Chapter 40
Adam
Long after the police had dragged Lester Deets to jail and every one of us had given our statements and Elizabeth and Jess had both confirmed Jo really was okay even after the paramedics gave her the all clear, we lay side by side in Jo’s bed at her apartment.
The police had searched her home and ascertained he’d gotten in through the front door, so we’d already had the locks changed and we’d resecured the old attic door he’d used to get into the store. I’d offered to take her to my house, but she’d been determined to reclaim her space, and I couldn’t fault her for wanting to face this head-on.
Damn, she was a marvel.
Lester had been convicted of stalking once before, and scarily enough, he’d gotten better at it. He’d left so few traces prior to taking Jo, we couldn’t find him before he acted. He’d been sloppy enough for us to see his license plate, and thanks to Jane Saint, who’d noticed an unfamiliar car parked in front of a house in her neighborhood on and off the last few days and tipped off Wilder, we’d narrowed down where exactly he’d been blessedly fast.
Fortunately, Deets hadn’t hurt Jo too badly, and he’d be tucked away for a long, long time since he’d actually kidnapped her.
“Thanks for staying with me,” she said, her eyes shut and face slack enough that I’d thought she’d fallen asleep.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Thanks for letting me.”
Her mouth stretched into a smile and she opened her eyes. “Maybe we should thank my dad and Jane for insisting Elizabeth come home with them.”
I chuckled. “I’ve never been more grateful that Jane’s a little pushy.”
She grinned full-out. My heart thudded and the words I needed to say were right there. But I didn’t want to overwhelm her, and after hours of wrapping up with the police and then my team, and finally, her family, I’d just wanted her to myself.
What a selfish jerk, right? I couldn’t blame myself. I couldn’t pretend it wasn’t true, either.
“I love Jane Saint and all the more so now. Though seriously, my head is exploding that Lizzy’s here and she’s meeting Jane finally and my dad can show her the shop and she knows about Josie.” She huffed and sat up, scooting back so she leaned against the headboard.
“Lots to talk about still,” I said, settling into the space next to her.
“Yeah. But”—she took a deep breath—“it feels small now. Not like what I want to do is small, but like, I don’t need to clear it with anyone else. Like I should choose to do something with this one life that I love. And I love writing. I love telling stories. And I kind of think that after today, I’m going to love meeting fans who are just kind of normal reader fans and not planning to duct-tape me and lecture me on their plastic couch.”
I hauled her to me, my pulse quickening at the reminder of what she’d been through. Not that I would ever forget, of course, but the fact that she was joking about it was good, even if it made me a little ill.
“I don’t know if I can take you joking about it yet, but I’m sure it’s probably a good sign.” I pressed a kiss to her temple.
She tipped her head up, and I took the offering with a soft kiss. She leaned up, opening her mouth, and I deepened the kiss at her command but pulled away.
As much as I wanted the physical connection with her right now, we had things to discuss. Her brow furrowed slightly, and I touched a finger at the small vee.
“I wanted to say I’ve had some clarity in the last few weeks. Today clinched it.”
Her brows arched high, and then she snatched my finger and dragged it down from her head. The soft touch of her lips to the pad of my finger made something in me shudder with wanting.
“I’ve had this identity for so long—Doc. And I’ve seen it as something tied to medical training—being an operator medic, and then even taking on most of the first aid training and such here. I deal with any kind of medical situation, I accompany any personal security work where there’s a higher risk of injury or illness, that kind of thing. But I think I want more. And I know I already mentioned the survival training, so we’re starting that soon. I haven’t mentioned that the team approved it, but they did.”
She flung her arms around me and squeezed me. “That’s amazing.”
“Thanks. And thanks for encouraging me to push for that. I don’t know why I didn’t. I think I thought I’d step into the security thing and it’d be a fit, but it’s different. I knew that would be the case, that it wouldn’t feel like active duty, but I’m glad I have a way forward.”
She ran a hand through my hair and seemed so genuinely happy for me. “I love it. And I have to say, I think Doc nods to more than just your medical training. You’re a caretaker. You’ve admitted how much you worry about others, and I know you don’t like to own that as a good thing, but I think it means you’re a nurturer. You care about people, and you want to do what you can to help them. That’s how we ended up here, after all.”
“Is it?” I asked, marveling at her assessment of me. As much as I’d pushed against the idea before, it rang true. And why had I resisted the idea of seeing myself that way?
“I’m afraid so. We’re all your fault.”
Her eyes flickered around my face, and her soft smile made me want to thank God for my own existence and the privilege of sharing this moment with her.
“All my fault, huh?” I asked, though my words were a bit breathless.
She shrugged. “Yep. I was just minding my own business and there you came, offering to help me figure out how a guy would pin a woman to a wall and kiss her.” She fluttered her lashes and we both burst out laughing.
I took her face in my hands and just… marveled at her.
“What?” she asked, voice quiet in the stillness of the moment.
“I’m just so in love with you.”
She swallowed hard and her smile melted away. “What?”
I nodded. “I am. I’ve spent the last year talking myself out of this and telling myself how bad I would be for you or how you deserved better. And there’s probably always going to be a part of me that worries those things are true, but?—”
“They’re not! They’re not true, they’re not,” she said, smile blazing as she laughed and kissed me.
“I think I get that a little more every day. And I’m trusting myself more. I know that’s thanks to you—that you trusted me first, and it gave me a reason to try it out—to see if we could do this.”
“I think we can. I know it’s only been a little while, but we’ve been through some craziness and I think it’s still going pretty well,” she said, a little shrug like she was casual about it.
A chuckle skipped out. “Yeah. I think so, too. So, if you’re interested, I’d like to keep this going. Keep trying. See where it goes without a plan to deal with it when it ends… just a plan to hope together, like we said.”
She kissed me again, then pulled back. “Hope together. Work together. Practice kissing scenes together.”
She laughed against my lips when I tackled her and toppled us back onto the bed, legs threaded together and bodies close. She hadn’t said it back, and as much as I didn’t want to beg for it, I would if I had to. I’d tossed my pride out the door a while ago, but I held on for another moment, just waiting.
“Aw, you’ve been so patient. What a good boy.”
I dropped my head to her shoulder and laughed, shaking my head at her. Her hand on my jaw urged me up to look at her.
“I love you, Adam ‘Doc’ Carter. And I’m in love with you. And I’m so happy you’re not going to quit on me.” She kissed me then, a claiming kiss I’d remember for the rest of my life.
“Never,” I said, and I knew it in my bones. I would never quit on her or myself. I’d never quit on us. And I couldn’t wait for what lay ahead.