Duty Bound (Blackthorn Security Book 1)

Chapter 32

Lily perched on a wrought-iron chair on the front porch, thumbing through a magazine without much interest. Pat had cleared out, leaving her to stew alone in the quiet, empty house.

The sun bore down, unforgiving, slanting through the branches to splatter the grass with harsh shadows and spots of blinding light.

It matched her mood—patches of clarity cut through with stretches of dark unease, the kind that comes when you”re left to think a little too long about things better left buried.

She didn’t know when she’d started to give up on the idea that Blade was ever coming home. Accepting the inevitable was better than dwelling on the possibility he might still be alive. Her heart couldn’t break anymore, and she was all out of tears.

A motorcycle pulled up outside the house. Strange, as she wasn’t expecting anyone. It roared quietly, more like a hum, while the man on it stared at her through his helmet from across the lawn.

A surge of anxiety shot through her. Who the hell was this? Should she be worried? Should she run inside the house and lock the door?

He climbed off the bike. Something about him was familiar. His stature, his stride…

It couldn’t be.

Her heart surged. She leaped up, the magazine falling from her hands.

He took off the helmet, placed it over the handlebars, then squinted into the sunlight.

She’d recognize that hair anywhere.

With a squeal, Lily sprinted down the steps, crossed the lawn, then threw herself into his arms. “Oh, my God! It’s really you!”

Blade winced, then laughed and hugged her gently.

Tears streamed down her face, but she didn’t care. He was here. Standing outside Pat’s house. In the flesh.

She could scarcely believe it.

“I thought you were dead,” she sobbed.

“Takes more than a bunch of armed guards to kill me.” He held her at arm’s length so he could take a good look at her. “Damn, you look amazing.”

“So do you.” She smiled up at him. Kissed him on the lips. Hugged him again.

He wrapped his arm around her. “God, I missed you.”

“How did you get out?” She pulled away to look at him. “I’ve been so worried. So has Pat. We were sure something terrible had happened.”

“I know. I’m sorry I couldn’t call. I was staying with one of Stitch’s friends, and there was no way to get in touch.”

“Pat said that might be what had happened.” She wished she’d believed him now. He’d said Blade was a survivor, and here he was, alive and well.

Now she didn’t want to let him go.

Ever.

Blade beamed down at her. He’d shaved off his beard, giving her a good look at his face. God, he was so handsome. But at the same time, damaged. He had a faint bruise around his eye and a new scar near his hairline. Only then did she notice a sling around his neck, not that he had an arm in it.

“Broken arm.” He nodded at it. “Stitch told me to wear it for a few more weeks, but I can’t ride my motorcycle with it on.” He grinned.

She shook her head. Typical.

He wore black jeans over his thick thighs, and under his leather biker jacket, a loosely buttoned shirt afforded her a glimpse of his glorious chest. Still a beast of a man, although she thought he’d lost some weight.

“How is Stitch?”

“Just fine. So is Soraya. They send their love.”

Afghanistan seemed like an eternity ago, another life, but she’d never forget the people she’d met there.

Blade touched her cheek. “What do you say we go inside and talk?”

She nodded. Even though his eyes were sparkling, there was a serious undertone.

“Pat around?”

“He’s out, but he’ll be back soon.”

She led him inside, and they sat next to each other on the couch. Lily was dying to touch him, to hold him, but she didn’t know if she should. How did he feel about her now? Back in Afghanistan, they hadn’t known if they were going to make it out, and because of that, they’d let themselves get carried away.

She didn’t regret it, not for one moment. The memories had carried her through these last hellish weeks without him. It was what she’d thought about at night, alone in bed, when her heart cried out for him.

“Lily, I’ve been thinking a lot about us and about what happened between us.”

Her heart sank. This was it. He was going to tell her he couldn’t do it, not now they were both free.

“You have?”

He scoffed. “Hell, it’s all I have been thinking about.”

She bit her lip.

“I… I just wanted to say… Fuck.” He shook his head.

