
“Where?”
“Silas’ Pond. About a mile back on the dirt road.”
She began sobbing quietly. Briefly, he thought about untangling from her since the guys would be there any second. But he didn’t. Her fear and tears were breaking his heart. His strong woman was hurting. She was frightened. He couldn’t leave her without his arms protecting her, comforting her, reassuring her, no matter who was showing up. More than that, he didn’t want to. He had wanted the two of them wrapped around each other again just like this since they’d parted ways six weeks ago. No way was he strong enough, or willing, to let go again. While the timing and situation sucked, he had gotten the second chance he’d been hoping for.
This time, I’m Never. Ever. Letting. Go.
Two minutes later, Demon’s doorless Jeep pulled up behind his truck. Demon hopped out with his kit and an emergency ice pack already crushed and primed, which he placed against the side of her face. The medic did a quick check of her eyes with his penlight, totally ignoring that she was still physically wrapped around his boss. He said nothing to either of them, but his glance was guarded. Waters knew that Demon was still unhappy with him, whether Kubrick was currently in his arms or not.
TB’s Hummer pulled up in front of Waters’ truck. Steel slipped out the passenger side and went to find a spot for Overwatch. TB exited his vehicle and came up curbside of the Ford, grabbing the open doorframe. “Midas and Nemo had to go back to the office to grab Midas’ laptop. Should be here in a couple of minutes.” He tipped his head in Kubrick’s direction. “She okay?”
Demon snorted and walked back to his kit, which he had dropped on the hood of the pickup when he arrived.
These men. Such loyalty for my woman. What the hell was the matter with me?
Waters shook his head lightly. “I cleared the first floor, but not well. Yellow entry.”
A Bronco cruised up the street toward them and parked on the opposite side of the F-150. When he exited the truck, Midas had a laptop under his arm, which he quickly set on top of Waters’ truck and began typing on. Nemo stood at the back end of the truck, watching the street for pedestrians, but the road was quiet.
He never took Cyclopes down for a nap. Owe him more tequila for that.
Waters focused on Kubrick. “We need to go in and look around. Do you want me to have Demon stay with you here at the truck?”
“I…”
His thumb caressed her pale, unbruised cheek. “You don’t have to go in.”
He watched the mask slide down her face and body as she schooled her expression and straightened her spine. Her legs eased from around his hips, and he was both proud of her resolve and sorry she was retreating. “I can go inside. It would be better if I did, right? You need your team members with you rather than babysitting my paranoid ass out here.”