Armored Hearts (The Town of Pearl 7)

“Next time, I’m carrying a gun. I could totally have used one of those out there.”

“A gun? I don’t think so,” Fisher teased as he pet the dogs as they all followed.

“Why not? This city girl could do a lot of damage with a gun.”

“That’s exactly what worries me,” Fisher added and they all laughed.

“We’ll see about that, Fisher. You all have a lot to teach me if I’m going to be your country girl.”

“You’ll always be our city girl and our sleeping beauty,” Ford told her.

“Yeah, I kind of like the idea of keeping you in bed, naked at all times. That’s exactly where we can keep you out of trouble,” Fenton told her and they chuckled and added their similar comments.

“Sweetie, you have no idea what kind of trouble I can cause in the bedroom.”

“Now that sounds like a promising proposition,” Grey told her and she smiled. When she went to adjust her body, her ankle ached.

“Oh God it hurts. Do you think it’s broken, Fenton?” she asked him.

“That will be the least thing to worry about,” he replied.

“What do you mean?”

“A wolf either bit you or scratched you. You’re going to need a tetanus shot, sweetie. It’s going to hurt worse than the broken ankle,” Fenton informed her.

“I’m not going. Don’t put me into that truck. I swear, Flynn. I won’t go.” She struggled to get free but every move made her ankle ache worse.

“We’ll be right there with you, baby. We’re going to take good care of you now and forever,” Fisher told her as Flynn set her in the back of the truck while the others gathered inside next. They were calling the sheriff, giving the doctor the heads up that she was coming in and taking complete control of the situation. Flynn held her in his arms and she snuggled against him, just letting her men take care of her. A smile formed on her face as she thought about that statement. Her men. They were her, American soldiers, her lovers, her future, her everything, now and forever.

“India?” Flynn whispered then caressed her hair from her face. “I love you, too,” he said and kissed the corner of her mouth.

“We all love you, baby. We should have told you sooner,” Ford said from the front seat.

“We’ll show how much we love you every day from this moment on,” Grey added.

“I love you, India. I’m so happy that you’re staying. It was killing me to let you go,” Fisher told her.

“First things first, a good, hard spanking, so you never forget that you’re to have one of us with you whenever you leave the house. Enough of this nonsense. You could have gotten eaten alive out there. There are rules to learn and you will learn them because we love you, damn it.” Fenton raised his voice.

India smiled then saluted him.

“Aye-aye, Captain.”

“Wrong branch of the military, sweetheart. A ‘yes, sir’ will do just fine,” Fenton informed her.

“It will do fine in the bedroom, too,” Grey teased and they all agreed as phones began to ring and the chaos started. There was a hell of a lot of explaining to do, and she couldn’t help but to not care at all. She loved her men and they loved her. What else could possibly be more important than that?

Epilogue

It was Ford’s turn to wait up for India. Her flight ran two hours late and it was pure torture waiting for her to get home.

He glanced at the clock. 3:00 a.m. She should be here by now. He looked around the living room, taking in the small details and minor changes she had made to the room. A woman’s touch just seemed to make their home so much more inviting and loving. He couldn’t believe India was living with them, and slowly shifting her business from Chicago to Texas.

It had been ten days since she left this time around, and they were all getting tired of it. Tired of worrying about her. Tired of missing her. Just plain tired of the sacrifices they all were making so that eventually she would be here in their home full-time.

He took a deep breath and released it. She was giving up so much for them. He needed to be more understanding. They all did. The few days before she left, everyone was on edge and looking to fight. She promised that it wouldn’t be much longer and he knew she’d already lined up a few small jobs a few hours away from here. But

it was the torture of not holding her every day and every night. Not seeing her bright smile, her gorgeous hair flowing down her back or that infectious laugh of hers that made them all smile with love and appreciation.