Page 60 of Where You Belong

He lifts his thumb and rubs it over his lower lip, lost in thought.

“This last job, though, I went undercover for a bit to try to get some intel. I met someone and, well, I guess you can say things didn’t end well for us. I can’t be mad at her because neither of us was honest with who we were, but it fucked with me. I barely made it out of there alive.”

Gage’s voice cracks as he shares bits and details of his story about meeting and falling in love, only to learn it was a lie. I think back to the day of the bonfire and how different his tone was toward me and how Corbin reassured me he hasn’t been himself.

“I meant what I said back there, though. What happened to Corbin and what happened to my uncle are not your fault. Corbin is one of the best men I know. He’s loyal and would fight for the people he loves. There’s no doubt in my mind he’d put himself before you to protect you any day. Not only because it’s the man he is, but because he loves you.”

My phone vibrates, and I reach out, gripping Gage’s arm to stop him. Madelyn’s name flashes on my screen with an unread message.

Madelyn: He’s okay. Doctor came out to talk to us and assured us he’ll be fine. He’s awake and waiting for you.

“He’s awake.”

I don’t even bother to wait for Gage or check if he’s following me before I take off down the hall back where we came from.

All I care about is getting back to where I belong, back to Corbin, and telling him I love him, and I always will.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Corbin

All my life I’ve had one foot on the gas. I like to get out of the house and stay busy. When I was finally released from the hospital under strict orders to take it easy, I gave the doc one look and said, “Yeah, all right.”

He peered over at Haelynn and sternly replied, “I mean it. Keep an eye on him.”

It turns out the knife narrowly missed my spleen, which could’ve done much more damage if it had been punctured. They ended up giving me a blood transfusion because of how much I’d lost and kept me for a couple of days to keep an eye on my recovery. I’m relieved it wasn’t any worse than it could’ve been.

When I finally busted out, Haelynn insisted I come home with her. Madelyn didn’t even bat an eye when she asked if she could work from home for a bit until I was back on my feet.

I’m not one to be coddled. I’ve taken care of myself this long, but dammit if I didn’t love having Haelynn as my nurse.

She insisted on me staying in her bed while she slept on the couch. I was damn near ready to carry her to the room with me when she put her foot down and demanded I knock it off. I agreed to let it go for the night, but when she snuck into bed with me after Huxton was asleep, I realized she was only saying it for his sake.

Going to sleep next to her every night and waking up to her beautiful smile is becoming my favorite part of the day.

We still haven’t talked about what the future has in store for the two of us. For now, we’re focusing on being there for each other, and we’ll figure it out in time.

My sergeant called to check in on me and assured me they had captured Atlas. He was currently sitting in jail, waiting to be arraigned on his charges. It was a long road ahead, but all I cared about was knowing he was behind bars and couldn’t show up here. More importantly, I knew he wouldn’t be able to hurt Haelynn or Huxton next.

Haelynn left a few minutes ago to take Huxton to school. I’m standing in the kitchen, fixing a bowl of cereal, when I hear two knocks on the front door.

It’s hard for me to take a deep breath, so moving around the house isn’t easy. I amble toward the door. Peering through the peephole, I spot Gage standing on the other side. He’s wearing a dark-gray beanie with his hands in his pockets.

I flip the lock and hold the door open to him, letting him inside.

“Hey, man!”

“Sorry to bother you. I was hoping you and Haelynn may be around. How are ya feelin’?”

“I’m hangin’ in there.” I glance over my shoulder.

Gage toes off his shoes by the door and follows me into the kitchen.

“How’s Haelynn handling everything?”

“Honestly, she seems to be doing okay. She keeps worrying over me and Huxton. She had a sit-down conversation with him to explain how I got hurt and how his dad will be going away for a while.”

Gage grits his teeth, forcing a smile. “I don’t envy her there.”