Chapter Thirty-Five
Katey
“W e’re finishing this. Tonight.” Sniper held my face in his hands like I was a precious crystal, so gentle and so tender tears pricked my eyes. “I promise.”
I believed him or maybe I just wanted to believe him. “You’ll be careful, right?” It was a silly question, I realized. The man had made it in a warzone in a foreign country as well as the streets of Steel City, of course he would be careful.
“I’m coming back to you, I promise. You still haven’t admitted that you care about me too.”
“Of course I care,” I rolled my eyes. “You’re my husband. And well… we’ve been through hell together, you’ve grown on me.” The truth was, I hadn’t stopped thinking about the words he’d said to me yesterday. They’d played on a loop in my mind so often that it was hard to tell if it was his words, or simply his voice saying words I wanted to hear.
“But do you love me?”
“Hey Katey, there’s someone here to see you.” Harper stood a few feet away from us with a wary expression on her face.
“Cal!” I was excited at the prospect of seeing my brother. He had no idea about everything that had gone down over the past few days and telling him now that everything was over—almost—would be kind of fun.
“It’s not a guy. It’s a woman, well really a girl.” Her brows dipped in confusion.
“A girl?” I looked at Harper, and then Sniper. “I don’t have any friends so who could it be?”
“I’ll come with you,” Sniper offered and took my hand in his.
I let out a few deep breaths and gave his hand a squeeze. My heart raced as my feet moved, one foot in front of the other, until the sun temporarily blinded me.
“You know her?” Sniper’s voice was a low hum in my ear that sent a shiver down my spine.
I blinked away the sun until my eyes were able to focus on the young woman walking towards me. She had long, wavy brown hair that hung around her shoulders and big golden eyes. “No.” The word left my mouth, just as my legs stopped moving as I realized I did know her.
“Problem?” Sniper’s hand went to my lower back, his voice a protective whisper.
“No problem,” I managed to squeak out just as she stopped in front of me. “It’s you,” I whimpered, and my legs buckled but Sniper was right there to hold me up.
Her smile was bright and radiant, the haunted look in her golden eyes no longer there. “So I guess you do remember me, Dr. Blake.”
I nodded and took a hesitant step forward. “Oh my… look at you, so grown up.” Seeing her here like this made it all seem like a lifetime ago, to the point I couldn’t remember if it had been two years ago or ten since I last saw her.
“My name is Tamara now and I’ve been looking for you for a while to say thank you. Dr. Blake you saved my life.” She took a hesitant step forward before she found her courage and wrapped me in a hug. She was thinner than she looked, but healthy. “If you hadn’t saved me, who knows what my life would look like now.”
I squeezed her tight and let my tears fall. “I’m so happy to see you, Tamara and I am so sorry about what happened to you.”
“I thought you were dead when I couldn’t find you.” She pulled back, those golden eyes shimmered with tears. “I’m happy you’re not dead.”
I knew what she was asking, and I didn’t want to burden her any further than I had to. “I had to escape too, and I haven’t stopped running until now.” Understanding passed between us, and we hugged again.
“You cut your hair.”
“I had to,” I replied vaguely. “How did you find me?”
“I got an email with your photo and a plane ticket from some Army investigator. Were you in the military?”
“No, but I know a few guys who served,” I told her and slid a gaze to the amazing man who hadn’t left my side as my haunted past came back to me. “Tamara… I don’t even know where to begin.”
“After you freed me, I found a shelter and then another and another until I figured out what to do with my life. I’m working on my GED and I’m thinking about community college. Now that I have a life again, it’s time to figure out how I want to live it.”
Her words hit me in an unexpected way. They were as true for her as they were for me. The life I’d been denied was now back on the table and I had to decide if I wanted to keep living in fear, or would I live loud and proud and with my whole damn heart? “That’s great Tamara. I’m happy for you.”
“Would it be all right if I checked in with you once in a while? I don’t have anybody and you, well you saved my life.” Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.
“Of course you can.” I froze. “I don’t have a real phone or any social media right now though because of running away from things, but I want to know how you are and where you are and what you’re doing for as long as you want to tell me.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
“Katey, we need to get back inside.” Sniper looked at me, a blank expression that was trying to tell me something.
He had to go. He wanted us to go inside. “Right! Hey Tamara, how about something to drink while we catch up?” I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the men who wanted to buy her could be near.
“Is it okay?” The hesitation in her eyes was heartbreaking and I took her hand in mine.
“Yes. It’s more than okay.” I ushered her inside before turning back to Sniper. I knew he had to be the one who’d hired the investigator. “You’re really trying to be the best man I’ve ever known, aren’t you?”
He shrugged in that aw shucks kind of way that was wickedly sexy. “Your brother is the best man I know, so that’s good company. I just wanted you to see that you are the hero in your own fucking story Katey.”
Yeah, he had my whole damn heart in his hands. “You be safe and come back to me and we’ll have a long talk about the future.” I loved him and when he came back to me, I would tell him.
“You promise?”
I nodded. “I guarantee it. Now go end this.”
“Consider it over,” he growled and kissed me as if I was everything he ever wished for in a woman. His tongue licked against mine, his lips moved against mine in a slow, intense drag that sent fire roaring through my veins.
It made my heart sing because he was everything I didn’t even know I wanted in a man. I wasn’t sure that men like him existed. Sure I knew not all men were like Ethan, but I had no idea that a man—a biker—like Sniper could be both tough and sweet. “Thank you, Cole. For saving me. For Tamara. For giving up your freedom to protect me.”
“My freedom?”
I nodded and wiggled my left finger. “You married me.” He married me, gave me his name just to save me from Ethan. How could I not love him?
“I did.” His lips met mine again and the kiss was hot but too short. “I am kind of amazing, aren’t I?”
“I’ll let you know when you get back. Husband .”
That smirk in his eyes stayed with me for the rest of the night, while I waited with my heart in my throat for him and the rest of the guys to return.