Page 68 of Protection for Nichole

“You’re my wife. This is better than I’d ever assumed it would be. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get married, and now we’re together.”

“Yeah, I’m glad. Doing it today was the right thing. I love you, and I’m so glad you were good with doing the wedding today.”

“I want to have Thario over to thank him for all he did.”

“Yes. He saved me. I love him for it.”

“Frog really loves you.”

Nichole threw back her head, laughter spilling out. “You aren’t lying. That dog is very intuitive and good.”

“He’s good for Thario.”

She nodded. “He is.”

Jay handed her a towel. “Want anything to eat?”

She shook her head. “No, I just want your arms around me.”

Jay took her to bed, holding her all night. He would have to make sure no one else would come after her. Shine hadn’t held back when he’d taken Devon down to the ground. Jay wasn’t one bit sad about the injuries Davon had suffered. It was his fault for thinking he could sell Nichole.

The next morning, he was more thankful than ever that Nichole wanted to be a part of his life. She made everything better. They made love before showering, then made love in the shower again.

After breakfast, they started looking at places they could go where he could wear his Speedo, and she could wear the nearlysee-through bikini. They were on her computer when it flashed that she had mail.

She clicked on the message, and he read it over her shoulder. The email was from the publisher who was interested in her story. The offer made his breath catch.

“Oh God, that’s a lot of money.”

Her lips spread wide. “Well, that means I probably won’t be traveling much over the next few years. I’ll take some reporter gigs, but I’m not traveling into war zones to get the story.”

He turned so their gazes met. “You know, you can still travel for work.”

She nodded. “I know. But I want to be close to you. Yesterday showed me how easily it could all be taken away. Plus, I kind of want to focus on women who have disappeared. I figured I would write an article about Linda, the politician who that jerk abducted. I may have to travel a little for that, but it won’t be like some of my other stories. Maybe I’ll write a book about her. The world should know.”

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Nichole really was a great person. She cared, which was one thing that really had attracted him to her. She was compassionate and kind. She loved him with her whole heart, and he wanted to give her the same kind of love.

“Meeting you was more than me being lucky. You changed everything for me.”

She pushed back and met his gaze, love shining in her eyes. “Meeting you was everything. I’m happy you’re in my life.”

“You are my life.” Jay leaned in and brushed his lips over hers in the sweetest kiss that rocked him to his toes. Life with Nichole would be amazing, and he was glad they’d tied the knot, cementing their relationship with love.

Chapter 56

Dwight “Shine”Boon jerked awake, gasping for breath. It took him a moment to realize he was fine and at home. He wasn’t at risk of dying or being hurt. It had been a dream.

Disgust slid through him. It had been years since his mind had twisted and tied itself in knots over that memory. The nightmare felt real, but that had happened long ago, and the memory should be buried. But it never would go away. Something had triggered his mind to recall that terrible night. What was wrong with him?

He stood, wiping his hand over his face, trying to clear out the weird feelings. Years had passed since he’d woken in a sweaty mess, trying to figure out if she would die or make it to safety.

After he finished brushing his teeth, he stood at the mirror, staring at his reflection. How had he survived? How had they both survived? That one night was forever imprinted on his mind, twisted into the emotions he kept buried deep inside.

One thing the plane crash had given him was the confidence that he could get through BUDs. He had survived the impossible and knew he could survive BUDs. It had kept him going, kepthim alive during difficult missions, and he was grateful for the inspiration. But waking up after dreaming that the woman he’d shared his first kiss with was dead shook him to the core.

He pulled on underwear and headed to the kitchen, taking note that he needed to repack his go bag. His last mission had been a shit show. Maybe the dream had crept in because everything had almost gone to total shit. Or the dream could have been random. He needed to chat with someone, but no one currently in his life knew about the crash, and he didn’t want to get into it with anyone he worked with or saw on a regular basis. People always had questions that he didn’t want to answer. He needed to find someone he could talk to who wouldn’t keep bringing it up.

After he drank his first mug of dark brew and ate some breakfast, his phone rang, and he answered, putting it on speaker. “Yo, Sharp. What’s up?”

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