Page 95 of Guarded from Havoc

Erik’s jaw tightens. He glances over my shoulder, his gaze going distant for a second. When he looks at me again, hisexpression is carefully neutral. Almost like he’s bracing himself for bad news. “Do youwantto leave? Go back to New York?”

“No!” It just bursts out. Heart jumping madly, I add, “I don’t want to. But… I’m not sure what you want. We haven’t talked about it?—”

“Tate. OfcourseI want you to stay. I didn’t want to rush you. Not with everything else you were dealing with. But shit. I don’t want you to go. Not to New York, not to another state, not—” He swallows hard, his expression suddenly more uncertain than I’ve ever seen it. “I want you to stay with me, Tate. Move in with me. For good.”

All the air rushes out in a relieved gust. “You do?”

“Doyouwant to?” A beat, and then, “If you don’t… we could find you an apartment in San Antonio. Or Seguin. Or… Austin. That’s not too far away. I’d rather you live with me, but?—”

“Ido.” I fling myself at Erik, hard enough that he has to take a step back for balance. As his arms come around me, I rush to add, “Yes. I want to live with you. I’ve been thinking about it, but I wasn’t sure if it was too soon to bring it up.”

“It’s not too soon.” His lips come to my forehead, kissing me tenderly. Then the tip of my nose. My lips, lingering there. “Having you living with me… I can’t think of anything that would make me happier.”

Love swells up inside me, so big and intense I can hardly believe there’s room for all of it. “Me neither.”

As Erik gazes at me, he smiles. “We can have all your stuff shipped out here. And I was thinking, we could turn the extra bedroom into an office slash guest room. Maybe install one of those Murphy beds so whenever your friends visit, they have a place to stay. We can redecorate so it’s not so—what did Rhi call it? College dorm meets bachelor pad?”

“It’s not that bad,” I protest. “And you got the towels, and the pillows?—”

“But I want it to feel like your home, too. Oh. And I remember you mentioning wanting a cat. We could adopt one from the same place Dante and Sarah got Rambo. And I can help you find a new job. Unless you want to take some time off. That’s okay, too.”

Joy is fizzing up like a soda bottle close to exploding. With a giant smile, I ask, “So you’ve been thinking about this?”

His cheeks turn a ruddy pink. “Maybe.”

“It’s okay.” I kiss him again. “I’ve been thinking about it too. Not the redecorating part, though that could be fun. But living with you. Waking up next to you every morning—well, except when you have to leave on a job. Sharing our meals together. Holidays. And yeah, getting a kitten would be fun.”

Erik sobers. “You’ll be safe at B and A whenever I have to leave. Not that it’s why I want you to live with me, but it makes me feel better knowing you’ll be protected.”

“Me too,” I admit. “And being there with all your friends?—”

“Yourfriends.”

“Ourfriends. I’ve never lived with a bunch of people like that aside from college. But I like it. I like them. So that’s a bonus.”

“Tate.” Erik cups my cheek. His eyes are filled with so much love my nose prickles with tears. “You have made me so happy. Happier than I ever?—”

“Don’t fucking move!”

At the barked command, my lungs seize.

From behind us, the male voice adds in a snarl, “Put your hands up! Don’t even think about moving, you assholes!”

Before the words are done registering, Erik shoves me behind him and spins around.

His body seems to expand to twice its size, vibrating with tension.

Peering around Erik’s shoulder, I see a large man in dirt-covered clothes aiming a gun at us.

My heart stalls.

Fear explodes inside me.

Why is this man pointing a gun at us?

“What are you doing?” Erik asks. His voice is dangerously calm. It’s the same voice I remember him using when that man came at us on the island. The one that I now know means he’d rather not use deadly force, but he won’t hesitate if it’s necessary. “Put the gun down.Now.”

“You!” the man snaps. His face is bright red and contorted with fury. “Both of you!” He gestures with the gun as he adds, “Get out from behind him, you bitch! Stop hiding!”

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