Page 24 of Summer with a Ranger

I closed my eyes. You stupid fucking, brave, wonderfully goofy man. Marco would have killed him before but now he’d take Hudson’s tongue, his fingers, and probably some other part of his anatomy and feed it to him before he bled out on the yacht’s deck.

“A fake ring.” Marco raised his chin, glaring down his nose at the man handcuffed across the room.

A tiny twitch in Hudson’s shoulders drew my attention to the man who had been handcuffed a moment ago.

Boy’s got skills.

Maybe we weren’t dead yet.

CHAPTER TEN

HUDSON

I gave Skye the same dopey grin I gave Marco, like I didn’t believe the situation for a minute, but this time my gaze held a message in it.

It seemed my ace in the hole turned up on time...just as planned.

Because like Skye, Archer gave me a different mission. I just hadn’t realised how in depth hers was...or how personal.

Skye stalled, her breath shortening as she watched me, and swept a hand across her back and came up empty. That didn’t come as a surprise; I didn’t expect her to be packing in the dress she wore.

The way the asshole had his hands on her, however...that did need addressing.

The ring on her finger might be fake but the intention wasn’t. She mine to love, and I’d protect her like she was, even if she decided otherwise the minute we were out of here and the man all too familiar with her sexy as fuck body. I Kept that stupid ass expression on as I loosened the handcuffs around my wrists. A pro of having a boss who was an ex-cop for many decades before he switched services. That man taught us all sorts of little tricks, and right now I was damn glad of that one.

My helping hand shifted behind Marco. Thanks to Skye’s breasts suddenly pressed to his chest and the paw she allowed to grope her ass, he didn’t notice the speed a big man can move at, or the gun pressed to the back of his head. Brodie nodded to me and disappeared back into the shadows. It seemed that was the man’s natural habitat.

Right now, this was my rodeo. If I fucked up, he was there to clean up the mess–not save my ass.

“Let the pretty girl go, and we only have a small problem.” I dangled the handcuffs in front of Marco's face.

Skye huffed a laugh. “Give me those.” She jumped for them and Marco spun, his hand on her waist and his other in his pocket.

I didn’t think twice. I fired.

He stood before me, a blank look on his face before his body crumpled, a hole decorating his temple.

“Born and bred in Texas,” I said softly.

My gaze caught and held Skye’s as someone cheered behind us. I didn’t hear anything else while Brodie worked crowd control. I had no idea if I was headed for jail but the concept of not seeing Skye again hurt more than anything else.

Ignoring any threat around us, I reached for her and for once, she came to me without a fight, letting me claim her mouth in a kiss bred by pure desperation on a party night at Love Beach.

****

Three hours later and with a lot of repetition on our respective stories, Skye and I were back in our pink as fuck apartment at Garden House. Brodie pulled rank, which sat well with the FBI agent who also lurked on the yacht, and things moved quickly after that.

Apparently Archer had a deal with an undercover cop and slipped us into an ongoing investigation on Marco Torrino...with slightly unexpected results. No one planned for more than an arrest to take place, but Skye became the wild card Marco apparently obsessed about for years once they split. And now I was left with a shaking girl who refused to talk or do anything else than let me hold and kiss her.

Hey, it was a start. I’d take that, considering I just killed the last man she was with on any permanent basis, from what she said to the local cops But she didn’t say anything else to me. At least, not yet.

Skye shifted in my arms, burrowing closer. “Winungging?” she asked into my shirt.

I’d go with it, needing the skin to skin contact, but I didn’t think she’d appreciate that after the way her ex mauled at her.

“Say that again?” I asked softly, stroking her hair.

“I said,” –she came up for air– “why aren’t you running all the way back to Texas without me?”

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