“Then what the hell are you doing on your feet, woman?” Graham swept her up and carried her into the dining area, settling her into a chair.
“I’m fine, really. I’ll be ready to go tomorrow.” She pulled up her pant leg—clean jeans that had finally dried—and showed off the barely swollen state of her ankle. “See?”
Graham’s gaze flicked to Zach and then back at Rowan. Ro couldn’t judge his expression, because it was one she’d never seen before.
“What? Is Alex okay? Is someone else hurt?”
“No, he’s fine. Everyone’s good,” Zach reassured her.
“Then … what’s going on? You want Beau to tell you I’m all better? You just get him in here; he’ll agree with me.”
And then Graham dropped the bomb.
“It doesn’t matter what Beau says. You’re not going anywhere. Not anytime soon.”
Ro struggled to comprehend the words that were coming out of Graham’s mouth.
“I don’t understand. You’re taking me home as soon as I’m good to go.”
Graham paced, and Zach leaned against the counter next to her. Graham spun and trapped her gaze.
“Things change, Ro. It’s simple cause and effect. The shit that went down this morning means that you aren’t leaving.”
“But …”
“But nothing. We’ve got a man down, we need to increase our patrols and stay vigilant. One of those assholes got away, and for all we know, there could be more. They’re the same guys from yesterday. For some reason, they want in here real bad. And they’re not going to be the only ones. So I can’t spare anyone, myself included, to escort you home.”
Ro felt like a shrink, cataloging her reactions as they bolted through her: surprise, betrayal, anger, understanding, and then ice cold resolve. It was almost like the five stages of grief. Or something.
“I can’t risk the safety of everyone I’m responsible for just to take you home.” Graham spun away and stalked to the windows, fist clenching by his side.
“Tell me one thing, Graham,” Ro started, proud that her voice was even and devoid of emotion. “With the way shit’s going down—and we all know it’s going to get worse—are you ever going to be able to spare even one person to help me get home?”
Zach answered this time, “Babe, you gotta see where we’re coming from …”
“Oh, I see it. But it doesn’t change a damn thing for me. I didn’t ask for your help in the first place. And I don’t need it. I feel like I’ve said this before, but at the risk of repeating myself, I’ll say it again: I got myself here, and I will get myself home. And I’ll be doing it on the timeline we agreed on. If you can’t hold up your end of the bargain, that’s on you. But you better not stop me from leaving.” Ro could have patted herself on the back for getting it all out without raising her voice.
Graham was across the room in an instant, his callused fingers gripping Ro’s chin. “You are not leaving by yourself. No way in hell. Did you miss the part where one of my men was shot today? Are you that na?ve that you think you have any chance of safely making it home by yourself?”
Ro jerked her chin from his grip and her previously detached tone evaporated like water on scorching asphalt. “You already got to fuck me with your buddy. What do you care what I do now?”
Graham gripped her by her shoulders and dragged her against him. “Goddammit, Ro. You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”
Zach moved in behind her, sandwiching her between them. It was a little too reminiscent of last night for Ro.
“We care. A whole hell of a lot,” he said. “Which is why we can’t let you go alone. You’re too damn important.”
Ro slumped back against Zach. This argument was going nowhere. Both sides had gone to the mat, and neither was going to back down. It was time to retreat to their corners and regroup with a new strategy.
Ro exhaled. “Let’s just eat dinner and talk about it later. You’ve got to be starving.”
Both men seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Graham released her to Zach’s embrace, but not before dropping a kiss on her forehead.
“We’ll figure it out, babe. Just give us some time.”
But time was the only thing Ro didn’t have to spare.