Page 97 of Sutton's Shadow

“Thanks to you. You’re so brave. I can’t thank you enough for getting her out of there.”

“She wasn’t hurt, was she? She’s really okay?” Wyatt rose and pulled her to her feet. She winced as the movement sent a burst of pain through her ribs and abdomen.

“She’s fine. Worried about you. But let me look at you. Where are you hurt besides your face?”

He pushed her hair, which had long since come out of its elastic, out of her eyes. His gaze took in every bruise, every speck of dirt, every shadow she had just started to banish. And she saw nothing but love and appreciation in his eyes.

“My ribs. She kicked me pretty hard.” She gasped, remembering Valeria. She hadn’t seen the woman in her basement prison, but she had to be skulking around somewhere.

“Valeria. She was there. She’s the one who caught me in the place they were holding Bethany.”

“I know. I saw her when we raided the place.” He gave her a look that told her she wasn’t going to like his next words. “She got away. I’m sorry, shutterbug.”

“Shit.”

“Let’s get you out of this basement.” She nodded, and he wrapped an arm around her waist. Together, they climbed the stairs, each step sending a painful jolt to her ribs.

Gingerly making her way out of the house, she breathed in the piney air, glad to be out of the musty basement.

Jude, Logan, and Wade were dragging the other men outside. The man in the fancy suit threatened to sue the entire time. He had blood coming from his potentially broken nose. His voice was high pitched as he squawked at them, like he’d just inhaled helium. Sutton wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the scene but hurt too much to attempt even a chuckle.

Leaning heavily against Wyatt, she listened as the men discussed the situation while they waited for law enforcement. The sun had set, leaving the area shrouded in darkness.

Sutton looked up at the sky that was tinted with just enough blue to resemble Wyatt’s eyes. She smiled, her gaze dropping to the man by her side. There was a bandage on his arm she hadn’t noticed before, the stark whiteness of the gauze standing out in the darkness.

Her hand went to his arm, but she hesitated before touching him. He bent his head to her and kissed her temple—on the beauty mark, of course. “I’m okay. It’s just a graze.”

“A graze? You were shot?”

He grinned at the shocked concern in her voice. “A graze. Ronnie is the one who was shot.”

Her mouth gaped. “What?”

“She’ll be okay too. We’ll explain everything later.” She nodded, too stunned to do anything else.

In the distance, she could faintly hear sirens. She glanced down the dirt road, looking for the vehicles. Something at the edge of the trees by the driveway caught her eye.

Before she could cry out a warning, something was hurtling through the air, straight for Wyatt’s back. Like her dream, the world slowed down as she watched the knife fly end over end toward them. Without hesitation, she shoved Wyatt out of the way, ignoring the pain from her ribs, and faced the spinning weapon.

The force of the impact sent her to the ground. Shouts rang out from all around her. Jude ran after Valeria, who’d sprinted away as soon as the knife left her hand. Logan was beside her, rummaging through his med bag.

But she only had eyes for Wyatt. He held her head in his lap. Tears welled in his eyes, and she watched as a drop escaped to roll down his cheek. She tried to reach up to wipe it away, but her arm wouldn’t do as she wished.

“Oh God, Sutton. Why? Why did you do that?”

“It’s okay. You’re safe now. You both are.” The words he’d uttered in her dream slipped out of her mouth without conscious thought.

“You’re gonna be okay too. You have to be. You have my heart, and I can’t live without you.”

His words made her soar. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him but couldn’t form the words. Instead, she kept her gaze on the man who’d banished the shadows as a kaleidoscope of flashing colors erupted all around them. He bent over her, and she smiled when his lips landed on her beauty mark again. She wanted to keep looking at him, but her eyelids were heavy.

She drifted off with the vision of love flooding his midnight blue eyes.

Chapter 30

Suttonsatbundledundera blanket on Wyatt’s deck, basking in the quiet of the dawn. The sky was alight with hues of pink as the sun woke. Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes, enjoying the morning’s first rays caressing her face.

Three weeks had passed since the farmhouse. Wyatt had insisted she recover from her injuries at his house, all but moving her in permanently. Her bruises were healing, turning from blacks and purples to ugly shades of greens and browns. The outward bruises would fade. The ones inside would take longer.

---