Weight hit my chest like a bullet, throwing me backwards and I hit the ground with a pained thump.
The knowledge of the difference between that and the reality hit me, drawing me out of the dreamscape from hell with a pained groan. Opening my eyes and grabbing my head, I saw that Sadie knelt on the couch with a heaving chest and watching me intently. Studying to see if I'd woken up yet.
"It's me," I said.
"No shit. It's you when you're sleeping too," she snapped back, standing from the couch. "You okay?"
"Yeah," I groaned, staring up at her as she stepped over to offer me a hand and help me up. "We must have fallen asleep." I'd thought lying with her on the couch and cradling her in my arms would be a safe option. Thought there was no chance I could fall asleep there with how uncomfortable we were crammed onto it.
I needed a wider couch.
"You passed out within five minutes of laying down with me," she admitted. "I felt it."
"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked, pushing to sit up and shake off the last vestiges of the dream that lingered in the back of my head. "You've got to wake me up when I fall asleep, Baby Girl. It's the only way to keep you from getting hurt."
"Do I look fucking hurt?" Sadie asked, quirking her brow up and crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying and lack of sleep, her skin pale because no matter how hard I pushed she refused food, but there wasn't so much as a red mark on her from me getting too rough. "Pretty sure you're the one who got knocked on your ass."
Looking over at the couch compared to my position, I realized the little psycho must have kicked me off her body so hard that I tumbled backwards over the arm at her feet.
Fucking Christ, but I loved her.
"I'm not a fragile little girl, Enzo. Sure, you're a little dangerous when you sleep, and we're nowhere near a place where we can sleep together regularly because neither of us will sleep through the night. But the last thing we need to do is avoid falling asleep in each other's arms altogether," she said, going to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and some aspirin. She handed me both, and I grinned at her as I threw them back and swallowed them down.
Rebel inserted herself between us, twining between Sadie's legs and nearly knocking her over. Pride written in every one of her features, she glanced over at me with utter possession on her face. "Hey, Little Monster," Sadie murmured, petting the dog who was more like Sadie than I could have ever guessed when we found her.
My little psycho and her little monster.
"What time is it?" I asked, glancing at the sun rising over the horizon beyond the pool.
"About 6:30," Sadie murmured. "We have that tour of the new location you set up at ten. I'm just going to go hop in the shower and get the day started," she said, making for the stairs. While she was still subdued, more melancholy than she normally was, there was also a boundless determination in her honeyed eyes as she moved.
"You still want to go?" I asked, running a hand through my hair. The thought of her anywhere public after the last couple of days built my anxiety into a pit. But despite the lingering rage I felt for her reckless choice to try to run into a building, there was nothing I would deny her in the face of everything she'd been dealt.
"Of course I want to go. The investigation is still ongoing at the original Fists of Fury. You said we won't be able to get in there to start rebuilding for at least a few weeks, so what better time to focus my energy on the new location? I can't do that until we have a new location," she said.
"It is okay to stop and take a few minutes to relax before you just jump right into the next..." I trailed off, noting the look in her face.
Like talking to a wall with how damn stubborn she was.
"Right," I said, turning to go shower in my own bedroom. As much as I'd have loved to shower with her, I'd just be happy we were even speaking to each other after how much I wanted to throttle her.
The need to hear how she felt about me pulsed through me with every step.
What if Sadie didn't think anything of running into a burning building because she didn't feel the same way I did?
I didn't think I'd let her go regardless.
Sadie took much longer showers than I did. Such was the nature of military precision compared to a woman who loved hot water. So I sat myself on the floor with my back to the couch, occupying myself with a game of tug o’ war with Rebel.
She growled at me playfully, pulling with all the strength in her body.
My phone ringing in my pocket distracted me from our game. “Yeah?” I grunted, pressing it to my ear.
“I’ve got eyes on her,” Seb said. He rattled off a timestamp.
“Shit. I have to take Sadie to tour the new property. Have Ryker snatch her up—”
“You’re going to want to reschedule after you see for yourself. Watch the feed.” He ended the call, leaving me to heft myself up off the floor and make my way to my office. Dread filled my gut like lead as I tapped the touchpad on my laptop. Moving the cursor to the open feed from Tease, I skipped to the time Seb had indicated.