“I’ll go with you,” Kai stated. She opened her mouth, but Kai continued, “You’re sexy as hell wearing a lab coat and I want to watch you work.” Then he looked at me. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah. Fine thanks.”
He nodded. Rocket then bleated a piercing sound and stomped as if he were pissed none of us were paying attention to him.
Kai tensed and the laidback calm vanished. “You need to deal with that fuckin’ goat, braveheart.” He gestured with his chin to Rocket. “He head-butts any part of that car, he’s meeting my knife.”
“The vet took him off the meds. He’s a little more rambunctious than usual.” London smiled at him. But Kai was done with the niceties.
“Don’t give a shit if the vet gave him a brand new fuckin’ leg and a new heart. Get him off the car.”
“I’ll get the chips.” I dipped back into the barn. Rocket was stubborn, but he had a weakness— potato chips—and we found that out because he stole an entire bag out of Danny’s hand three weeks ago. So now we kept chips in the feed room, a padlocked feed room.
I heard Kai say, “Babe. Told you, I don’t want one. Give you anything, but no pets in the house.” I couldn’t hear London’s reply but I heard Kai’s. “I’m not sharing you with anything. Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Did you make an appointment?”
When I came back with the chips, I lured Rocket off the roof then London and I took Kai on a tour of the finished house for the kids. It was more of a mansion than a house. It was Tristan and Chess’s design to make sure the place was like any other house and didn’t look like a cold, sterile facility.
Afterward, Kai dropped me at Avalanche for my shift as London had gone straight from the Center to university. The escort with Vic or Tyler to and from work had stopped a couple days ago since there’d been no sign of Connor. Deck told me all leads had turned up empty and while they were going to keep looking, other jobs required their attention. London informed me that they were ‘visiting’ all known Vault associates to make certain everyone knew Kai was in charge of its new direction with Deck.
When I got home after my insanely busy shift, I had a quick shower and for the first time in a month, I fell asleep within minutes.I woke to heated breath against my neck and a graveled whisper. “Baby.”
My eyes flew open. “Connor?”
“Yeah,” he said against my neck, his lips vibrating on my skin.
He spooned me from behind, one arm locked around my waist, his palm settled on my abdomen and his hard body pressed against me with only a sheet between us.
My heart pounded and stomach flipped. But it wasn’t just a flip; it was a long drawn out one like I was riding up that first hill on a roller coaster, not knowing what to expect.
Anticipation. Fear. Excitement. All whirled around inside me like a tiny tornado. And I was holding on for dear life because I really wasn’t sure why, after a month, Connor suddenly showed up in my bed.
In my bed.
In the house.
Oh, shit. I pushed at his arm as panic hit. “The alarm.” Deck and the guys would come here. “There’s a silent alarm that—”
Connor clamped me down with one leg thrown over mine and his chest half on top of me. “It’s good.”
What did he mean it’s good? It’s good that in five minutes Deck, or worse, scary Vic shows up, busts down the door, and storms into my bedroom? That so wasn’t good.
My palms pushing on his chest had no effect, but I pushed anyway. “It’s not good.”
I’d make up something. Tell them I forgot to disarm the alarm when I went outside to sit on the porch.
Shit, Deaglan. It wouldn’t be a few minutes before one of the guys got here. Deaglan was downstairs and would be upstairs in five seconds if the alarm went off. It could be going right now and I had no idea.
I wanted more than anything for Connor to get help, but I didn’t want it to happen by them catching him here. And I was pretty sure that wouldn’t go over well with Connor.
“You have to go.”
Connor wasn’t paying attention to me or if he was he didn’t appear concerned that his ex-military buddies were going to find out he was here and in my bed.
Instead, he kissed below my ear and shivers danced across my skin. I really didn’t want Deaglan to walk in, so despite the shivers and sweet clenches, I shoved as hard as I could on his chest while sliding out from under his caged arm.
“Stop,” he ordered before my feet hit the floor. “I disarmed it. And your guard dog downstairs isn’t home. He’s with Kai.” Deaglan was with Kai? “They’ve eased up on their surveillance.”