Page 62 of Rock Bottom

I yanked open the top drawer and let out a curse asI moved everything around. There were only two things missing: Dante’s phone,and the taser I kept for back up. Fuck.

Don’t panic, Church. Take stock. Finish the search first and get back to Dante ASAP.

I climbed the ladder to the loft. The room was more of a wreck than usual, but it was impossible to tell if that was because someone had tossed the place, or if Dante had just been in a hurry to get ready for the fishing trip.

After checking under the beds, in the closets, and behind every curtain, I determined that whoever had been there was gone and went back outside to fetch Dante. He was lounging on one of the deck chairs with his feet up, scrolling through his phone.

Well, at least I knew where that went.

I crossed my arms and stood over him. “You’re supposed to ask before you take your phone, Dante.”

He flashed me a sheepish grin. “I wanted a picture of my first fish. Though I guess that didn’t happen.” His smile fell, and he sighed, sitting up. “What took you so long?”

“Someone searched the house while we were away,” I said. “Tossed every room.”

Dante’s eyes widened. “Do you think it was Oscar?”

“I don’t know who else it would be, but we can check the CCTV to be sure. He’s gone now, but I’d like you to stay within eyesight of me for a bit, just in case.”

“You’ll get no objections from me,” Dante said, jumping up.

I opened the back door, and he walked into the living room.

“Jesus,” he muttered. “He really ripped the place apart.”

“Any idea what he might be looking for?” I asked.

Dante shook his head. “No clue, but he must’ve had something specific in mind to do all this.” He shrank back against me. “I don’t like this, Church.”

I didn’t either. Oscar was getting more bold. Next time he decided to pay a visit, he might not wait until we were out of the house.

“I hate to admit this, Dante,” I started gently, “but it may not be safe for you here anymore. Maybe we should consider moving you to the bunker.”

“No,” he said, spinning around. “If I go there, we’ll never be alone again.”

I sighed and put my hands on his shoulders. “I can’t let anything happen to you.” And not just because it was my job to protect him. The mere thought of Oscar ever getting his hands on my Dante again sent a spike of anger through me. I wanted to find the little bastard and wring his bloody neck just to make sure he couldn’t touch Dante again. I lifted one hand to Dante’s face, gently stroking a thumb across his jaw. “Keeping you safe has to be my priority, even if it means we can’t…”

He caught my hand and squeezed. “One more night. Give us one more night, and then you can call Boone.”

I sucked in a deep breath and glanced around at the mess. It’d take most of the afternoon and evening just to clean the place up. I’d sent Nina home early when we went fishing and I wasn’t going to call her back now, not after all she’d been through. It was probably a bad idea, but dammit, I wasn’t ready for this to end.

“All right,” I agreed. “But you have to stay with me all night.”

Dante smirked. “Trust me, kitten, I was planning to.”

A quick review of the CCTV footage revealed it had been Oscar after all, but there was still no telling what he’d been searching for. I felt like hot garbage. Not only did I ruin one of Church’s favorite activities, but now we had to spend the first part of our last evening together cleaning up the mess Oscar had left behind. I needed to make it up to him.

It felt good to work side by side with Church, our shoulders occasionally brushing as we picked up scattered papers and righted overturned furniture. There was an easy rhythm between us, a closeness and intimacy even in the mundane tasks. It was easy to see us doing this forever.

Well, maybe not picking up a room that’d been tossed by my stalker. That I didn’t want to do ever again. Doing boring, domestic stuff like picking up and cleaning house? Hell yeah, I was there for it. Weird, considering I’d never enjoyed doing anything domestic my entire life. But for Church, I’d even wash the dishes. By hand. If that wasn’t love, I didn’t know what was.

As night fell, we finished straightening the last room. I collapsed onto the couch with a sigh, pulling Church down beside me. He wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders and I leaned into his solid warmth, savoring his scent, shaving cream, warm, earthy tea, and man.

I buried my nose against his chest. “I don’t want this to end. I wish we could stay here forever, just the two of us.”

Church pressed a tender kiss to the top of my head. “I know, love. But your safety has to come first.”

I looked up at him, something swelling in my chest. “Say that again.”

---