Page 94 of Rescuing Brinley

Then something else occurred to her. “My car is okay?”

She hadn’t meant to be funny, but hearing the small chuckle from Dash lightened her heart just a little.

“Your Outback is fine.”

“Good. Because it’s a really reliable car.” She forgot about how sore she was, but when she turned her neck to look at the detective once more, she hissed in pain as she tweaked it with the small move.

“Are we done here?” Dash asked, his tone harsh once more.

“Yeah, I think we are. If I have any more questions, I’ll be in touch. I’m glad things turned out the way they did. That you survived and you’re going to be okay.”

“Me too,” Brinley agreed.

The officer picked up his phone, clicked on a button to end the recording, nodded at each of them in the room, and headed for the door.

The enormity of what she’d been through hit Brinley like a ton of bricks. She was suddenly so tired, it was taking every ounce of energy she had to keep her eyes open. Dash was as in tune with her as always. He leaned over her and kissed her forehead with a whisper-soft brush of his lips to her skin.

“Sleep, hon.”

Brinley grabbed his shirt in panic. “Don’t go!”

“Shhhh, I’m not going anywhere. I’m just going to see Zero and Atlas out, then I’ll be right back.”

She felt stupid and weak for panicking. “Sorry. Right.”

“Close your eyes. I’ll be right here.”

She nodded and did as he asked, mostly because her body wasn’t giving her a choice. The pain meds the doctor had given her were finally kicking in, and it felt as if she weighed eight hundred pounds.

Brinley heard Dash speaking quietly to his friends, then the door opened. She felt, more than saw, that she was alone with Dash once more.

The mattress dipped when he sat back down, and she couldn’t help but smile, even though it hurt her lip, as he ever so gently repositioned her so that he could lie down. Brinley draped herself over him, and the feel of his wide chest under her cheek felt like heaven. At one point, she thought she’d never get to experience this again.

But she’d won. She’d beat the odds. And she was here with the man she loved. A contented sigh left her lips as she let her body go limp against Dash.

“I love you. I’m going to marry you. And if it’s what you want, I want to have babies with you. Adorable kids with your freckles and red hair. Your strength of steel. Your kindness. I want it all with you, Brin. I told myself that if I found you alive, that I wouldn’t let one day go by without making sure you knew how much I loved you and how important you are to me.”

She wanted to cry. She didn’t have the strength, but his words soothed a hurt she’d carried for most of her life. When she was feeling especially mean, her mom used to point out that if Brinley ever had kids, they’d be just as ugly as her. That Callista would have beautiful babies, but hers would be abominations. She hadn’t thought she’d ever want to have children, was afraid they’d have to go through the hell she had as a child and young adult.

But hearing Dash’s words gave her the strength to turn off the ugly things her mother had said for good. Screw her. She was the ugly one. Inside and out. Brinley actually felt sorry for the miserable life she led…desperately clinging to the rapidly fading glory of her beauty queen daughter.

She tightened the arm she had around Dash’s chest before relaxing once more.

“I’m sorry I didn’t ask you about moving in. I just…I couldn’t stand to think about not having you with me for one more night.”

“S’okay.”

“Love you, Brin.”

“Love you too.”

“Sleep. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

He had her. That was all Brinley needed to hear before her body and mind shut down, secure in the knowledge that with Dash by her side, she was as safe as she could get.

EPILOGUE

Shadow glared at the flowers on the small dining room table he’d bought so he and Brinley didn’t have to eat while sitting on the couch anymore. There were a lot of changes that had been made since moving her into his apartment. The first was—they were no longer in his apartment. It was immediately obvious they’d needed more space. She had a lot of stuff, and he’d been more than willing to find a bigger rental.