Page 26 of All In

I feel terrible about not warning him I’ve already had some water, but my mouth is dry, and my stomach feels fine.

“Thanks.”

He tilts the bottle to my lips, giving me the tiniest baby sip of water.

I huff, trying to tilt the bottle farther, but he’s strong.

He pulls back the bottle and leans against the kitchen counter. “See, you’ve got to take it slow, but I don’t think your body will let you right now.”

“I’m fine,” I grunt, making a grab for the bottle. He holds it out of my reach, and my eyes narrow.

I could probably climb him too.

He looks sturdy enough.

“Give it thirty seconds, and I’ll hook you up again.” He grins. “Please don’t shank me. You’ve got murder eyes, and I’m too pretty to die.”

An unexpected bubble of laughter slips out.

Tanner is cute. He’s got a thicker build than Ranger, with more pronounced muscles. Even with full tactical gear covering his frame, it’s easy enough to tell he’s a strong guy. He has laugh lines around his eyes and mouth when he smiles, which tells me he’s a happy-go-lucky type of person.

His straight, blondish-brown hair falls over his forehead as he stares down at me with his blue eyes sparkling. “Are you feeling okay? Ready for another sip?”

“Yeah,” I agree, licking my dry lips. “Please.”

“Don’t fight me this time.” He chuckles, bringing the bottle to my lips. The cool water fills my mouth, feeling like the most refreshing thing I’ve ever tasted. He pulls it away all too quickly, and my foot bounces against the floor as I pout. “I know it sucks, but trust me. If you overdo it and start puking, you’ll be in even worse shape.”

“Oh, yeah? Have you been kidnapped before?”

“No.” His head shakes as he frowns. “But I did two tours in the sandbox. You don’t know hell until you’ve puked up bile and all the fluids you just took in. The headache that comes after…” He sighs. “Just let me save you from that.” Warm, scratchy fingers brush my cheek, and his thumb barely caresses the bruise on my jaw. “What happened here?”

“I tried to run.” I shrug. “One of them caught me by the hair, and my face bounced against the wall.”

“So, they didn’t…”

They screamed at me a lot, made a bunch of threats I don’t want to think about, and acted like I was stupid, but in reality, I couldn’t give them information I didn’t have.

“They didn’t hit me or rape me.”

He grimaces, rearing back, like he wants to get away from my words. “Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah,” I agree, refusing to meet his eyes.

It was bad, but it could have been so much worse.

Tanner gives me a little less than a quarter of the bottle and accompanies me back outside, but everyone is gone.

He shrugs. “It’s cold. Do you want my shirt? It won’t do much, but it’s better than nothing.”

“I want out of this disgusting dress and a fresh pair of underwear.” My face burns as my gaze falls to my bare feet. “Sorry, I’m exhausted.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” he says. “I’m a shitty savior. I just realized that you’re barefoot. Come on.” He holds out an arm. “I’m not going to stand here waiting for someone to come back for us. Let me carry you around to the front. If nothing else, we can wait in one of the SUVs.”

“Do you know where my sister is?” I ask, moving closer. “I really need to call her and let her know I’m all right.”

He scoops me up like a bride. “I was a late addition to this party, so I don’t have all the information. You’ll need to talk to Ranger.”

My eyes narrow as I tilt my face up to study his. Something in his tone immediately sets me on edge.

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