Page 67 of Guarded from Corruption

As I head back to my apartment, my mind is full of Jade.

First, how will she react to the news from the meeting? It’s mostly good, but I worry it could be triggering. Hearing about more clients being arrested, women found, the sheer magnitude of this organization…

If Jade hadn’t escaped, when would it have been discovered? How long would she have been there? Would she have been sold, like the dozens of other women?

I feel ill just thinking about it. And I’m so damn thankful Jade’s the person she is—so smart and stubborn and determined to get out of there.

I would have searched for her. No doubt Shea would have contacted me soon, worried when she didn’t hear from Jade. And I would have gotten my teammates to help. We would have used everything at our disposal to find Jade. But who knows what might have happened to her while she waited?

Fuck. It’s thoughts like those that give me nightmares.

But then I wake up and hold Jade and remind myself, she’s here. She’s safe. I won’t let anyone hurt her again.

Which brings me to the other thing. I’m almost certain I’m going to ask Jade to move in with me. Tonight.

Maybe I can run into town to pick up takeout from that new barbeque place Jade’s been wanting to try. Buy some flowers. And after dinner, I’ll rub Jade’s back while we watch a movie, and somewhere in there, I’ll ask if she wants to stay at B and A. With me.

Hopefully, the answer will be yes, and then I can carry Jade to bed to celebrate.

And now I’m thinking about making love to Jade.

How right it feels. How it’s so much more than just sex.

How she looks at me with so much love in her eyes. So much trust.

Jade looks at me like I’m her everything.

Man. I feel like I’m in one of the movies she makes me watch. The ones where there’s always a happy ending and the man will do anything to be with the woman he loves.

I’d do anything for Jade.

As I let myself into the apartment, I’m already smiling. Even though I’ve only been in meetings for a couple of hours, it feels like I’ve been away from Jade for hours.

Another reason why I need her to move in with me.

“Niall!” I’m barely through the door before Jade slams into me, hugging me tightly.

For a moment, fear constricts my chest. Is she scared? Did I leave for too long? Did she have a bad flashback?

But then she tilts her head back to look at me with sparkling eyes and a bright smile, and the band of fear releases. “Sweetheart.” I hug her with one arm and stroke her hair with the other. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” She goes up on her toes to kiss me. “But I was busy. So it was okay.”

“Oh? What were you doing?” I know Jade’s been a little antsy lately, wanting more to do now that everything at HQ is basically finished. She reads a lot, and she’s been keeping up on medical stuff for her job, plus there’s some craft stuff Georgia sent last week—knitting and little paint kits and stuff—but it’s still not enough for someone as intelligent and driven as Jade.

Her smile goes even bigger. “I have a surprise for you.”

I cup her cheek, stroking my thumb across those adorable freckles. “A surprise for me?”

“Yes. You do so much for me, and I want to do something for you. I’m kind of limited, since I can’t leave yet, but I’ve been planning, and?—”

“You don’t have to do things for me.” I don’t want Jade worrying about me on top of everything else.

Her eyebrows jump up and she gives me an are you serious look. “Niall. Of course I want to do things for you. I love you.”

Oh. How can I argue against that?

And I don’t remember the last time someone surprised me. Not counting Matt’s pranks, like the fake ants in my sheets, which isn’t exactly a fun kind of surprise.

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