Page 16 of Rescuing Mary

“And all the customers?”

“They’re fine. Shaken up, but no one was hurt. The assholes were trying to get your manager to open the money vault, like you said. She was in the process of opening the vault when we rushed in. No one was hurt.”

“Thank God.”

“Yeah. Okay, four minutes and we’ll be there. I’ll get the code from the manager. You guys just stay back from the door. We’ll come to you. Tell Em to hang on, okay?”

“I will.”

“Mare?”

“Yeah, Truck?”

“Are you all right? I mean, you and Rayne haven’t exactly been getting along. Is everything okay?”

“Surprisingly, yeah.”

She heard Truck breathe a sigh of relief. “Good. See you soon, baby.”

“Bye.”

The endearment was surprising, but welcome. Truck usually called her Mare when he was being loving, but lately she hadn’t even heard that much. So hearing him call her baby made her heart swell.

She might’ve mended her relationship with her best friend, but she still had a ways to go with Truck.

She’d get there. She had to; the alternative was unthinkable.

She turned to the others. “Truck and the guys are on their way. They came in with that other Delta team and surrounded the robbers. They gave up without shooting anyone.”

“Yay!” Casey exclaimed, and everyone laughed.

“Emily, I know you heard me tell him that you were having some pain, so prepare yourself for going to the hospital,” Mary ordered.

“I wish you hadn’t said anything,” the other woman murmured. “I’m fine.”

“As if,” Mary said, rolling her eyes. “You’re going to the hospital and that’s that. Again, the last thing I want is poor Hank coming out in the bank.”

Everyone burst out laughing at the intentional rhyme.

Mary hadn’t felt as good as she did right this moment in months. She wasn’t sick, she had her best friend back, and she had a new mission…tell Truck that she wanted to change the nature of their relationship.

Four and a half minutes later, all four women turned to look at the door as it slowly opened. Before Mary could blink, Truck was there. He pulled her up from the floor where she’d been sitting, holding Emily’s hand, and had her in his embrace.

He buried his face in her hair and backed away from Fletch, Ghost, and Beatle as they reached for their own women.

Mary’s feet weren’t touching the floor, but the only thing she could concentrate on was Truck and the way he felt and smelled. His arms were like steel bands around her back. With a flash of insight, Mary realized that there was nowhere in the world she felt safer than right here in Truck’s embrace. When he held her, she felt as if nothing and no one could hurt her. The epiphany was a bit late, considering how long she’d been living with him, but it was no less heartfelt.

He smelled amazing too. The body wash he used was nothing fancy, but it permeated every inch of his apartment, even his sheets. Mary frequently switched his pillow with hers right before he came to bed so she could have his scent in her nostrils as she fell asleep.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Truck murmured in her ear.

Mary nodded. “The second I realized something was going on, I got all of us in here and closed the door.”

He eased her away from him and put her back on her feet. Mary felt a twinge of remorse at losing his arms around her, but he grabbed her hands and held on as they talked, making her feel a bit better. “How did you know to come in here?”

“Training,” Mary said immediately. “We’ve had a few security experts come in and teach us the best things to do and what not to do in case of a robbery. Corporate had this vault outfitted with an external phone line. The expert said it was an almost perfect place to hole up since it has its own climate control, soundproofing, and phone line.”

“Thank you,” Ghost said from next to them, obviously overhearing her explanation. “I don’t know what I’d do without Rayne.” He looked down at her and squeezed her waist affectionately.