Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
Patrick
“You’re not staying?” Poppy asked.
No matter how hard she tried, I could hear the hurt in her voice.
“I think it’s for the best that I don’t.
We want them to believe you’re at the hotel, but I expect they’ll send someone back to the cabin to make sure you’re not here.
If there’s a way to catch whoever it is, I’m going to.
This might be our only chance,” I explained, hating that I couldn’t hold her and promise her that I wouldn’t leave.
“I hate the thought of something happening to you because of me,” she muttered, pulling away as she looked at the floor instead of at me.
“I know. But you’re safer here.”
“You’re putting your sister and niece at risk by having me here. I should have gone to the hotel for real instead of just pretending.”
“Daisy is going to stay with my parents for the time being, so she’s not a concern.
Julie is more than capable of taking care of herself—believe me.
Gage and Julie will not allow anything to happen to you.
Not only are there plenty of guns and ammunition, but there are also cameras all around the property.
Gage will know the second someone even thinks about setting foot on his property. ”
“I don’t like this at all,” she said, releasing a frustrated breath.
“I know, baby. But it’s just temporary. We need to find who is responsible for all of this, and this feels like the best way to do it.”
She shook her head and shrugged.
“Fine. If you say so.”
I let my head fall in defeat, knowing that there was nothing I could say to make her feel better.
“It’s just temporary. I promise. I’ll check in as often as I can.”
She nodded and pressed her lips together. I could tell that she was shutting down, and I hated it. But after talking to my friend Keith, we decided it was for the best. It was obvious they weren’t going to stop until they got what they wanted, but we could at least make it harder for them.
I pushed a breath out through my nose to keep from letting my energy get her more upset. I needed to stay calm and collected, which was hard given everything that was going on.
I leaned into her, feeling her out as I slowly extended my arms, offering her a hug if she wanted to accept it.
She sighed and stepped closer, allowing herself to rest against my chest as I wrapped my arms around her and held her.
I rested my head on top of hers, smelling the soft scent of her shampoo and realizing how much I was going to miss smelling her in the morning when she showered in my bathroom.
“I'd better get going,” I said, not wanting to leave even though I knew I needed to.
She looked up at me with sad eyes, and it nearly broke me.
“Okay. I’ll talk to you when I talk to you.” She shrugged as if she didn’t care, but I could see the hurt in her eyes. This was breaking her as much as it was me.
“We’ll talk soon. I promise.”
I leaned in and kissed her, hating that I didn’t know when the next time would be that I would get to do this again.
“I love you,” I said as I slowly pulled away, breaking the kiss.
Her eyes widened as the words registered in her brain.
“I do, Poppy. I fucking love you.”
She smiled the first real smile I’d seen in days and looked me in the eyes.
“I love you, too.”
“Fuck,” I hissed, stepping back as I bit down on my fist.
“What?” Poppy asked with a giggle I hadn’t heard in far too long.
“I knew I loved you, but hearing you say you love me seriously did something,” I admit, feeling the strain of my cock in my jeans.
Poppy arched her eyebrows in confusion until she glanced down and noticed.
“Pat!” she shrieked, smacking my arm before looking out the bedroom door to see if anyone was around. “You’re so bad!”
“Hey, it’s not my fault. You said you love me, and it made my heart grow ten sizes,” I teased.
“That’s not your heart. That’s your cock.”
“Eh, everything grows thanks to you loving me.”
She shook her head and tried to hide her smile, but failed.
I glanced at my watch and groaned.
“Shit. I'd better get going. I love you, and I’ll talk to you soon. Try to be good while I’m gone, okay?”
“I’ll do my best.”
I leaned in and gave her one final kiss before leaving, hoping it wouldn’t be a big mistake to leave her there. While I knew that Gage and Julie were more than capable of protecting themselves, I didn’t trust that whoever was after Poppy wouldn’t somehow slip past all of us.