Chapter Twenty-Two
Berkleigh
“Stop fucking standing there like you’re watching the final scene in a tragedy and help him!”
I don’t understand why these men don’t seem more concerned.
Blood is pooling beneath Tanner’s body, he’s unconscious, and without waiting for a response from the masked men who are apparently saving me, I shove at the dead man lying across him.
He’s heavy, and as I whack my elbow into his side, I hear a crack that should make me cringe.
I know I should feel something about the fact that I just added another body to my own personal murder count after shooting the man, but it was kill him or watch him kill Tanner.
I honestly don’t give a fuck, though. This corpse is making it impossible to see where the blood is coming from and I need to know how badly Tanner’s hurt, that I did everything I could to save him.
Pure adrenaline is fueling my actions, pushing me to get this done, but I need to keep at least one hand on Tanner’s face and there’s a screaming sound blocking out all other noise.
I don’t care where it’s coming from, I just care about helping Tanner.
The weight of the dead man suddenly eases and he’s practically lifted to the air and thrown across the room.
I turn to look through blurry, tear-filled eyes to one of the masked men and the screaming stops, my stuttered breaths and sore throat making it near impossible to thank him.
Instead, I wipe at my face and nod before dropping my forehead to Tanner’s.
Lifting my head again, I scan his body for wounds but come up short, only finding blood that I’m now assuming came from the dead man. More tears fall in some kind of relief, but he’s still unconscious. A man like this doesn’t fall and pass out for no reason.
I palm the sides of his face, wiping away the blood splatter from his cheeks with my thumbs.
“Wake the fuck up, Tanner. You’re not allowed to die while I’m still mad at you.” I press my forehead against his and close my eyes. “Dying won’t get you out of explaining the stalking.”
I hear a snort from behind me and steel myself, softly kissing Tanner between the eyes before giving the snorter my attention.
“Is this funny to you?” If looks could kill, then my glare would have blown this guy’s head right off within seconds.
Raising his hands in surrender, his eyes widen and he shakes his head. I can’t see the rest of his face but I suspect there’s a grin hidden beneath the mask.
Before I can demand to know why he’s just fucking standing there, the other masked man rushes in through the door with someone new. The new man crouches down beside me, his kind eyes being met by my suspicious ones.
“I need to check him over before we move him, okay?”
Why is he asking me if it’s okay?
“Darlin’, that means you need to stop gripping him like he’s your lifeboat.” The snorting masked man holds his hands up one more as I glare at him again. “Just sayin’.”
“Hey, ignore him. My name’s Pierce. I’m a medic. Can I check him over?”
I bring my attention back to the new man, Pierce, and nod as I slowly unfurl myself from Tanner. There’s still contact, though. I refuse to let him go completely. He came to save me, the least I can do is stay with him.
I watch Pierce as he scans Tanner’s body, checking his pulse, lifting clothing to check for holes, I’m assuming, then he gets to his head, lifting each of his eyelids and shining a small light into them.
“Most of this blood isn’t Bravo’s. His chest is bruised from a large impact and he has a small laceration at the back of his head I can stitch up.”
“Who the fuck is Bravo and why won’t Tanner wake up?” It takes a lot to ask the question without stuttering my breath, but I’m allowing my anger over the situation to fuel me.
“Because he was knocked the fuck out.” Another glare toward the snorter.
“Ignore Bones. Bravo is the code name we use for Tanner. I’m sure he’ll explain the rest to you some time.
The impact to his chest did knock the wind out of him, and he’s gonna have a headache for a few days, but I’ll fix him up and he’ll be fine.
” Pierce smiles and it’s a little disarming, but it reassures me.
My heart begins to beat at a more acceptable rate, my panic eases, and my adrenaline is close to giving out on me, but I need to see Tanner wake up for myself before I can fully relax.
As if the universe is answering my wish, there’s movement. An arm twitch, a sharp breath, then the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen are staring at me as his lids flutter open. They’re at half mast, but I’ll take it.
A lazy half-smile spreads across his lips. “Sweet Bee.” My name is followed by a soft sigh before his eyes close again.
It’s everything.
The stalking, the homicidal mania, the danger…none of it matters as long as he’s still around.
That doesn’t mean he is getting out of the apologies I deserve, but I’ve already decided to forgive him—although I won’t make it easy.
