Page 58 of Ghost

Instead, I was stuck out here, rubbing my wrists that throbbed after being tied too tight. I had dust in my hair and mouth, but I didn’t care. I watched the door, refusing to blink until it was necessary. I needed to see Gavin come through it for myself.

Finally, the comm at Wraith’s shoulder crackled.

“Clear.”

The breath I had been holding puffed past my lips.

I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Gavin.

He came through the door a moment later and headed straight for me. There was still a hint of the cold focus he would’ve needed to disarm the device. But that side of him didn’t scare me. It was part of why he was able to protect those he loved, including me.

I didn’t wait. Rushing forward, I met him halfway.

His arm locked around my waist, and he hauled me off my feet.

I grabbed the front of his cut. “I knew you’d come.”

“Always, Tamsin.” He pressed his forehead against mine. “Nobody is ever going to take you away from me.”

His hands were steady at my waist, with no sign of nerves. Even with me trapped in that building and then sitting in front of a countdown on a bomb, his control hadn’t slipped. But the way he held me tight now, not letting go, told me what it had cost to maintain it.

When he pulled back, he kissed me hard. His hand fisted in the back of my hair to hold me in place while his tongue delved into my mouth to tangle with mine.

It only stayed short because Reaper walked over to us.

Gavin lifted his head but didn’t let go of me. His thumb stayed on my pulse while Reaper turned my wrists over and checked the scrape on my knee. He kept one hand at my neck, tracking every flinch.

Reaper met his gaze and arched a brow. Gavin just smiled back, although it didn’t reach his eyes.

“She’s bruised,” Reaper pointed out. “Not broken.”

I rolled my eyes. “I can hear you.”

Gavin looked down at me. “Good. Keep doing that.”

Reaper shook his head with a chuckle, then got to work on my scrape. After he cleaned it and wrapped my wrist, he declared, “She’s cleared to leave.”

I heaved a sigh of relief as he went to check the Black Crowns who were injured in the fight. The good news was that the worst of it was a couple of flesh wounds that needed stitches. Between the number of bullets that were shot and the bomb that had almost gone off, it could’ve been so much worse.

Hawkeye came back from the maintenance trail with two zip-tied men walking in front of him. Len and the fake inspector.

“Caught them past the bend,” he told Stryker. “Vehicle’s in the ditch.”

Trigger held up the remote by two fingers and tossed it over. “Took it off him before he could press the button.”

The rest of the gunmen were already on their knees by the company trucks, disarmed, with their wrists bound. Black Crowns combed the grounds to make sure that there weren’t any other devices Len hadn’t told them about.

“Nothing else live,” Nomad announced when they were done.

Stryker looked over the men still breathing. “Dump the rest at the sheriff’s station. Pretty sure they’ve all got warrants. I’m guessing they’ll be singing for deals soon as the bars shut.”

“Will do,” Hawkeye confirmed.

Stryker’s attention shifted to Len and the crew leader. “Those two come with us.”

Black Crowns loaded the extras into one set of vehicles. Len and the inspector went into a different one. Gavin watched it pull out without any hint of his easy humor in his eyes.

I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to the two men they weren’t delivering to the police. And I didn’t care. They’d tried to blow me up twice. Set fire to our warehouse. Rigged my display at the veterans’ fundraiser so it was supposed to send a live shell in the audience where children sat with their families. Whatever the Black Crowns did to them, they’d more than earned it.