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“I’d like to go to the ranch,” she replies and holds her hand out for mine, which I immediately take and kiss her knuckles. “Thank you.”
“We’re going to figure everything out,” I assure her.
“I’m going down to the stables,” Jake says later, after we get Polly situated on the couch with an ice pack on her knee. “Do the afternoon chores.”
“Oh, Jake,” Polly says with a frown. “Did you miss practice?”
“It’s okay,” he says with a shrug. “No big.”
“You’ll have to sit out of the game tomorrow,” she says. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry.”
“Seriously, it’s okay,” he assures her, then smiles. “I had to stay with you. It was way more important.”
Then he’s off, and I finish making sure Polly is comfortable and lay a cool pack on her forehead.
“I’m going to run outside for a second. I’ll be right back. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she assures me and lifts her chin so I will kiss her lips. “Thank you.”
“Christ, I could have lost you today.” I can’t resist pressing my lips to her cheek as every worst nightmare runs through my mind.
“You didn’t.” She cups my face in her hand and smiles up at me with so much love, it takes my breath away. “I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good. I’ll be back before you know it. There’s something I have to do.”
I texted Axel a few minutes ago and asked him to meet me by the garage. I don’t want to do this in the house where Polly could hear me.
Axel is waiting for me when I approach.
“What in the ever-loving fuck am I paying you for?” I want to punch him in the face, so I stop twenty feet away, where he’s out of reach.
“Mr. Wild, we had no reason to think that Claudia would come here.”
“She’s been erratic in the past,” I remind him. “Why wouldn’t you have kept eyes on her after the incident in Paris?”
He blows out a breath and hooks his thumbs in his pockets. “It didn’t occur to us.”
“And it almost killed Polly!” I’ve never been so fucking livid. “The entire security detail is on notice. If any one of you so much as sneezes wrong, you’re out of here. This was a mistake that will not be tolerated.”
“Sir.”
I can see the anger radiating off him, and it only fuels my own.
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, sir.”
“Then explain to me why you look pissed off right now.”
“Because you’re right.” His hard eyes find mine. “We fucked up. I fucked up. I know better, and I should have anticipated it. If you want my resignation, I’ll give it to you.”
I pause, watching him.
“Ten minutes ago, I would have taken it.”
He doesn’t flinch.
“Don’t you ever fuck up like that again.”
