Page 235 of Heart of Frost and Scars

It’s mine.

And by the looks of it, Kody’s, too.

He strides past me, crashes into Monty, and wraps him up in a chest-crushing, balls-slapping embrace that might’ve been awkward under other circumstances. Monty stands there, stark nude and uncertain, with his arms hovering at his sides.

Considering what we’re about to do, about to spend the rest of our lives doing, a naked hug should be foreplay for those two.

“All in.” Monty surrenders to the affection and squeezes his arms around Kody.

“All in.” Kody steps back, breathing hard, and reaches for me.

We come together, our fists buried in each other’s backs.

“We’re going to get our girl,” he whispers, hugging me tighter.

“Yeah, we fucking are.” I smack a kiss on his cheek. “All in.”

We pull apart, grinning and jittery.

“We’re doing this my way.” Monty turns on the shower and ducks his head under the spray. “I lead. Every step of the way. Understood?”

“Tonight only.” I straighten, meeting his eyes. “We’ll see how you do. Then you can negotiate for more.”

A smirk twitches his lips. “Deal.”

54

Frankie

—

I’m exhausted. The kind of bone-deep weariness that hollows out my insides. The trauma unit has a way of sucking the life out of me, one crisis at a time.

As I stand at the nurses’ station, closing out my day on the computer, my thoughts gravitate to my guys. I try to stay busy enough not to let the despair consume me.

But I miss them.

I miss them with an intensity that tortures and slays.

It’s been eighteen days since I left them on that dock. Eighteen days trapped in this hospital with nothing but loneliness and a broken heart to keep me company.

I’ve endured longer separations from them. But this time, it’s different. There’s no expiration date. It could take them months to reconcile.

It could take forever.

But I trust them. I have faith in their love. They’ll pull their stubborn heads out of their asses eventually. They’ll forgive one another. And maybe someday, they’ll forgive me.

On the bright side, it seems the stalker lost track of me. Or hasn’t found a way to torment me in the hospital. Makes me wonder how safe the island is. I often had the feeling someone was watching me there. Not to mention the man-shaped shadows in the windows.

I texted my concerns about this to Monty last week. He replied with, The island is the safest place on Earth.

Typical Monty.

Kody, on the other hand, continues to stalk me from the shadows here. He never lets me see him, but I know he comes every day. The guards confirm it when I ask.

He’s probably creeping into my room and sniffing my undies.

“Oh, my lord.” Nurse Letty runs up and shoves her arm under my nose. “Frankie, check my pulse. Hurry. I think I’m dying.”

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