Page 19 of Sworn to Defend
Branch leaned forward, making sure Collin wasn’t lingering in the hall. “He came into the living room. Caught me and Hannah making out. No permanent damage done.” But there could’ve been. He’d have to be more mindful going forward because when he kissed Hannah, there was no time or place. The surroundings melted away, and it was only them. When she had been wrapped around him on the couch, with her scent in his nose and warm skin beneath his palms, he’d lost himself. Or maybe lost wasn’t the right word, because what he’d discovered was precious. When he kissed her, he’d found something priceless. Peace and comfort in her touch, even as fire burned through him with an intensity that left him dizzy. Every nerve ending stirred and sparked. So, to say he found something that left him with a sense of wonder, like the first time he stared up at the wild desert sky washed in stars, was an understatement. Something so beautiful amid days of blood-soaked sand, fighting, and a cavernous ache in his chest, a tear had leaked out of the corner of his eye when he’d lain back and witnessed the vast night sky.
“Earth to Branch.” Joker snapped his fingers, grabbing his attention.
“Shit. He’s in deep,” Ransom muttered.
“What? I’m listening.” His tone was just a bit too defensive to be believed.
“Silver was asking you a question,” Ransom said. “But you weren’t even in the same room with us for a minute there.”
“He’s being nice,” Joker said without looking up from his phone. “You were in another galaxy.”
The toilet flushed on the other side of the house and the sink was turned on. “I’m listening now. What was the question?”
“What’s the blue circle?” Silver asked.
“Family,” Ransom answered for him with a knowing look.
“Yeah. Family.” The bathroom door opened and closed followed by footsteps and the click of canine nails over the floor. “You could’ve answered for me sooner,” he told Ransom.
“Wanted to know if you knew.”
Silver let out a long whistle. Collin came pounding down the hallway and into the room, going straight to the sliding glass doors and back out to the pool. Oscar came into the living room and jumped back on his lap, resuming his nap-time position.
“Shit.” Joker glanced up from his cell phone. “I just looked up the uncle. This was the address of his first house.” Joker stood up, walking the phone around to each of them. What was reflected on the screen made his spine tingle and the fine hairs rise on the back of his neck. The listing was for a tiny two-bedroom, one-bath Texan shack. Even the realty pictures couldn’t conceal the chipping paint and warped roof. He pulled out his phone. A quick search of Google Maps confirmed the surrounding property was just as small. None of this looked good, but his stomach plummeted when Joker turned the phone in his direction a second time. “Now, this is the new house. Ocean-view property in Naples, Florida.”
“Not a house. A mansion.” Shit. This was not good. Joker handed the phone to Silver.
“Idiot clearly wasn’t concerned about accepting bribe money.” Silver was right; the uncle was flaunting his wealth outright. Nearly every picture was some grand bash at his house. One with multiple pools, hot tubs, and a private beach. Had the man struck gold, or was all that hush money from Hannah’s family?
“Where’d you find the pictures?” Silver grunted.
“A thing called social media. Sometimes I forget you’re a dinosaur.”
Silver punched Joker in the arm. “Someday, you’ll get gray in those blond locks, pretty boy. Won’t look half as good on you as it does on me.”
“Goddamn, would you look at that!” Ransom said from one end of the couch. Branch followed his friend’s gaze to the television, where a newscaster was giving a breaking news report.
“First responders are working tirelessly to transport victims of today’s deadly multicar crash to hospitals by land and air. Three have been confirmed dead, while dozens of others remain in critical condition.” As the reporter droned on, standing in front of the catastrophic crash, his stomach hardened.
“Hannah’s on shift.” He knew her job could be dangerous, but imagining her amid the wreckage made his heart skip. People reacted to pain differently—some could become upset or lash out. Not to mention the inherent risk that came from flying in a helicopter day in and day out. He lifted both arms above the beast of a dog and pulled up their recent text message thread.
Just saw the accident on I-90. Stay safe, baby.
He wouldn’t get a minute of sleep tonight while Hannah was out there saving lives. She’d be dead on her feet in the morning, but he’d be there to catch her. His hero needed a hero, too.
Chapter Eleven
Hannah stumbled out of the hospital and shielded her blurry eyes from the bright morning sun. Somehow the brilliant blue sky made her heart splinter all over again. She’d gone to the intensive care unit after her shift to check on the six patients they’d transported. Only one had died. The young mom. The one she’d assured would be back caring for her baby soon. Her chin trembled as pain lodged in her throat. She inhaled a shuddery breath, unable to move forward. Unable to go back. How long would she see those pleading gray eyes every time she closed her own?
Something hard and rough bumped her back. A concrete wall. She always parked at the top of the garage, so she could be greeted by the sky and fresh air when she left the scents of antiseptic and blood behind her. She needed to get home, pack her bags for Texas, and shower off the scent of death.
First, though, she needed a minute. She slid down the wall, barely registering the pain of her back scraping the concrete. When her butt hit the ground, she tucked her legs up to her chest, resting her face against her knees. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been there when the air changed. A large shadow fell over her, and she glanced up to find Branch hovering over her with a worried expression on his face. He crouched at her side and slid one arm beneath her knees and wrapped the other around her back. He stood effortlessly, cradling her as he began to walk. “Got you, baby.” His lips were warm against her temple, arms strong and safe. She hadn’t realized how cold she was until his large frame was wrapped around her, radiating heat into her chilled skin. He didn’t ask why she’d been sitting on the hard ground or demand she tell him what was wrong.
She turned her face into his chest and let herself be taken care of for once. Giving him complete control wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. Maybe that’s because some part of her heart knew he wasn’t going to let her down. She was safer in his arms than anywhere else in the world. Then she did something she hadn’t since before she could remember. She cried in the presence of another human being. The first tear made her jolt. The second she let fall freely. The significance of her actions wasn’t lost on her. Not only did she trust Hunter to care for her physical safety, she trusted him to guard her emotional well-being, too. She didn’t have to hide from him. Even as grief coursed through her, some of the weight she’d been carrying for so long slipped off her shoulders.
“So brave.” His breath tickled the sensitive place where her forehead met her hairline. After years of masking her emotions, of pretending her feelings didn’t exist, those first few rogue tears turned into sobs broken from somewhere caged deep. Hunter just held her tighter, and somehow shifted her to open his car door without putting her down. He had bypassed the passenger side and got right into the driver’s seat, adjusting her more snugly on his lap. Each time the sorrow shadowed her, Hunter was there, holding her, anchoring her. Burning bright enough to chase away the darkness she hadn’t known she carried.
She cried for the mom who wouldn’t watch her baby grow, and the infant who wouldn’t remember how her eyes went soft with love when she looked at him. She cried for Russell, who’d drowned before his son was born, and for Collin, who’d never known him. For the patients she’d lost over the years. For her own lack of nurturing parents and loving siblings, and all the while Hunter held her close and rocked her. Murmured sweet words against her skin and hair.