Page 58 of Possessive

I stayed perfectly still, also scanning the area. Whatever she sensed, I felt nothing, but I was better at giving orders than I was at this. I had no trouble admitting that. My skills were different, not flawed.

"Stay there," she whispered.

"I don't—" I started to say.

She cut me off with a look. "I can do this. Stay here."

If anyone else spoke to me that way, I'd growl at them. Her tone and the look on her face convinced me to nod and stay back near the car.

"Be safe," was all I could say.

She nodded in return and slipped away into the darkness.

"Where did she go?" Gianni asked. He had one eye on me and the other on the SUV. Clearly torn between protecting me and staying near Mina, and seeing if Damon was okay.

"I don't—" I was interrupted by a grunt from several metres away. That was followed by a thud. "There, I think. Go check on Damon." It was clearly not a female grunt. Not Mina's anyway. That should account for all of them.

Gianni hesitated, then nodded. "On it, boss." Gun still in his hand, he trotted to the SUV, followed by the twins.

I waited until Mina returned a minute or two later. She looked exhausted.

"That's the last of them," she confirmed. "He was trying to sneak up on you. Or on me." She shrugged. "Either way, he won't be sneaking anywhere again."

She made to trudge past me towards where the others were helping Damon out of the SUV. As far as I could tell, he was unhurt, apart from a few bruises.

In spite of the impact, the front of the SUV protected him. Of course it did, I paid good money to have vehicles that would stand up to anything we put them through. Bullets, crashes, explosions. That was money well spent.

I reached out and grabbed Mina's elbow. Even when she flinched, I didn't let it go.

"Take a moment," I said softly. "Damon is okay."

"I'm not—" she started to say.

"You're as tired as the rest of us," I said. "More so. You're still recovering."

She stopped and turned back to me. Her focused, professional mask eased somewhat, if it didn't melt away completely.

"Everyone is okay." She blinked as though suddenly realising that.

"Everyone is fine, thanks to you," I said. "And Damon." And Gianni too, but she and Damon were exceptional tonight.

She seemed to crumble a little. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard.

Taking the chance that I wouldn't freak her out, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to my chest.

She hesitated for a moment before leaning into me and letting herself be held.

I rubbed a hand up and down her back and held her as tight as I dared. If she was anyone else, I would have expected her to cry, but she didn't. She just let me hold her while she composed herself again.

She fit perfectly into the circle of my arms, like she was made to be there. The scent of her was more addictive than anything I'd ever experienced before. I wanted to inhale enough of it to imprint it on my mind forever.

She finally pulled back and looked up at me. "Just another regular Tuesday?"

I snorted softly. "Fuck no. This is more like a regular Thursday. Tuesdays are usually quieter."

She grimaced but managed a short laugh. "Remind me to stay in the library and read on a Thursday night."

"And miss a chance to see Damon crash a car like a fucking rally driver?" Gianni had his arm over Damon's shoulders as they approached us. "That was fucking epic. I don't know who made me harder tonight, Mina or Damon. It might be a tie."