Page 108 of Zero Hour

Head still spinning, he collapsed beside her, both of them panting, slick with sweat, tangled in sheets and each other.

When he’d recovered, he pressed a kiss to her temple, breathing her in.

She smiled, a lazy, satisfied smile.

That confirmed it. He was never letting her go.

Then—

A creak on the stairs.

Pat tensed, his body going rigid. Jasmine stiffened against him.

Someone was in the house.

CHAPTER 41

Jasmine gasped as Pat shoved her off him and launched out of bed, moving with military precision. He opened the bedside drawer and pulled out a gun.

“What—?” she sputtered, her body still boneless from the intensity of her orgasm, the lingering heat between her thighs a stark contrast to the sudden chill in the air.

Pat put a finger to his lips.

She stilled.

A floorboard creaked.

Her stomach dropped.

Someone was coming up the stairs.

A shadow passed over the landing, barely visible through the sliver of space in the ajar door.

Jasmine’s breath locked in her throat. She clutched the duvet to her chest, her pulse hammering. Oh God. She was naked. Exposed.

Pat stood beside the door, gun in hand, his stance rock-solid.

Her heart pounded so hard it hurt. Not now. Not after everything. Not when she’d finally found Patrick.

She hadn’t been joking when she’d called him her hero. He had saved her, saved Ryan. And in doing so, he had shown her something she’d never truly known—love.

Not just desire. Trust. Loyalty. Fierce, unwavering devotion.

She wanted more time. She wanted forever.

Another creak.

A gun appeared first, slipping through the gap in the doorframe. Jasmine saw it a second before Pat did, but he caught the flicker of her eyes and reacted. Fast.

He slammed the door on the intruder’s wrist.

There was a guttural growl of pain, then a crash as the door was kicked open.

“Get on the floor!” Pat barked.

Jasmine, unsure whether he meant her or the intruder, rolled off the bed and hit the hardwood floor, tucking herself into the shadows.

Just in time, too. A gunshot cracked through the air. The bullet buried itself in the wall above the headboard. She muffled her scream.

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