Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
The gun made a hollow-sounding click.
At the same moment, Tanner’s arm closed around Kyle’s neck. With his other hand, he pointed his tactical knife into Kyle’s lower back.
He could feel the shock radiating through the man’s body.
Surprise, you fucker.
Across from him, Kozinski smiled. The kid had actually done what he was supposed to do. So had Jon.
The magazine for the gun was back in Tanner’s Jeep. The weapon in Kyle’s left hand was worthless.
“Let her go.” Tanner was giving the guy one last chance.
He didn’t take it. Instead, Kyle threw the gun aside and grabbed Faith by the hair. He yanked her head backward, his other hand closing over her throat.
“Get back,” Kyle screamed, “or I’m going to snap her n—”
Tanner jammed his tactical knife forward in Kyle’s kidney. Instantly, the man’s body seized, his grip faltering. Faith broke away from him, falling to her hands and knees and scrambling upright.
Tanner pulled the knife free, ready for the next strike. But Kyle was already collapsing onto the dirt. Dark wetness soaked the clothes around the wound.
Faith had a hand to her neck. Blood dripped between her fingers. “Tanner.”
She had her eyes on the knife in his hand. The metal gleamed red in the low light. His fingers opened, the knife falling to the ground, and Faith ran into his arms.
“You’re hurt,” he said.
“Kozinski seemed like he was pretending to be you, and I didn’t know where you were. I thought Kyle was going to… I couldn’t let him…”
“I know. You did great. But it’s over now.” He kissed her forehead, breathing her in for one blissful second. “I have to let you go for a minute, okay?”
Tanner bent over Kyle. The guy wasn’t dead yet, but he’d die soon without medical attention. Tanner didn’t need Kyle’s death on his conscience, scumbag though he was.
He put pressure on the wound. “Hang in there, asshole. Paramedics won’t take long.” Tanner looked up at Kozinski, who was standing there watching. “Did you call them?”
“Yeah. Police are on their way. Ambulance, too.”
“Where’s Jon?” Faith asked.
Good question. Though Tanner wasn’t especially concerned. The duffle bag of heroin was still here.
Kozinski shrugged. “Must’ve just run off. Can’t have made it far. Should I go after him, Tanner?”
“Nah, let the police deal with him. At least you didn’t let him swipe the drugs.”
“I’m not that much of a dumbass.”
“Coulda fooled me.” Tanner let a smile ghost across his face to show Kozinski he was forgiven for the past issues between them. Mostly.
Kyle was unresponsive. His face had turned almost snow-white.
Tanner heard sirens. But if they didn’t hurry up, Kyle wasn’t going to make it.
“Leon, could you take Faith to the parking lot? She doesn’t need to see this.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said, crouching beside him. “Not unless you’re with me.”
Tanner locked eyes with her. He hadn’t prayed in a very long time. Maybe not ever. But right now, he was thanking every god who might be listening that his girl was safe.
Tanner didn’t know what time it was when they got home. It was light outside, but that meant nothing. He’d gone beyond exhaustion. Faith looked dazed.
“Come here.” He and Faith held one another in the living room. He brushed her hair back, just looking at her. Grateful beyond words that she was standing here with him.
Her neck was bandaged, but thankfully, the cuts hadn’t been too deep. The paramedics had cleaned the small wounds. She’d spoken to the police, reassured her friends that she was heading home.
The police had guards on Kyle’s hospital room. He was alive, last Tanner heard. There’d been no word yet about Jon, who was running from all the problems he’d helped cause. Tanner had to imagine they’d track him down soon. The police now had more than enough reason.
Tanner also planned to put in a good word for Kozinski with Noah and Max. He still didn’t like the kid, but after Leon had helped save Faith, they were square.
Tanner had washed away any visible remnants of Kyle’s blood from his skin, but he still felt dirty from the last day’s events. He couldn’t imagine how Faith must be feeling after what she’d been through.
Now that they were home, all the overwhelming emotions Tanner had been suppressing started to rise to the surface. Terror at almost losing Faith. Regret that she’d seen him with blood on his hands, even though it had been necessary.
He wanted to take care of her. Make her feel safe. Show her how much he loved her.
“There’s so much I need to say. I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Maybe we should start by getting cleaned up?” she asked.
He smiled. “Yeah. That would be good.”
They went to the bathroom. Tanner started the shower to let it heat. They both undressed, tossing their clothes into a pile.
Under the spray, Faith put her face against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and let the water wash away the sweat from their skin.
He realized she was crying, and his heart nearly broke. Tanner whispered comforting words and held her until she lifted her head, sniffling.
“Okay. I’m done. I really, really want to be done.”
“I want that, too.” He wished healing worked that way. “What do you need? What can I do?”
“Just take me upstairs. Don’t let me go.”
He nodded, kissing the wet skin of her shoulder.
They dried off. “I need to fix my bandages,” she said. They were peeling away from her neck.
“I’ll do it.” Tanner grabbed his kit and replaced them with gentle fingers.
They went to the bedroom, hand in hand. Sunlight streamed through the window. Faith got under the covers beside him, using his chest as a pillow.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I appreciate everything you did for me. But I wish I could’ve done it myself. You know? Stopped Kyle. Kept him from hurting me or anyone else.”
“You did a lot. You got him outside, where it was a hell of a lot easier to find you and get my plan to work. And you tried to save Kozinski’s life by going for that gun.”
