Page 87 of Long Hard Road

Drake whipped around and Madison pulled Harper several feet to her left. Now they would be out of the line of fire if I had to shoot. I was a good shot and I knew that if I did fire, I would hit my target. But I wasn’t as certain whether the bullet might exit Drake’s body and hit whatever or whoever was behind him.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” His voice was practically a screech now. “You can’t have her! Madi is mine!”

“No,” I said, lining him up through the sight. “She’s not, Drake. She’s mine and I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect her.”

He let out an animalistic sound as he lifted the gun and I didn’t wait to see what would happen next. I fired one shot, right into his shoulder. The gun fell with a loud clang as Drake screamed and clutched the bleeding wound. I had already closed the distance between us and kicked the gun far away, using my free hand to shove him down to his knees. From the way he was bleeding and moaning, I knew he wasn’t going to be a threat. I slid my gun back into my holster.

“Madison, take Harper outside. Ronan is waiting. Let him and any police who may have arrived know that it’s safe to come in.”

I shouldn’t have bothered with the instruction because Ronan was already barreling through the door, looking for a fight. When he realized that it wasn’t someone he cared about who had been shot, his shoulders dropped and then he rushed to Harper’s side.

Two armed officers came strolling in behind him. I was glad that I hadn’t been relying on them to save the day. Neither of them looked old enough to drive, let alone handle a hostage situation. At least they had handcuffs and were able to put them on Drake before leading him outside to a waiting ambulance.

Ronan swooped Harper into his arms and squeezed her tight. Madison was staring at me like I was her hero.

“That was smooth, Sullivan,” she said, sinking against my chest with a sigh. “You shouldn’t have come in here, honey. You could have died.”

I put my arms around her and breathed in deep, savoring her scent and the feel of her body against mine. “You promised you would love me until your last breath. I’m making sure that doesn’t happen for at least sixty years, angel.”

“Sixty?” She tilted her head back and looked at me with a smile. “Make it seventy, Sullivan.”

Seventy years sounded good to me. “I just have one question, angel. Why the hell were you in this empty storefront?”

Her eyes sparkled and she let out a nervous laugh. “Oh yeah. About that…”

31

MADISON

Six Months Later

“From the perspective of a woman who has been almost kidnapped, can I just say that the blindfolded perp walk is a bit extreme?” I blinked against the thick fabric as my feet shuffled forward.

Nate was behind me, chest at my back and hands firmly gripping my arms. “Just trust me, angel. You are going to love this.”

“I usually do whenever you get out a blindfold,” I joked.

“Mind out of the gutter, babe.” He squeezed my arms and pulled me to a stop. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

This had become a regular occurrence since moving into Nate’s house. Every week or two he had some new surprise for me. Most of the time, I would stumble upon it as I went through my daily routine. The espresso machine he bought for me when he learned that I loved lattes just appeared in our kitchen on a random Tuesday morning. A jewelry box he built for me when he saw me putting my jewelry in a plastic container in a drawer had been placed on my dresser without any fanfare. New cubbies in the mudroom for us to put our shoes in because I tripped over his boots one night coming inside after dark. Those had appeared less than a day later.

This surprise was different. For the last six months, anytime he had some free time, Nate had been disappearing into the only room of the house that wasn’t finished. He had been keeping the door locked to prevent me for sneaking a peek once I found out it was a room that he was working on for me. My birthday was tomorrow and he’d just come storming into our bedroom ten minutes ago, tugging me out of bed just as I was about to fall asleep.

If he hadn’t looked so damn sexy with his week-old beard and gray sweatpants low on his hips, I would’ve fought harder to resist. Instead, I’d gamely let him tie a blindfold over my eyes and lead me downstairs and through the house. I figured out quickly that we were headed to the mystery room, but Nate insisted I had to keep the blindfold on or it would ruin the surprise.

“I’m ready, Sullivan. Impress me.”

The blindfold fell away and I was staring at the same closed wood door I’d been passing for the last six months. “It’s…nice.”

“Would you like to make any last guesses about what’s on the other side of the door?” His thumbs slipped under the straps of my camisole.

“It’s not one of those erotic sex rooms is it? With whips and chains hanging from the ceiling.” I yelped when he pinched one of my nipples.

“You can’t even handle a nipple pinch, babe. I don’t think you’re ready for whips and chains.” He pressed a kiss to my neck. “Go on. Open the door.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I pushed open the sliding door and nearly fainted when I saw what was inside. “Oh my god. Nate.” I pressed a hand to my heart and stepped into the room. It was so much better than anything I had imagined.

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