Page 95 of Guarded from Danger

As I turn away from the stack of presents I’m arranging, Lucy comes rushing into the living room, bright-eyed and beaming, and launches herself at me.

My arms open instinctively and I hug her to me, my heart swelling with joy at her exuberant expression. I press a kiss to the top of her head before replying, “That’s amazing, Luce. Congratulations.”

She tilts her head back to look at me, her cheeks flushing with pleasure as she says, “I wasn’t sure if I could. But I did it.”

“Of course you did.” Stroking a hand down the length of her hair, I let my fingers trail through the silky strands. “I always knew you would.”

“I wasn’t sure.” Her smile dims for a second. “For a while, I thought… I didn’t know if I’d be able to make the words come out anymore.”

My throat gets tight. “They were always there. You just needed to give yourself time to deal with other things first.”

After a moment’s thought, Lucy nods. “You’re right. I couldn’t see it before, when I was getting so frustrated withmyself. But I think my mind was so twisted up with everything, I couldn’t separate my stories from the other… not so nice stuff.”

My stomach twists at the reminder of Lucy’s traumatic experiences, guilt threatening to worm its way in. But like my counselor said—I’ve had several sessions with her and I think they’re actually helping—“Hanging on to the guilt isn’t healthy for you or Lucy. And you’re not omnipotent, Xavier. Sometimes, things are just going to happen that you have no control over. Looking back and thinking about what-ifs isn’t helpful. It’s what you do after that’s more important.”

So I’m trying. For me and Lucy. For our future.

Will I ever fully let go of the guilt? I’m not sure. It’s hard not to blame myself when Lucy has one of her nightmares, pleading in her sleep for that piece of garbage Amberson to let me go. Or when she burst into tears after coming across a photo of her and Kali from several years ago, sobbing, “I never knew she hated me. How stupid was I?”

But she wasn’t stupid. Not even close.

As the investigation into Kali’s actions progressed, we discovered thatno oneknew. Not her coworkers, the other people she saw socially, or the men she’d dated. Kali kept her resentment of Lucy a secret for years, letting it fester until it finally turned her into the monster I saw last month in her apartment.

To me, that’s what she is. Not disturbed or sociopathic or narcissistic, like I’ve heard the attorneys and police refer to her as, but a monster. A truly evil woman who tricked Lucy for years, took advantage of her generosity, and betrayed her in the most horrible way.

I’ve seen evil in my decades in the Army. I’ve seen some of the most hideous crimes against innocent people. What Kali did to Lucy? It ranks right up there with the worst of them.

Thankfully, she’s going to be punished for it. Awaiting trial, Kali is facing charges of attempted murder, trafficking—from the communications Matt found between her and the presumptive buyer—and fraud, and the district attorney seems confident she’ll be found guilty on all of them.

If she isn’t?

Well. I won’t technically do anything about it.

But I know someone who will. My old teammate, Rafe, is out of the Army and now works as a bounty hunter based out of Corpus Christi. He’s one of the most honorable and loyal guys I know, but he won’t hesitate to useanymethods necessary to make sure justice is served.

So I talked to him a few weeks ago about Kali and Amberson, and how important it is to me that Lucy can move forward without fear of either of them coming after her again. “If they’re in prison,” I told him, “I can deal with that. Lucy can deal with it. But if one of them goes free… I can’t have her go through that again.”

Rafe understood immediately. In a solemn tone, he said, “I’ve got your six, Xav. You need me to take care of it, let me know.” Then more lightly, he continued, “And I can’t wait to meet this woman. She must be something to get you settled down.”

She is.

Lucy iseverything.

And that’s why I’m going to do my absolute best to make sure she’s happy. Safe. Supported. To make sure she knows just how loved she is.

Cupping Lucy’s cheek, I lower my lips to hers, taking them in a soft and tender kiss. I can taste a hint of the pink lemonade she was drinking in her office, a blend of cheerful sweetness that’s come to remind me of her.

Lucy clutches my shoulders as she leans in to the kiss, her breasts pressing temptingly against me as she makes a little humming sound of pleasure in the back of her throat.

That familiar pressure builds inside me, just as it does every time I kiss Lucy. Every time I touch her. Every time I eventhinkabout touching her, really.

I feel myself growing hard, straining against my pants and pressing into her belly.

My breath quickens. As her nipples tighten, I’m seized with the urge to drop to my knees and take her breasts into my mouth, drawing the rosy buds into taut peaks.

And then I’d peel her clothes off, kissing her gorgeous body everywhere as I do it. Kissing that cute little diamond of freckles on her hip. Kissing the tiny swell of her belly—I’ve caught her scowling at it in the mirror, but I think it’s incredibly sexy. Then dipping lower, to the apex of her thighs, kissing Lucy until her hips are jerking and she’s making that needy sound that drives me absolutely wild.

But.

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