Page 108 of Traitor

I kicked off my shoes and climbed in next to her. “Does the light bother you?”

She nodded. “Yep.”

“Sounds like it could be a migraine. Let’s try something.” I jogged downstairs to grab an ice pack from the freezer, only stubbing my toe once in the dark on the way back up. I turned on the taps full blast, filling the tub with hot water, before getting her out of bed.

Lauren had been doing so much better over the last couple of months. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d come home to find her in bed or on the couch—it might’ve been on her birthday. So, we still hadn’t had a formal discussion on children, but I think she’d caught onto the fact that I was happy with just her.

Fuck everything else.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and led her into the dark bathroom. “Just take your pants off—”

Lauren laughed weakly. “Mr. Sullivan, are you trying to take advantage of me?”

I swatted her on the ass playfully. “Mrs. Sullivan, I think you know by now that you can’t take advantage of the willing.”

I held her steady as she slipped her sweats off, realizing that she hadn’t even had a chance to try her dress on before the headache hit. I checked the water and turned the faucet off before guiding her feet into it. “Okay, sit just like this on the edge of the tub and look down at the water.”

She lowered her head and I placed the ice pack on the back of her neck.

“Oh, that feels really weird. I’m hot and cold at the same time.”

I knelt down on the tile and massaged her lower back. “The heat pulls the blood down to your feet and the cold constricts the blood vessels around your head.”

She looked over at me, her expression almost dreamy now. “You learn all that from theHistoryChannel?”

“No, Darlin’. I learned that from personal experience.”

“You should go—if you leave now, you can maybe make the reception.”

I shook my head. “I’m not fucking leaving you here when you’re sick.”

We slipped back into an easy silence and I knew that we weren’t going to make the wedding, but it wasn’t a bad way to spend New Year’s Eve.

When the water grew cold, I helped her out and handed her a towel. It was hard to tell in the dark, but she looked like she was feeling a little better. I’d just bent down to retrieve her sweats when a flash of light hit the bathroom window, as if someone had just pulled into the drive.

The bathroom plunged back into darkness as the lights cut off and I stood frozen for a second.

“Mike?” She whispered. It was like she was afraid whoever was outside would hear her.

I handed her the pants and pulled her away from the window. “Red, I want you to go into the closet and stay there until I say it’s safe. Okay?”

I’d expected an argument, but she must’ve heard the tension in my voice, because she nodded and I followed her into the closet. The low rumble of a motorcycle suddenly cut out and I knew that they were trying to mask the fact that they were getting closer to the house.

It was just someone from Silent Phoenix.

The only problem with that logic was the fact that the majority of SPMC were at the wedding and I wasn’t supposed to be home.

I still had my carry gun on me, but grabbed my‘Grey Special’from the safe. Part AR15, part M16—and fully automatic. I hadn’t used it off the range. Lauren watched me with wide eyes as I began dropping loaded magazines into the small bag near my feet.

“Stay right here—don’t come out no matter what the fuck you hear. Do you understand me?”

She nodded shakily and I pulled her into my chest.

“I love you.”

“I love you too—Mike, please be safe.”

Her words echoed in my ears on my way out of the closet and I only hoped that I could do as she asked.

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