Page 100 of Guarded from Havoc

“We never got to enjoy the Adirondacks together,” she told me. “Hiking, visiting the lake, hitting some of the local breweries… We missed out on it the first time. And I still want to do all those things with you.”

Was I worried? Of course. What if coming back here triggered her?

And selfishly, I like having Tate safely in Texas. Tucked away at the B and A ranch, with my closest friends helping to protect her. Settling into her new life and seeing her counselor every week as she works to get past the traumatic memories.

Iknowit’s safe now. Demetrius took a plea bargain and he’s now in federal prison serving a minimum of thirty-five years. All the other people involved are either in prison or in the process of going there. Asshole Daniel was just sentenced to ten years, himself. Jake Ransom—the man with the rock, and later, the gun—is back in a psychiatric facility. And this time when he finally gets out, we’renottaking our eyes off him.

But despite my worries and tamped down selfish desires, Tatum’s fine. Better than fine, really. Happy. Excited. Non-stop smiling.

There was a moment when we were back in her cabin on the first day—as she looked out the kitchen window and into the woods, where my old rental was visible through the barren trees. She was silent long enough that I feared she was having a flashback, and I was on the verge of picking her up and carrying her back to the car. Arranging for someone else to come to pack up her things.

Then she turned to look at me, and she gave me a little smile that told me everything was going to be alright. “I’m glad,” she told me softly, “that I went over. I almost didn’t. But I’m so glad I did.”

So am I.

Emotion swells inside me, just as it does whenever I think about Tate. Years, decades, really, of trying to lock away my emotions, and this woman threw open the lockbox and set them all free.

“I love you,” I murmur as I lean in to kiss her cheek.

Tatum turns to me and smiles, her gaze softening as she whispers, “I love you too.”

My heart thuds hard. Squeezes.

It’ll never get old, hearing that.

I tug Tate a little closer, so she’s sitting flush against me. We’re sitting on one of the small couches in the Pub, a bar slash game room on the resort property. Not far from us, a fire crackles in the fireplace, lending a welcome warmth to the room. The soft clack of pool balls carry towards us, along with a low buzz of chatter from the bar across the room.

Though I’ve enjoyed spending plenty of private time with Tate—in our room or out on one of our hikes—I’ve come to enjoy our nightly visits to the Pub to play a game of pool or work on a puzzle or just grab a quick drink at the bar. It’s a bit of normalcy we missed at the start of our relationship, and while I wouldn’t change a second of our time spent in the garden or watching TV in one of our apartments, this is nice, too.

Although. It doesn’t hurt that Matt ran extensive background checks on all the guests here, and hacked into the surveillance system, just to be safe.

Like I’m about to take Tate on a tripwithouttaking precautions? Or not set up my own security in our room, so there’s no possible way anyone can get the jump on us?

I want things to be normal for Tate. But I’ll never,evertake her safety for granted.

“You guys.” Hanna makes a little aww face before poking Finn’s arm. “Look how cute they are,” she tells him. “It’s so sweet.”

Finn swallows his bite of pizza and follows it with a sip of beer. Then he flashes me a shit-eating grin. “Youdolook sweet, Erik. Just adorable.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Just remember who’s bigger. And younger.”

He snorts. “What, three years? I’m not exactly a senior citizen here.”

“Only one of us is over forty,” I retort with a smirk. “And it’s not me.”

“Finn,” Hanna scolds lightly, but she’s hiding a smile. “Be nice. Don’t give Erik shit.”

Across the table, Enzo barks out a laugh. “It’s a requirement, Hanna. You should know that, living with all the B and A guys. Whenever someone gets coupled up, everyone elsehasto give them shit about it. I’m sure everyone gave Finn plenty of shit when he met you.”

Finn takes another swig of his beer. Chuckling, he says, “Shit, yes. You should have heard some of the comments the guys made to me.” He pauses, his expression sobering as he looks back at Hanna. “Nothing bad about you, of course, Angel. And they were all thrilled you agreed to be with me. They just liked giving me a hard time.”

Tatum’s head is moving back and forth on a swivel as she follows their conversation. “So you all have to make fun of each other when someone starts dating?”

I rub her side before resting my hand on her hip. “Not just dating. Finding someone that’s serious. Like Finn and Hanna. Enzo and Winter. Me and you.”

Enzo’s wife, Winter, nods at Tatum. “It’s true. I’ve seen it with Enzo and the GMG guys, too. They tease each other mercilessly. I think they tried to hide it when I met Enzo, since things were pretty intense for me back then. But when Knox—he’s on Enzo’s team, too—met his wife, Lark, I heard some of the teasing. The same for poor Gage when he met his fiancée, Rory.”

“Oh, man,” Finn interjects. “You should have heard us when Cole met Maya. Since he was the first of us to settle down, I think he got the worst of it. But it’s all in good fun. We’re happy for each other.”

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