Page 203 of Master of My Life

They’d left Castel on the floor. Chase didn’t know if he was alive. Hoped he was. He deserved to

lie there and die over the next several days. Chase should have broken his legs and other arm so he

couldn’t move. Breaking his face and one arm didn’t seem like justice. The rest of Castel’s men had

died of acute lead poisoning from Sydney’s team.

Sabrina. His poor Sabrina. It was a miracle she’d survived there for so long. A miracle she’d

escaped to Boston. His heart ached for her. He wanted to crawl into bed with her and hold her and

kiss her. He wanted to keep her safe from every evil in the world. No wonder she had nightmares.

He reluctantly stood and turned off the water. Sydney wanted to debrief after everyone had

cleaned up.

Ten minutes later, he walked into Sydney’s hotel room. The men sat on the couch, staring blankly

into nothing. Most had a crystal glass in hand half-filled with amber liquid. Chase walked to the wet

bar and poured one for himself.

Sydney walked in from the bedroom, drying her hair with a towel. “I heard from the hospital. The

girls are all stable and Brittany’s parents are with her.”

“That was fast,” Chase said.

“They flew into town this evening. They wanted to see their daughter as soon as she was free.”

Chase nodded. He didn’t blame them.

The debrief was hard and more than one guy had to stop in the middle of a sentence to clear his

throat when reporting a particularly gruesome detail. Finally, they were done and one by one, they

said goodnight. It was two in the morning.

Chase stood to leave, but Sydney stopped him. “Let me look at those bruises before you go to

bed.”

He looked at his hands. He hadn’t noticed the cuts and bruises that marked the back of them. She

grabbed a first aid kit and motioned to the couch. “You’ve got a couple on the face too.”

“Didn’t realize he hit me.”

She gave a wry laugh. “He got in a few before he hit the ground.”

“Didn’t feel it.” She dabbed something that stung onto his cheek and below his eye. Her face was

so close, Chase could smell her lotion. “You still wear that stuff?”

She smiled. “It’s my signature.”

He chuckled. “I’d recognize it anywhere.”

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