Page 47 of Mastered By Bliss

“I want it.”She takes both of our hands and kisses them.“I want forever, I really do.”

“You have it.Forever is yours.”Gage turns her hand around to kiss it.

We start forward, but Leah trudges to a stop at the steep hillside.

“Can I pick you up?”I ask.

Wordlessly, she holds up her arms.I lift her and she wraps her legs around me.There’s a nasty, red bruise on her neck—an abrasion from her seatbelt.

I gently kiss it before starting up the hill.“I’m sorry, baby.This is probably going to hurt.”

EMTs carrying a stretcher pass me on the way down.“We can take her?—”

“No, I got her.”I couldn’t let go of Leah if I tried—she has her arms and legs wrapped around me so tight, I don’t know how I’ll get her in the car.Her blood seeps into my shirt.

“Can I take one of those gauze wraps?”Gage asks an EMT in a quiet voice.

When we reach the level road, I pause.Gage wraps Leah’s arm to staunch the bleeding.

“Sorry, Leah.I have to do this.”He wipes a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

“How are we getting home?”I ask.“We don’t have a car.”

Gage points to the car we rode in.“Heath and I already talked.He’ll ride in the ambulance with Brody, and we’ll take the Ironwood car.”

Two police officers approach us.Gage intercepts them before they can reach Leah.He speaks quietly, likely making promises for statements later.He hands one a business card and returns to Leah and me.

“Will Brody be okay?”Leah asks.“I don’t want to leave until we see.”

I exchange a look with Gage.Like me, I think he’d rather take her home to see the doctor immediately.But she’s just been through extreme trauma.She’ll probably get everything she asks for, at least for a while.I plan on spoiling her.Pretty fucking sure Gage will, too.

Luckily, we don’t need to argue with her about leaving right away.The EMTs and Heath are bringing Brody up now.

Leah untangles herself from my arms.I’m not a fan.It takes everything in me not to gather her back up again.When I hold her, I know she’s safe.

“Thank you, Brody.”Leah shakes her bodyguard’s hand as tears fill her eyes again.“You kept me safe.”

Brody, his face bruised and cut, with a black eye forming, says, “You kept me safe, too.Thanks.”

As we start to walk away, Heath shakes his head at his friend.“You insufferable asshole.Violet’s going to pamper you for weeks, isn’t she?”

Brody’s bruises stretch as he grins.“That’ll make this worth it.”

15

Gage

Leah doesn’t wake up until very late the next morning.Dmitri and I take turns sitting in bed next to her so we can make sure she doesn’t wake up alone.

Miraculously, she only needed stitches in her arm.Everything else checked out.The doctor, with a variety of instruments and tests, determined Leah is going to be okay.Although she’ll be very, very sore for a while.

She wakes while Dmitri is out.His pacing was driving me to thoughts of violence, so I suggested he grab some food and drinks from a nearby coffee shop.

“Gage.”Leah’s eyes flutter open and she smiles briefly before grimacing in pain.“Ow.”

“Yeah.You’re all bruised up, little girl.Dmitri went out for food.As soon as you eat, you can have some more pain meds.The doc said to take them with food.”

“Okay.Dmitri’s coming back?”

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