Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
“You’d do the same for any of us,” Huntley murmured.
“Hooyah,” Arrow confirmed with a nod.
Huntley, Kade, Deacon, and Cash echoed the Navy call.
“Thank you so much.” I sniffled, my eyes filling with tears. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if Arrow hadn’t stopped to help with my flat tire.”
Arrow pulled me against his side as his men accepted my gratitude with soft smiles. “Best damn decision I’ve ever made.”
“Hooyah,” Huntley, Kade, and Deacon repeated with wide grins while Cash just shook his head.
Deacon grabbed our bags from the SUV and handed them to Arrow, and then the four men climbed in and drove off. Merrick wasn’t around, so I assumed he had already headed home to his family.
“Paul’s here,” I whispered when I spotted Phoebe’s brother in the back of a black SUV parked near the front entrance to the building. The vehicle door was open, but he was just sitting there with his shoulders slumped.
“Yeah, he wanted to see his sister before we took him back to the rehab facility where he’s going to be for a while.” Arrow scrubbed his palms down his face. “The guy is a major fuckup, but he came through when shit went down, so I figured he earned this since it was a small ask.”
“He’s doing rehab again?” I asked.
Arrow nodded and explained, “It was part of the deal I made with him to clean up his mess. I would’ve done whatever was necessary to neutralize the threat to you, but he didn’t know how heavily invested I already was in your safety. Plus, I could’ve come up with other solutions that didn’t end as well for him, so he came out ahead.”
“Thanks for offering him that lifeline and agreeing to bring him here.” I’d never been a big fan of Paul’s and was even less so now, but I knew how much seeing for herself that he was okay would mean to my roommate. “Is Phoebe on her way?”
“Yeah, she should be here any minute since Paul called her when we were en route,” he confirmed with a nod as my car pulled into the parking lot.
The man behind the wheel claimed the spot next to us before exiting the vehicle and tossing my keys at Arrow. “Replaced all four tires, sir.”
“Thanks, Silas.” He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and tugged some bills out to hand them over to the younger man. “Let me know if this doesn’t cover it.”
I reached for the zipper on my purse. “I should be the one to pay.”
Arrow’s fingers wrapped around my wrist, stopping me as he muttered, “Didn’t I prove to you last night that you’re my woman?”
“You did,” I admitted softly. Silas snickered, and my cheeks heated.
“Which means I get to take care of anything that has to do with your safety, including those damn tires that should’ve been replaced months ago.”
“I wouldn’t bother arguing with him, ma’am. He can be a stubborn motherfucker,” Silas warned.
I was trying to decide if I should give in that easily when I spotted a familiar car turning into the parking lot. As Phoebe pulled up next to the black SUV, Paul climbed out to wait for her. As soon as she was parked, my roommate jumped out of her vehicle and threw herself into her brother’s arms. “Thank goodness you’re okay. I was so worried about you.”
“I’m so damn sorry, sis. I never meant for you to be dragged into my mess.” Paul sobbed against her shoulder. “When I think about what could’ve happened to you…”
“I’m okay. They didn’t get anywhere near me.” Phoebe patted his back before stepping away. “Sage is the one you owe the apology to since she was here when they came looking for me.”
Paul turned toward us, his gaze darting toward Arrow before he looked at me. “You will never know how much I regret that you got hurt because of the shit I pulled. I am so sorry, Sage.”
Phoebe had been so focused on her brother that she hadn’t noticed the small bandage and bruise on my cheek until now. “You got hurt?”
“Only a little,” I reassured her with a soft smile. “I’m fine now.”
Her shoulders slumped. “I hate that you were hurt at all.”
“Sorry to break this up.” Silas jerked his chin toward the SUV. “But it’s time for us to go.”
“Where are you taking him?” Phoebe cried, clutching her brother’s arm as he tried to climb into the passenger seat of the SUV.
“He’s agreed to go back into rehab.” Arrow explained how strict the place was, and hope filled my roommate’s eyes.
She turned to Silas, her lashes fluttering as she took in the Navy SEAL. “Thank you for helping my brother.”
“My pleasure,” he murmured.
Phoebe’s cheeks filled with a pink blush, and she ducked her head as Silas and her brother climbed into the SUV. If the moment wasn’t so serious, I definitely would have teased her about her reaction to the man. Instead, I made a mental note to try to play matchmaker at the first opportunity in the future.