No pulse. No respiration.
The bastard was dead.
In the distance, he heard the approaching sirens. He closed his eyes and took a moment--that had been too damn close. Then he stood and untied her legs. "I'm leaving the arm tied, baby," he said gently. "I don't want to touch that until you're with a doctor."
She nodded, her face a mass of rising bruises. "I knew you'd come." Her voice emerged soft and gravelly. "Some wild police action totally trumps horny women drooling over you."
He laughed. A real laugh. "God, I love you," he said.
"I know," she whispered, her eyes bright with meaning. "I love you, too."
Chapter Sixteen
Taylor sighed as Landon carried her into her apartment, careful of her broken arm that, for reasons she couldn't remember, they'd had to cast in old-fashioned plaster. Even after the horror of the last time she was here, it was nice to be home after two full days in the hospital.
He took her into the bedroom, then put her down gently on the bed before sitting gingerly beside her. "What can I get you?"
"You're here. What else do I need?"
He took her hand, one of the few body parts that wasn't bruised. Beau had beat the shit out of her, then broken her arm by twisting it behind her back. The pain had almost been unbearable, but she'd been able to stand it because she knew that for every moment he tortured her, that was another moment of time for Landon to come closer.
She'd never doubted he was coming. And in those long, horrible stretches with Beau, she also knew that being with Landon was the only thing that mattered. Any debate left in her head about where to live had completely vanished. The only place she wanted to be was with him.
And when he'd said those three little words to her, she knew what it was she was surviving for--them.
"In that case, there's something I need to tell you."
Her smile hurt, but was worth it. "More than that you love me?"
"I'll tell you that as much as you want. And that's part of it. I want us, Taylor. And I hope you do, too."
She nodded, then saw the relief in his eyes.
"I know you want the Hollywood thing. Or New York. What theater grad doesn't? And I just want you to know we can make that work. I can do private security. I have contacts in both places. So don't think that you have to be tied to where I am. I can move. For you, I'm happy to move."
"But you love your job."
He nodded. "I love you more."
Her body felt light with happiness. "Well, I guess we have that in common." She lifted the side of her mouth that didn't hurt into a smile. "But I don't want New York or LA."
"But--"
"I did," she continued. "But I changed my mind."
He cocked his head as if he didn't believe her.
"Really," she said. "And not just because you love your job here. It's because I love my life here. Our friends. Your cute little house. Your parents. I never expected when I became Taylor that I'd grow roots here, but I have. I don't want to be Eulalie again. I don't want to start over. Not now, anyway. Especially when Austin has tons of film and television opportunities."
He was studying her face. "You mean that."
It was a statement, not a question, but she nodded anyway. "I'd been thinking about it before Beau did his horror movie routine on me. But that solidified it, you know?"
"Yeah," he said. "I definitely do."
"If we want to be coastal later, we
can. But we can make the decision together."