Page 55 of Walking in Darkness

What a mess, and now people were getting out and walking around. No way were they doing that. Unless this vehicle caught fire, no one was getting out of it.

“911 has been told. They’ve got a lot of calls coming in,” Hudson said. “Did you contact Torres and Nelson?”

“I did. They’re on their way.”

“Do you think we should get out and help?” Kit asked. “I mean, there are people just wandering around out there. They’re probably in shock.”

“No,” Hudson said. “Absolutelynot.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN – KIT

“ARE YOU for real? But why?”

Kit hadn’t been expecting that response, nor had he been expecting how firmly Hudson had stated it. He was pretty sure if he even touched the door handle, Hudson would drag him into the back seat.

But from the look on Connie’s face, he’d not only expected it, but also agreed.

“You’re protected in here. Out there? You’re not. We don’t know what caused this, babe, so we’re not getting out.” Hudson unbuckled and leaned forward. He ran his knuckles down Kit’s cheek. “You’re a little swollen already.”

Kit turned his face into Hudson’s touch. “Airbag hit me pretty hard, but I’m okay. Nothing’s broken.”

“We need to get some ice for you as soon as possible,” Connie said, stroking Kit's shoulder.

“I’m not the only one who was in this vehicle. Are you two seriously okay?” Kit asked.

Connie shrugged. “Yeah. Might be a little sore tomorrow.”

“A little soreness is all we’ll experience,” Hudson said. “But you? You’re going to feel like you were beaten.”

“Oh, goody.” Forget tomorrow. As soon as the adrenaline wore off, he was probably going to hurt.

Since he’d been sitting in the front with Connie, he’d seen the taillights suddenly turn red and had known what washappening. Thank hell Connie had enough sense to take the shoulder.

The really scary thing about it was Connie had just passed an eighteen-wheeler a couple of minutes before everything went down.

Their vehicle might be oversized and stocky, but something as big as an eighteen-wheeler could squash anything. He didn’t know if that was something Connie and Hudson could survive, but Kit couldn’t.

He could have died.

While Connie and Hudson discussed the accident, Kit was busy having an epiphany as he looked at the destruction surrounding them. He was so very vulnerable.

He could’ve actually died in this pileup. And not just that day. He and Beckett drove to and from work five days out of seven. San DeLain was notorious for its horrendous traffic.

And it wasn’t just the traffic. With guns as prevalent as they were, he could be shot. People went missing all the time for a variety of reasons—either trafficked or murdered or just ran away.

Life as a human was fragile, and suddenly that got brought home to him with frightening certainty. He glanced at Connie and then at Hudson. They had swept into his life like a tornado and turned everything upside down, but he couldn’t regret it. Or them.

They were beautiful and terrifying, but they’d made it abundantly clear they treasured him. That they wouldalwaystreasure him. Did he love them?

Mentally, Kit debated that.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever been in love. But what he felt for them eclipsed anything he’d ever felt before. There was something there, and it was growing.

The tentative bond between the three of them fluttered slightly in his chest. It was just a flutter—there and gone—but Kit felt it. His mates were worried about him.

Because of course they were. They knew perfectly well how this could’ve turned out for him. And they cared. He couldn’t stress that enough. They honest to Godcared.

Was it love yet? Kit didn’t think so, but the foundation was there. They were building on it.

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