Her heart smashed into a million little pieces.

“I know,” she whispered, trying not to cry. “I know there can never be anything between us. You don’t have to say it.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“You weren’t?”

He shook his head. The sparkle was still there. She clung to that.

“I’m sorry about the things I said over there. I was messed up. About Spade, about what happened. About you.”

Lily held her breath.

“Stitch told me the translator had been coerced. His family had been threatened, so even if I had vetted him more thoroughly, it wouldn’t have made any difference.”

She smiled, glad he’d forgiven himself.

“I know Spade would have wanted you to be happy.” He chuckled to himself. “I’m not sure he had me in mind, but if you’ll have me, I promise to take care of you.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Of course I’ll have you. Joe gave us a gift when he died. If it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t have felt duty bound to come and get me. You saved my life, Blade.”

He kissed her, long and slow. When he broke away, she was breathless. Damn, she’d never get tired of him doing that to her.

“How can this be wrong?” he murmured.

She looked in his eyes and saw such tenderness, it made her melt. “It’s not wrong. I think we both know that.”

He smiled slowly.

Could a girl melt twice?

“How do you feel about going for a ride?”

“On that?”

He nodded.

“Er, yeah. Why not?” She’d never been on a motorcycle before.

“Hold that thought,” he said, as Pat strode into the room.

“Fucking hell, Blade. About time you showed up.” He pumped Blade’s hand and thumped him on the shoulder.

Blade grimaced.

“You okay?”

“I am now.”

Pat chuckled. “Glad to hear it. Are you going to tell us how the hell you got out?” He glanced at Lily. “Or have you already done that?”

“No, I was just going to.” He met Lily’s eye and winked.

She grinned. Now that she knew how he felt, she didn’t mind waiting. They’d have time to catch up later.

Blade gavePat the rundown on his capture, skipping the brutal highlights—no need to spook Lily with those.

Pat laughed. “You rode that motorcycle all the way to Kabul?”

“Not Kabul. Pakistan.”

Pat’s eyes widened. “You’re serious?”

“Taliban closed the road into Kabul, put checkpoints every which way. I couldn’t risk it.”

“Were they looking for me?” Lily asked, her voice a whisper.

“Yeah. They put two and two together and realized I was the one who’d rescued you from the cave. That city shut down tighter than Fort Knox. Nothing was getting in or out of there.”

“That’s why you took so long,” muttered Pat.

“Yeah, I laid low for a couple of weeks then had the journey on top of that.”

Pat shot him a knowing look—that weathered look of a man who”s experienced his fair share of danger. “Glad you had a safe place to hunker down.”

“Yeah, and a motorcycle sturdy enough to handle the off-road terrain. Made it a lot easier—until I ran out of fuel.”

“What did you do then?” Lily asked, her eyes wide.

“Kept going on foot, over the Khyber Pass.”

“Plan C?”

He flashed a grin. “You got it, Plan C.”

“Hit any snags?” Pat asked.

He leveled the former SEALs gaze. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

Pat”s nod was full of respect. “Damn good to have you back, son.”

Lily”s hand in his was a surprise, a warm affirmation. He hadn’t expected her to have told Pat about how she felt, him being Spade’s father and all.

Pat was all grins. Their closeness didn’t appear to bother him. “I’m happy for you two.”

“Really?”

Pat’s blessing hit deep. Without folks of his own, Pat’s opinion was the one that mattered most to him.

“I think Joe would approve.” Pat nodded at the photograph of his fallen son.

Blade felt the weight and warmth in Lily”s grip as much as in Pat’s words. “That means everything.”

They talked for a while longer, then Lily turned to Blade. “I do believe you promised me a motorcycle ride.”

Pat laughed. “You kids have fun.”

Blade shook Pat’s hand—firm, brief, meaningful. It was a soldier’s bond. “She”s in safe hands.”

He wasn’t just talking about the ride.

Pat”s grip was iron. “I don”t doubt it for a second.”