Time seems to move at a rate I can’t quite keep up with. It feels like I’m just an observer to my own life as the men put Tanner on a stretcher, take him outside, and load us onto a helicopter. My hand doesn’t ever leave his, I need the contact and I like to think that Tanner needs it too.
The helicopter ride is surreal, continuing with my out-of-body experience, and Pierce manages to stitch the head wound while we’re moving. Now, Tanner’s head is in my lap because I refused to sit anywhere else, and the warmth of his rough skin is soothing me. He’s my only focus.
“Can you drive?” The question brings me out of my head and I turn to look at who I think is Bones. He’s staring at me as though he’s been waiting for an answer for hours, which I know isn’t true, but he comes across as a little dramatic.
“Yes, I can drive.” I’m aware that I could be more polite and a lot friendlier, but regardless of them coming in to save the day with Tanner and rescuing me, I don’t know them.
“Good. We’ll get Bravo in his truck and follow you home to help you into the house.”
“I can do it myself. I don’t need you assholes manhandling me. Or looking at my woman.”
My heart begins pounding against my chest at his voice and my eyes fill with tears that I thought had run dry. He’s awake, and judging by the sluggish grin on his lips, he’s going to be just fine.
“Stubborn asshole.” I smile at him before kissing his forehead.
“Your stubborn asshole.” Sitting up, Tanner twists his body around, trying to hide a wince of pain, and his lips are suddenly on mine.
I moan into it, like this is the easiest thing in the world, the taste of my salty tears mingling with our tongues.
“Get a room.” The masked man that isn’t Bones or Pierce shakes his head, but Tanner doesn’t allow me to pay attention for more than a couple of seconds because his large, calloused hand is on my cheek, bringing my face back to his.
“Don’t be jealous, Hollywood. It doesn’t suit you.” Tanner speaks to the man while staring into my eyes the whole time, his attention on me unwavering. “I’m gonna fuck you so hard you forget how to run away, Sweet Bee.” There’s a slight threat to his tone, but I raise a defiant brow anyway.
“You have some explaining and some apologizing to do first.”
“After.” He matches my raised brow.
I want to argue some more, but I don’t have the energy. We’re inevitable, so whether we have our conversations before or after…we have all the time in the world because he isn’t dead. I’m not dead. We’re both very much alive and I am just as eager to get away from these other men as Tanner.
“Fine.” I concede, trying to hide my amused grin with a grimace.
Chuckling, Tanner pulls my head toward his and kisses me again. Softer than any kiss he’s ever given me, there’s tenderness as he carefully strokes his tongue against mine, as his lips press against my lips…
“Get the fuck out, we wanna go home,” Bones interrupts again, and Tanner responds by flipping him the bird and scowling.
I realize the helicopter has landed and yeah, I should have been paying more attention to the experience, the turbulence, the sights I could have seen, but none of that mattered.
I don’t want to be that girl whose life is altered and revolves around a man, but I can forgive myself for this situation. I thought I had lost him, and I fear I would have lost myself in the process. Okay, so I am totally that girl…but life is way more interesting with Tanner by my side.
“My truck is parked over there. You can drive.” Tanner winks as he maneuvers himself to the edge of the helicopter, leaning heavily on the door as he jumps out.
“Don’t go to sleep for a few hours and keep an eye on that wound. If your breathing gets worse, give me a call and we’ll get some chest x-rays, but I’m sure it’s just bruising.” Pierce turns his attention to me. “If he gets dizzy or sick, make him call me, okay?”
I nod, unable to deny this beast of a man anything. He’s even taller than Tanner and that’s a feat in itself.
“Thanks, Pierce. Appreciate the save.” Tanner tilts his head with respect before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “I’d love to fuck you right here but my body is screaming and I wanna get you home. Where you belong.”
“Tanner, man, it was fun and all, but slaughtering a bunch of guys for your girlfriend feels extreme.” Hollywood shrugs, chuckling as he puts on a large set of headphones inside the helicopter.
“You should put her on a leash so she doesn’t run away again.” Bones wags his brows, running back into the helicopter, laughing.
The growl I can hear in response isn’t Tanner, it’s me, and I step forward to head in Bones’s direction to punch his smug face or something equally ridiculous, but I’m held back from around the waist.
“He’s made of stone, Sweet Bee. You’d hurt yourself more than him, but thank you.” Tanner grins, his eyes scanning my face for I don’t know what before they settle on my lips. “Let’s go.”