Page 71 of Corrupted Union

“Stetson came to your house. One of the guards is down, and your wife’s been shot. An ambulance is here, and Rowan is fine, but you’ll want to meet the paramedics at New York Presbyterian.”

It took him several long seconds before he spoke. “Shot?” he asked in a wavering voice.

“I think she’s going to be okay,” I encouraged, maybe out of turn, but he needed to keep it together. “They’re getting ready to take her over now.”

“Right, okay. And Rowan?”

“She’s fine. I’ll keep her with me.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

The line went dead just as several police officers filtered inside and immediately honed in on us. “You two think you can step outside and tell us what happened?”

I stepped forward. “Just briefly, then I’m getting her out of here. If you need a more detailed statement, we can go to the station another day.”

“And who exactly are you?” The cop eyed me.

“I’m herhusband,” I said in a low, menacing tone. “That’s all you need to know.”

The man's lips thinned, but he nodded. “All right. Let’s step outside.”

I pre-emptively explained how Stetson was holding a woman captive and had broken into the governor’s house to stop Rowan from telling anyone. That way, all she had to do was relay today’s portion of events, though I cut in before the end and explained how Stetson had escaped just before I’d arrived. I’d considered telling them the attacker was unknown but decided linking Stetson to the shooting would be a nice explanation for his disappearance.

By the time we’d covered the basics, tremors had taken control of Rowan’s body. Shock had set in hard-core. I needed to get her warm and fed.

“That’s all you’re getting today, but it should be enough to do a search of the Wellington house, correct?”

The two officers exchanged a look. “Yeah, you said the woman is on the third floor?”

Rowan nodded. “Yes.”

“What precinct did you guys say you’re from?” I asked.

“The nineteenth. Why?”

“Just wanted to be sure.” I tipped my head and stood, helping Rowan to her feet as well. “You have my number if you need to reach us.” I didn’t wait for them to reply. My patience had run out. If I didn’t get Rowan away from there soon, I was going to lose my shit.

Just getting her in my car eased the tension knotting my shoulders. Thank God traffic cooperated. It took fifteen minutes to get back to my place. I used the time to call Conner and instructed him to ensure our guys on the force followed up on the girl at Wellington’s.

Rowan sat motionless in the passenger seat. She didn’t make a sound. She hardly even blinked.

It gutted me to see her like that when I knew how strong she was. My tough girl could have handled anything, but seeing her mother shot like that was more than even she could take.

Fucking Stetson was in for a world of pain.

Once home, I led Rowan straight to the bathroom and stripped us down. We were about to step into the shower when she suddenly stopped and turned to me.

“My mom! I need to check on my mom.” Whatever haze she’d been in was starting to thaw, allowing her thoughts to process.

I cupped her face in my hands and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Your father is with her, and he’ll call as soon as anything changes. We can’t do anything at the moment, so let’s get you cleaned up and warm.” I stared deep into her green and gold eyes, mine fixed with assurance. “She’s safe. She’s going to be just fine.”

And that was when it hit. All the emotion careened into her at once, wrenching a sob from her shuttering lungs. Heaving, cathartic sobs wracked her body.

I pulled her against me, wrapping her in my arms and moving us into the warm spray of the shower. We stood like that for a half hour. She clung to me and wept while I whispered soft words of reassurance. I wished I could do more.

That was when I realized there was nothing Iwouldn’tdo for Rowan.

She’d become my wife out of impulse and necessity, but she’d won my heart with the purity of hers. For me, she existed in a place without rules or reason because without her, nothing else mattered.

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