Chapter Thirteen
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With every muscle in her body aching with fatigue, Laney stepped out of the SUV. It was nearly midnight, and the weight of the night’s chaos dragged heavy on her shoulders. It felt like nothing short of a miracle that she and Harlan had made it back without a scratch.
Garrett was already waiting for them at the door. He opened it as soon as they reached the porch, ushering them inside and locking up tight behind them. His expression was steady, but his eyes scanned them quickly, as if double-checking that they were really standing there and both in one piece.
“How are they?” Laney’s words tumbled out. “ How are Evie and my mom?”
“They’re fine,” Garrett assured her. “Both are sleeping in the tent room. Your mom didn’t even make it to her own bed. She fell asleep in there with Evie.” He gave a small shrug. “So unless you want to wake her up, you two are going to have to crash somewhere else.”
Relief sagged through Laney at the thought of her daughter safe, warm, and unaware of the nightmare outside. She let out a long breath of relief.
“Any new updates?” Garrett asked.
Laney shook her head. “Nothing.”
Harlan had already been filling him in, piece by piece with texts, while she and Harlan had spent hours tied up with the sheriff’s deputies, the CSIs, and the Crossfire Ops crew.
The lawmen and operatives were still out there now, patrolling the grounds with floodlights sweeping across the property.
The investigators had bagged casings and fragments, trying to piece together where the shooter had been and where Billy had gone.
She rubbed a hand over her face, exhaustion dragging her down. “Still no sign of Billy. Or whoever tried to kill us. Just some blood on the ground, and it’s being tested to see if it’s Billy’s.”
The words felt raw in her throat, and Garrett’s jaw tightened as if the lack of answers cut him just as deep.
The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the faint buzz of an ATV circling the back pasture.
A patrol guard that had been provided by Crossfire Ops, and Laney was beyond thankful for it.
Yes, they had the sensors, but she didn’t want anyone getting close enough to the house to take more shots at them.
Garrett’s gaze flicked toward the dark windows before he looked back at them. “Maybe they’ll find Billy in the morning, once there’s light. You both look wiped. You should head to bed.”
Laney didn’t argue. Her body was aching even more now, and her eyes burned from holding back tears and from keeping watch too long.
“I’ll run one more check of the security system,” Garrett added, his voice low but firm. “Then I’ll turn in myself.”
“Thanks,” Laney said softly. Harlan echoed the same.
They left Garrett in the foyer and made their way upstairs. The house was hushed, filled only with the hum of the air conditioning and the faint creak of the old wood under their steps.
They paused just outside the tent room door.
Laney eased it open just enough to peek inside.
Evie was curled up in her sleeping bag, hair fanned out like a halo, her little chest rising and falling with deep, even breaths.
Carol lay stretched across the bed, sound asleep, her hand resting protectively on the edge of the mattress near her granddaughter.
Laney’s throat tightened at the sight, relief warming her even through the exhaustion. She glanced at Harlan, then closed the door quietly.
Across the hall, the two guest rooms stood side by side, both neatly made up. She motioned toward them, her voice a rough whisper. “You can take your pick.”
Harlan glanced at the two guest rooms, his eyes lingering for a moment before he let out a long sigh. Instead of choosing, he stepped closer and pulled her into his arms.
Laney melted against him without hesitation. The tension she had been holding in her shoulders gave way, and for the first time in hours she allowed herself to simply breathe. She welcomed the hug. Needed it.
Needed him.
His solid presence eased the ache of fear and exhaustion, grounding her in a way nothing else could.
The timing was all wrong, the hour late, the world outside their walls still dark and dangerous. But when she lifted her head and found his eyes, her heart overruled her logic.
She kissed him.
It wasn’t a tentative brush this time. It was need and exhaustion and longing poured into one reckless act.
The kiss instantly deepened, hotter now, all the tension and fear of the night bleeding out through the press of their mouths.
Harlan’s hand slid against the small of her back, steady and sure, guiding her as if he had made the decision for both of them.
Without breaking the kiss, he steered her toward one of the guest rooms.
Laney clutched at his shirt, her pulse racing as though she had been running. The door shut behind them, muffling the silence of the hallway. The world shrank to the warmth of his arms, the strength of his body against hers, the unspoken truth that they both needed this. Needed each other.
Her thoughts flickered briefly to Evie, to her mom, to Garrett just down the hall. If anything happened, she would hear it. She could be there in an instant. But in this moment, with Harlan’s mouth on hers and his touch pulling her closer, she let go of that constant edge of worry.
Laney gave in to the kiss.
She gave in to Harlan.
Harlan’s hands were steady as he slid the holster from her shoulder and set it aside. His mouth never left hers, his kiss both urgent and grounding, anchoring her against the back of the door as if he couldn’t bear to let her go.
Laney’s pulse raced when his fingers brushed her skin, tugging her shirt free. The soft scrape of fabric leaving her body sent a shiver through her, and she pressed closer, matching his hunger with her own. She needed more. Needed him.
With impatient hands she pushed at the bulk of his gear, ridding him of the layers that separated them until she found the warmth of him beneath. His shirt joined hers on the floor, and when her palms met his bare skin, the last of her hesitation slipped away.
Still locked in the kiss, they moved together, unsteady but desperate, until the mattress caught them and they tumbled down. The weight of him above her was both protection and promise. She breathed his name against his lips, her fingers gripping his shoulders, pulling him even closer.
For the first time in far too long, she wasn’t thinking about threats or fear. Just Harlan.
Just this.
Harlan’s hands moved with a purpose that made her breath catch. Every kiss deepened, every touch stoked the fire inside her until the rest of the world fell away. He slid his palms along her sides, slow but certain, and soon she felt the last barrier of clothing slipping away under his touch.
Her skin tingled everywhere he grazed, the intensity building until she could hardly breathe for wanting more.
She needed him, here, now, and her own hands fumbled against his body, tugging impatiently at the layers still between them.
She felt the heat of his skin, the strength of him, and the urgency in her movements matched the urgency in his.
They were lost to this heat and need, lost to each other, every kiss a promise, every brush of his hands a reminder of just how much she wanted this man.
The need between them sharpened into something undeniable, and as she pulled at the rest of his clothes, her heart hammered with the certainty that there was no turning back.
Harlan’s touch steadied, his breath warm against her skin as he pulled back just long enough to reach for his wallet. She caught the glint of foil in the dim light, and her heart fluttered with the sudden awareness of how real this was, how much she wanted it.
When his hands returned to her, she welcomed him without hesitation. Their eyes met, and for a breathless moment the world seemed to hold still. Then he pressed closer, filling the space between them until she could feel nothing but him.
The first thrust inside her stole her breath, the rush of it flooding through her as her body yielded to his. He moved with her, steady and sure, and she matched him without thought, her every motion guided by need and the bond sparking between them.
The rhythm built, pulling her higher with each moment, until she could hardly cling to the sensation rushing through her. Their breaths mingled, their whispers faded into gasps, and together they rode the wave until it shattered over them, leaving her trembling and lost in the warmth of him.
For a long while, she could only cling to him, her heartbeat racing against his, knowing that whatever storms waited outside these walls, in this moment she was exactly where she wanted to be.
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