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CHAPTER 6
THIS is ridiculous,
Max muttered as he drove down the interstate. “I never should have let you talk me into this. ”
Callie huddled in the blanket Max had wrapped around her and adjusted the heater vent to hit her more squarely.
“I just took some more ibuprofen. My fever will break soon,” she said, trying to control her chattering teeth.
“You can barely talk,” Max said. “And your throat hurts. You have chills and fever and you have no business getting on a plane. I should check you into a hotel and have your dads or brothers come get you. ”
“Don’t you dare,” Callie growled. “I can lie down on your plane same as I can lie down at home in my bed. What’s the difference?”
“The difference is you’d have someone to fuss over you, you’d have a more comfortable bed, and you wouldn’t be out in the cold and snow. ”
She made a disgruntled sound and burrowed deeper into her blanket. “Lauren needs us both. I can use my sickness as a trump card. If she starts arguing, I’ll feign weakness and be pitiful. Then she’ll have to come so you can whisk me back home to my sickbed. ”
Max shook his head. “You’re diabolical. ”
She grinned around her quivering lips. “You love that about me. ”
He shot her an amused look. “I love you more when that evil streak isn’t aimed at me. ”
For a moment she stared at him, suddenly struck, as she was so often, by how much she adored this man. Was he perfect? Oh hell no. He’d made his fair share of mistakes. But he’d done everything in his power to make up for those mistakes. He showed her every day how much he loved and adored her. He took care of her. He showered her with affection. She was one spoiled woman and she loved every minute of it.
“Do I even want to know what you’re thinking?” he asked with a resigned sigh.
“I love you,” she said softly.
His eyes darkened and his fingers tightened around the wheel. “I love you too, dolcezza. I give thanks every day that you are able to love me after all we’ve been through. ”
She smiled and reached over to lace her fingers through his. He raised her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her palm.
“What’s done is done. It does neither of us any good to dwell on the past. Not when our future is so very bright. ”
Max gripped her hand for a long moment and he swallowed almost as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t. When he finally spoke, it was to change the subject entirely.
“Are you comfortable? Perhaps you should sleep for a while. We still have an hour and a half until we get to the airport. ”
She leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes, willing to let him veer into neutral territory. She knew he still lost sleep when he remembered how close he’d come to losing her. “I think you’re right. I feel like a wet noodle. I want to be rested for when we meet Lauren. ”
“Sleep then, love. I’ll wake you when we get to the plane. ”
DESPITE her protests, Max carried her, wrapped in the blanket from his SUV, onto his jet. He made sure the pilot had warmed the interior and was ready to go the moment they arrived.
Within minutes they took off and Max didn’t wait long to unbuckle her and pull her into his arms once more. He carried her back to the lounge area to a comfortable leather couch, and he settled onto it, holding her against his chest.
She dozed for most of the flight. Max woke her up once to give her more medicine when he noted that she was once again shivering and then she drifted back off, snuggled deeply into his embrace.
By the time they landed in New York, some of the bone-deep chill had worn off. Callie felt wrung out, but at least she wasn’t so cold she couldn’t function. What she needed most now was a bath to wash off all the sweat and the sticky sensation. But she didn’t want to delay even a moment in going to get Lauren.
It amused Max that she insisted the pilot remain on standby. They wouldn’t be more than a few hours—over her dead body were they going to remain in a city with the asshole loose who’d beaten Lauren.
Even sick, grumpy, having a sore throat, and feeling like complete crap, she was a woman on a mission.
Max whisked her into a waiting car and directed the driver to take them to the apartment where he’d relocated Lauren.
“And you’re sure she’s okay?” Callie asked anxiously as she watched traffic drive through melting puddles of snow.
Max put his hand over hers. “Relax, dolcezza. I get hourly reports from the men I hired to guard her. She goes nowhere without their protection. No one gets into her apartment without their knowledge and consent. She’s safe. ”
She blew out her breath. Yes, if Max had hired someone to protect his sister, he would have hired only the best. Still, she’d feel much better when Lauren was back home with them in the midst of Callie’s loving family.
At times like this, a girl needed family above all else. Callie was going to make sure Lauren had it.
Thirty minutes later, they pulled up to an apartment building.
