Page 43 of Perilous Healing

“How are you going to defend yourselves?” Jaxson asks. “He said no weapons, and we’re not James Bond. There are no lipstick lasers in our arsenal.”

“That’s a thought though,” Elijah comments.

Lance shakes his head. “You can’t even fight right now, Bianca. Not in your current state.” He gestures to my injured arm.

“I’ll make it work,” I tell them. “Besides, I’ll have a SEAL with me,” I reply, glancing at Silas.

The corner of his lips twitch.

“He said no weapons,” Lance says again. “So, we make do with no weapons. Elijah, can you get us set up with some undetectable coms?”

“Already done,” he replies. “They’re currently at the office. Crisp. Clear. And they won’t be picked up by any detectors.”

Lance nods in appreciation. “Good. Then we’ll use those to stay in touch, and the rest of our team will be ready to go in should things get heated. Caleb can watch the monitors, and I’ll call in Alex to help him out if any client issues arise, which means we’ll practically be all boots on the ground.”

“We can’t alert the police. There’s no telling if some of them are on his payroll,” I say quickly. “No one can know, or this goes even more sour than it already is.”

“Agreed.” Lance stands. “Do you want to stay at the lighthouse tonight?” he asks me. “Caleb is on monitors so you’ll be protected.”

“Yes,” Silas says. “She should.”

“No.” I look to him, annoyed that he spoke for me. “If River wanted me dead, I’d be dead. If he wanted to abduct me, he would’ve. Nothing will happen tonight.”

“He could have just been toying with you,” Silas snaps.

“No. He wasn’t. Now, I was shot earlier today, my arm feels like it’s going to fall off, and I’m tired. I would really like to get some sleep.”

“I’m staying on the couch.” Silas slips out of his jacket.

“No. Silas. Seriously. You’re right next door, I don’t need you on the couch.”

“Seems like we’ve overstayed our welcome,” Elijah quips, then heads for the door. “I set up temp cameras on every entry point of your house, and Caleb is monitoring them!” he calls out, then leaves before I can respond.

“What? Cameras?” I ask Lance.

He shrugs. “You’re one of our people, Bianca, and we protect our people. Goodnight.” With a smile, he leaves, trailing Jaxson out the door.

Men.

“You are not sleeping on my couch,” I tell Silas.

“Yes. I am.” He lays down, propping an arm beneath his head.

Irritated and knowing I’ve lost, I head into my room, retrieving a blanket and spare pillow from my closet, then step out and throw them at him. He grunts, giving me a bit of satisfaction as I make my way back into my bedroom, then shut and lock the door.

The truth is, I feel better knowing he’s down the hall. But letting him know that, or even fully admitting it to myself, feels like a dangerous mistake.

Chapter13

Silas

“Be good for Lance and Eliza, okay, Nugget?”

“Okay.” Eloise squeezes my neck. “I love you, Uncle Lassy!”

My throat tightens as I fight back every bit of fear and sadness as I say goodbye to the single most important person in the world to me. “I love you, too, Nugget. You be good and have fun, okay?”

“Okay!” She straightens, then skips away and takes a seat at the table to work on the coloring book Eliza bought her.

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