Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
“And, Father, we give all of this into Your hands,” Frances prayed.
“Grateful Riley is safe and unhurt but pleading for the quick apprehension of this man who wishes to cause her harm. Please be with Trevor and help him make a quick recovery from his injury. We pray all these things in the name of Your precious Son, Amen.”
Riley stood in a circle with these three ladies she loved like sisters, tears running down their faces, wrapped in each other’s arms. “We’ve been through a lot of stuff together over the past twenty years, but never anything quite like this. Have we?”
Barbara sniffled and pulled a tissue from the box on the end table, then passed it to Avery. “This is definitely a new one. But nothing we can’t handle, with the Lord’s help.”
“That’s right.” Avery took a tissue and passed the box to Fran. “We’re here for anything you need. Through thick and thin.”
Fresh tears started down Riley’s face as Fran handed her a couple of tissues.
“Y’all’s lives were at risk because of me.
Everyone in that room tonight was at risk because of me.
If something had happened to any one of them, to you, I couldn’t live with it.
I can hardly stand Trevor being injured, and he’s paid to protect me. ”
Frances gave her a squeeze. “It wasn’t your fault, Ri. It was that guy. The one who’s doing all of this. You did nothing wrong.”
Barbara nodded. “That’s right.”
Avery dabbed at her eyes while Riley swiped at her cheeks in an effort to stem her flow of tears. It seemed as if she was making up for years of not crying in this one night.
“Thanks, you guys. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you being here.”
“Of course we would be here.” Barbara put her glasses back on. “We can stay all night, if you need us to. It’ll be like college all over again.”
Riley’s friends were still dressed in their evening finery while she now wore warm sweats, had scrubbed her face clean, and brushed through her hair, leaving it loose.
“I’ll be fine. Really. You’ve been here over an hour already and should probably get home to get some sleep. Are you all in separate cars?”
Avery shook her head. “We came with Frances and Kade. John had to stay at the … um … I mean … you know—”
“Had to stay at the hotel. For the investigation. Avery, I’m so sorry. I’ve intruded on your evening out.”
“Now, you just stop, Riley Hudson. Like they said, nobody blames you for any of this. I’m proud of my man for doing his job so well and caring enough about my friend to put in all this extra work.
Once this is all behind us, we’ll have plenty of time together.
And you’ll be free to live your life without this hanging over you. ”
A soft knock sounded on the doorframe before Colton made an appearance.
“I hate to eavesdrop, but we can help with getting the ladies home. Paul’s back and all set to take Barbara and Avery.
” He turned to Frances. “And Kade said he’s not leaving without you.
So, if you stay the night, guess we’ll have to find him a spot too.
Not that it would be a problem in this place. ”
Frances laughed as she wiped tears from her face. “That’s a fact. We could probably put up a dozen folks here. But under the circumstances, I don’t think we want to make all that extra work for the staff. Hilda’s already been up here three times to check on us, bless her heart.”
“Have you heard anything about Trevor?” Riley asked.
He nodded. “No broken ribs. A deep bruise into some muscle. He’ll be paid to lie around and recover for the next few days. They’ll send someone to cover in the meantime.”
“I need to call Gemma.”
“Tomorrow. Tonight, you need to get some rest.”
Barbara took her hand. “He’s right, Ri. Please try to get some sleep.”
Riley could only hope. Sleep seemed a long way off, but she was thankful for her friends’ concern.
As they said their goodbyes for the night, the girls hugged and thanked Colton for keeping her safe, although he seemed uncomfortable with their gratitude. Embarrassed. As if he didn’t deserve it, when he deserved so much more than she could ever convey.
From the moment he’d scooped her up and held her close on their way out of the ballroom, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so safe.
So secure. Even amid all that chaos. And once inside the SUV, speeding away from the hotel, he’d held her tight to still her trembling.
She’d wanted to stay there until this was all behind her. For as long it took.
But that was impossible—a silly romantic dream about a man she couldn’t have.
He was doing his job. And she was falling in love. Opposite ends of the spectrum.
“Riley?”
Her eyes focused on the man now standing in front of her.
“Are you okay?”
She stared at him, her arms crossed tightly over her stomach as tears rushed to her eyes.
He stepped forward and enveloped her once again in his arms. “I wish I could help you. Wish I could do more for you.”
“More than what you’ve already done?” She buried her forehead against his shoulder. “I don’t know how you could do any more for me.”
“It doesn’t seem near enough at the moment.”
She peered up at him but didn’t move away. “They didn’t catch him, did they?”
“No. He got away.”
Her throat constricted. “He got away.”
“They’ll get him, Riley.”
She rested her cheek against his broad chest, his arms once again encircling her as hers went around his waist. “He was going to kill me tonight.”
“He should have never been that close to you. Thank goodness Trevor was on his toes. I sure wasn’t.”
She pulled back, her hands skimming down his arms until they joined his. “What are you talking about? You were right there.”
“But I was watching you.”
“Isn’t that your job?”
His hands squeezed hers. “My job is to watch out for you. Big difference. And Pax ended up taking the bullet, not me.”
“Would you have taken a bullet for me?”
“In a heartbeat.”
“Because it’s your job.”
His eyes filled with moisture as the silence lingered, their gazes locked. “No.” The huskiness of his voice sent tingles along her spine. “Because it’s you.”
Bringing his hand to her cheek, he brushed away a tear with his thumb before lowering his face to within a breath of hers.
A pause, then the softest, tenderest of touches as his mouth found hers.
A moment of discovery, of letting go. An excruciating sweetness before he angled his head to take a bit more.
Riley brought her hands to his chest and gathered his sweatshirt in her fists to bring herself closer. The pull, the longing, increased, and their arms found their way around each other.
Riley had never experienced such comfort in a man’s embrace. Had never felt more at home.
Could she hope to live there forever?