Page 97 of The Last Promise You Made

“Don’t even think of getting up. McKenna’s on her way to check you out.”

“Addy!” My voice was raspy and harsh.

A little body curled into me from the other side, and I removed my gaze from Ryder’s concerned one to find the little girl on the bed next to me. Her eyes were full of the same worry as her father’s.

I hugged her to me, muttering, “I got you,” in my broken voice.

Except, it wasn’t true. I’d let her down.

I’d let them both down.

Ryder’s face shuttered. He tucked his emotions behind a wall that made him look decidedly like Addy when she blanked out. I glanced around, and it took me a minute longer than it should have to realize we were in Ryder’s bed.

“Did they catch them?” I asked.

“Darlin’, stop talking until you’re checked out.” It was a growl that tolerated no argument, and I didn’t have the strength to fight it. Not yet.

The door behind Ryder opened, and his brother entered in a suit similar to the one Ryder was wearing. They’d been at the funeral. Why had Ryder come home early? Thank God he had.

“They’re gone,” Maddox said. “Looks like they had two ATVs parked down by the creek.”

“Where the fuck was the patrol?” Ryder demanded.

“Bruce was knocked out at the bridge. Don’t know where Enrique is.”

Ryder’s jaw flexed, anger simmering through him that I could no longer say wasn’t justified. I still didn’t want to doubt Enrique, but this was the second time he hadn’t been around and the house had been broken into.

We shouldn’t have stayed after the first.

We should have left.

I’d been lulled into placidity. Lulled by lust and the sweetness of a little girl.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Hadn’t Jason Bourne’s love for Marie gotten her killed in the movies? Hadn’t it almost gotten him killed too?

I sat up, squirming in my pocket for my phone. When it wasn’t there, I glanced around.

“No phone. No talking. Not until you get checked out,” Ryder grunted.

“I need to call Leland and the team.”

“Stop talking!” he all but yelled.

Addy flinched next to me, and Ryder was instantly remorseful.

“Addy,” he said softly. “Can you go with Uncle Maddox? He’s going to help you pack a few things to take with you.”

Her face fell before the blank look she’d held so often after I’d found her in the hotel room returned to her face. It had slid away over the last few days because she’d felt safe here. She’d unpacked her things and stayed unpacked. She’d laughed and talked. Tears blurred my vision. I hadn’t kept my promises to her.

As if reading her reaction just as I did, Ryder’s voice was gentle when he said, “It’s just for a few days, sweetheart. Just until we put this behind us for good. You’ll be back. You are going to be safe here with me. I swear on all I love that I will make that statement true.” I felt the force of it in every fiber of my being. He would do anything to keep her safe. If I could feel it in my cynical adult body, I hoped Addy did as well.

Maddox extended his hand, and Addy took it, scooting down to the end of the bed so she didn’t have to climb over me. When they’d gotten to the door, Addy turned back to us. It looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t. Instead, her head and shoulders dropped, and she let Maddox lead her from the room.

The tears I’d been fighting poured over my cheeks.

Ryder turned to face me, and I easily read the anger and determination written there. But he ran a gentle finger over my tears as they fell, wiping at them.

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