“But if I’d been faster or stronger, I could’ve gotten away.”
“It’s okay to need help.”
“My new bumper sticker?”
“I have more. Bravery and strength come in all forms. Not just physical. You’ve made it through a lot, and you’re still here.”
“So are you.” She smiled, another ray of sunshine, but it faded too quickly. “You saved my life twice in the past twenty-four hours. I know you probably would’ve done that for anyone, given your job, but…”
Tanner put his fingers on her chin, gently lifting her face until she was looking back at him. “You’re not just anyone.” How could he make her understand how much she meant? How she was saving him in a different way, right now? He could only think of one way. And why the hell was he hesitating?
“I love you. I’m in love with you.”
A wrinkle appeared between Faith’s eyebrows. She frowned, eyes filling again with tears.
Not the reaction he’d been hoping for.
“I…” Faith wiped at her eyes. “I love you, too. I love you so much. I’ve been waiting a long time to say that to someone and know in my heart I mean it.”
“I wish you didn’t have to wait so long.”
“But it was worth it.” Faith kissed him, and Tanner pulled her close. Her skin was smooth. So soft it made his chest ache. Everything about her was precious and beautiful.
They kissed for a while, murmuring I-love-yous in between. Then they lay still, looking at one another.
“Turn over?” she asked.
“Why?”
“I want to admire the rest of you.”
Tanner rolled onto his stomach. Faith stretched out over him, her hair tickling the back of his neck. She dragged her fingertips up and down his spine, following with kisses. He knew she was touching his scars.
“Where did you get these?” Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
“Some of it was training. But the worst ones…” He breathed through the squeezing sensation in his upper body. “Happened in Afghanistan. We were going after a high-value target. But the intel was bad. We got ambushed. My friend Wayne Scott was right in front of me, and I couldn’t save him.”
Tanner’s body armor had stopped the rounds in his back from killing him. There were bullet wound scars on his right upper arm.
Faith laid her head between his shoulder blades, still tracing her fingers along his skin as he spoke.
“I was captured. Tortured.” The long scars on his back were knife wounds.
He wanted to tell her all of it if she truly wished to hear it. But it didn’t have to be now. They had time, a miracle Tanner felt deep in his bones.
“I’m not okay,” he said. “I haven’t been for longer than I’d like to admit. But I’m going to do whatever it takes to get better.”
“I know. I believe in you.”
For several long minutes, they both remained still. Birds glided past the window and clouds moved, making shadows dance through the beams of sunlight on the walls. Tanner felt like he’d let some small part of the past go. Like a few of the spirits that haunted him were flying free.
Then, slowly, Faith kissed each of the scars on his back.
Her kisses and caresses moved to his shoulders, his arms. Then further down. The base of his spine and the backs of his thighs. Pleasure sang in all his nerve endings. His cock swelled, and his hips rocked gently into the mattress, chasing that feeling—urgent and immediate and alive.
He turned back over, wanting to see her face. She hummed when she saw his erection.
“We don’t have to,” he said.
“I want to. I love you.” The straightforward way she’d spoken these words—as undeniable truths—made him want to hold her and cherish the incredible gift of simply being alive and in love.
Faith took his cock in her mouth. Tanner tipped his head back and moaned, eyes closed. She licked up and down his shaft, and her hand moved down to cup his balls. “I never thought I’d love doing this so much,” she said. “You taste so good on my tongue.”
A moan was the only response he could make. He lost himself in the attentions of her mouth and her touch.
But more than even this, he wanted to look into her eyes and sink inside of her. To feel the intensity of their connection.
Tanner sat up, enjoying the view for another moment. “Come here, baby.” Faith lifted her head. Her tongue darted over her swollen lips.
He reached toward the nightstand for a condom, then scooped her up with one arm and positioned her beneath him. Tanner sheathed his erection, never taking his eyes off the incredible woman in his bed.
Tanner kissed his way down her body, taking his time getting her ready. His fingers and his tongue worked in and out of her until she was panting, and her opening glistened with wetness. The heady, spicy scent of her was making him lose control. He couldn’t contain his need.
Tanner sat up, knees bent, one hand braced against the mattress by her head. He pushed her thighs wider with his own and thrust his cock inside of her. Her body gripped him so tightly he felt weak for a moment.
His free hand gently touched her face. Her blue eyes gazed back at him, hooded with desire.
He bent down so his lips grazed hers. “I love you.”
Tanner rolled his hips, fucking her gently but deeply. Faith responded to him like they were completely connected, their minds in sync. Their bodies glided together, finding a steady rhythm. The heat between them slowly increased.
When Faith’s breathy panting grew desperate and needy, Tanner turned them over so she was on top of him.
Her body reacted almost immediately to the new position.
Faith’s breath hitched. Her thighs squeezed around him as she shuddered.
He would never get tired of seeing her like that—swept away in those moments of pure pleasure.
Tanner loved making her feel that. Feel him.
He pulled her down and held her close, whispering how beautiful she was. She whispered back I-love-yous. He felt his own climax coming. So close. Almost over the edge. Tanner rolled her back over and pumped into her.
She sighed, her breath hot against his cheek, and he came undone. His cock pulsed inside her.
Mine, he thought. He knew what a gift this was. Loving her, earning her love in return. He wasn’t going to waste it.