Page 48 of Down and Dirty

“Don’t worry, honey. I’ll make sure she’s prosecuted,” Gwen’s boyfriend announced before kissing her cheek.

Keaton was liking Faith’s sister even more.

Reggie and the other police officers went home and the rest of them remained. After she was put in a room, they were shown in.

Faith looked frail. Her face, normally full of smiles and sass, was white. Keaton stood in the back of the room, giving the others the chance to visit. Even as they did, Faith’s gaze, throughout the conversations, met his, and it took everything Keaton had not to kick the others out. Not to pull Faith into his arms and never let her go.

One by one, they left with promises to see her the next day and sneak in some contraband. Nina pulled a bag of salt from her purse and set it in the bed next to Faith. She leaned in to whisper. Whatever words were exchanged made Faith’s laughter turn into a wince as she clutched the wound.

Nina ushered everyone out of the room, leaving Keaton the last person left.

Faith’s voice was thin, but her eyes were bright. “You just going to stand over there all night?”

He didn’t take a step, didn’t make a move.

“You almost died.” His words were a whisper in the room.

“But I didn’t,” she answered and held out her hand.

Keaton crossed the room and took it. Leaning down, he pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “I should have paid more attention. I shouldn’t have let you go off on your own.”

“You didn’t let me do anything.” Faith’s gaze softened. “There was no way we could have known Patricia was a psychotic stalkerish killer.”

“In my dreams, you're attacked at the hospital, but I can never tell by who,” he said, swallowing around the lump in his throat.

“You had dreams I was going to be attacked in a hospital and didn’t tell me?”

“I wasn’t going to let it come to fruition. I don’t know what changed.”

“Choices and free will is my guess.” Her face softened as she stared up at me.

Keaton knew she was right, but the part he had trouble processing was the fact that she’d almost died and he hadn’t been the one to save her. Hell, he hadn’t even been the one to figure out who the killer was.

“I know that look.” she held on to his hand as if she knew what was going on in his head. “You run, and I’ll send Jared to find you.”

Keaton leaned down and kissed her lips while stroking her hair. “You deserve better.” His eyes searched hers. “You deserve someone who can save your life.”

Her gaze softened. “Keaton, I believe in your visions we’re going to be together. I know that you’re the man who saves me. Maybe not my life, but my heart.”

He pressed his lips to hers and held them there as if this their first kiss and last all rolled into one. A myriad emotions racked through his body, but she was right. There was no walking away, not when happiness was in his grasp. The promise of their future.

He pulled back from her lips and whispered, “I love the thought of us.”

“I do too.” She smiled up at him. “So, don’t leave. Not yet.”

---