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“Sorry.” He lets my hand go and takes his phone out of his pocket, checking the screen before he puts it to his ear. I guess the cell phone laws don’t apply to him.

“Dick,” he answers, and I can barely make out the sound of the other guy’s voice.

“All right, I’m on my way back into town now, then I gotta stop by my place, change, and grab my gear, so it’ll be about forty before I’m there.” He pauses. “Yeah, see you soon.” He hangs up and glances over at me. “I need to drop you and Storm off. There was a three-car pileup with a semi involved.”

“Oh my god.” My stomach drops. “Is everyone okay?”

“I won’t find that out until I get there.” He takes my hand again and presses down on the gas. When we get to his house, Storm runs inside ahead of us and goes out the back door while I follow Wyatt down the hall to his room. Taking a seat on the edge of his bed, I watch him change into a black long-sleeve shirt and his black cargo pants and then take a seat on the chair in the corner to put on his boots. Once he’s got his boots on, he gets up and takes his gun out of a safe in the top drawer of his dresser and holsters it at his hip with his eyes on me.

“Sorry about this,” he says softly, walking toward the bed, where I’m sitting.

“It’s okay.” I tip my head back when he stops in front of me and reaches forward, sliding his fingers back into my hair. “I have some laundry to do at home and a ghost to check on.”

Smiling, he shakes his head. “You could stay. There’s food in the fridge; you can find something to eat and hang out until I get back.”

“I . . .”

“Stay,” he says softly, and there is something about his tone that makes my chest feel funny.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” He leans down and brushes his lips across mine. “I don’t know how long I’ll be. If it gets late and you get tired, feel free to dig through my stuff for a tee and to get into bed.” As I nod, his eyes wander over my face before he looks at Storm, who has wandered into the bedroom. “Stay with Genevieve.”

With a huff, Storm looks at me, then Wyatt, before we both watch Wyatt walk out the room. Hearing the front door close, I look at Storm, then glance around Wyatt’s bedroom and fall to my back on his bed.

“What are you doing, Genevieve?” The universe doesn’t answer, but Storm decides in that moment to jump up on the bed and put his face in mine. “Do you want a treat?” I ask, and he jumps so hard my whole body bounces with the mattress. “Okay, let’s go get some food.”

I get up and wander into the kitchen, with Storm following, and heat up some leftover pot roast along with some roasted asparagus and feed him a few treats as I eat leaning against the counter. When I’m done, I wash my plate, then go to the living room and get comfortable on Wyatt’s couch with his dog, the remote, and my phone and wait for him to get home.

Chapter 20:

Downfall

Wyatt

Unlike every other time I’ve come home since the day I picked up Storm from the breeder, he’s not there to greet me when I open the door. I see why when I step into the house and find Genevieve asleep with Storm lying in the crook of her knees at the back of the couch. With his head up, he watches me shut the door and looks like he might get up until I hold up my hand in a silent order for him to stay. I go down the hall to my bedroom and strip out of my clothes, then walk across the hall to the shower. After I wash the scent of smoke and gas from my skin, I put on a pair of boxers and my sleep pants, then go back to the living room. Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, I turn to the TV, shaking my head when I see that she was watching some show about aliens, or that is what is playing now. I turn it off and toss the remote down, then lift Genevieve from the couch.

“Wyatt.” She wraps her arms around my neck, clinging to me.

“Shhhh.” I bury my face in her hair and carry her down the hall to my room. Putting her on her feet at the side of the bed, I say, “Do you want to sleep in what you got on?”

“No.” She looks down at herself. “What time is it?” she asks sleepily while I grab her a tee from my dresser.

“After midnight.” I pass her the shirt, then watch her kick off her jeans. I turn my head as she changes into my shirt, then take the clothes she took off and toss them to the chair in the corner of the room.

“Get into bed, baby.” She doesn’t hesitate, and as soon as she’s in, I slide in next to her and shut off the lamp. When she shivers, I pull her against me and rest my chin on the top of her head.

“Did you eat dinner?”

Fuck.

Squeezing my eyes closed, I lie. “Yeah, baby, I ate.”

“Okay,” she whispers, curling herself into a ball against my chest. “Was everyone okay?”

“Go to sleep, Genevieve.”

“Just tell me.” Her hand slides up my chest, and my eyes slide closed.