Sam was clearly done with distance and I knew this because he moved to me and when he got close enough to lunge, he did so, grabbing my hand, pulling me around the bed and into his arms.
Then he tipped his chin down and told me, “That bitch didn’t hock a bunch of shit. She hocked a bunch of heirlooms. She also didn’t take out a small second mortgage, she took out one on all the equity they had in their place, which was a lot.” His arms gave me a squeeze. “What I’m sayin’ is, I paid for the best to cover you. She found the best she could find to do his job. I was aware this man was a man to take seriously. That guy was a ghost so we had no idea of his skills. We only knew he had them considering his price tag. Now we know one of his skills. He came up here, safety on, knowin’ who I was and that I also have skills. He was wavin’ the white flag. I felt like bein’ safe and in any uncertain situation, you gain the upper hand. That’s why I took him to his knees. He gets me. He understands what I can do. He didn’t come here to harm you. He came here to make sure his headaches were done. He’s cautious and he’s thorough. Neither are a surprise but both are a pain in the ass. But it no longer matters. He’s history. That said, I got some calls to make for peace of mind and I need to make them now. You okay for ten minutes while I do that? Then we’ll keep talkin’.”
I looked up at him.
He had things to do for peace of mind which meant my safety. He also knew I was freaking out and needed him. So he was going to give me that if I needed it and his peace of mind be damned.
Yep. Definitely. I was falling in love with him.
I didn’t share that. I said, “I’m okay for ten minutes while you do that.”
He gave me a squeeze, let me go with one arm, reached out to the bed, snagged both guns then he moved us up the bed. He put the guns on his nightstand, took the phone from me and put it in its cradle. Then he maneuvered me and Memphis into the bed and got in it with us. He sat back to the headboard, knees bent and held Memphis and me tucked close to his side.
Then he called Deaver, briefed him quickly and told him he wanted twenty-four hour coverage on the house starting now. Then he called Lee, briefed him and explained the situation. I didn’t get much about Lee’s replies due to Sam’s side of the conversation being guarded. I decided to bury that in a part of my brain I never intended to access again so I did that. Then Sam called what apparently was Tanner’s voicemail at work and left a message.
Then he flipped his phone shut, tossed it on the nightstand, turned to me, both his arms came around me and Memphis and he slid us up his chest.
“Right,” he whispered, “how you doin’?”
“I’m good,” I whispered back.
“Deaver and Aziz are stayin’ in a hotel in town. He’s gonna make contact when he gets here. I gotta go down. You wanna come with me or try to get back to sleep?”
There was no way in hell I was going to go back to sleep.
Still, I also didn’t want to see a woken up and called to duty in the middle of the night Deaver. He wasn’t overly friendly by the light of day; I didn’t want to experience a Deaver who’d had his beauty rest interrupted.
So I said, “I think Memphis proved she’s got my back.”
Sam grinned. Then he shifted an arm from around me, pulled Memphis out of my clutch and held her up, her face close to his.
“Good girl,” he muttered.
Memphis aimed and missed a lick at Sam’s nose.
Sam handed her back to me.
“I’ll be back soon,” he whispered.
“Okay,” I whispered back.
“You sure you’re okay?”
No.
But I was sure I’d eventually get that way.
So I answered for the future, “Yeah, I’m sure I’m okay.”
He leaned in and kissed my nose. Then he gave Memphis a head scratch, disentangled from us, nabbed his gun and moved to the door.
He stopped in it and looked back at me.
“I’ll be back soon,” he repeated.
God, Sam Cooper was a good man.
“I know,” I whispered.
He studied me a second, his face got soft then he disappeared into the dark hall.
I moved Memphis and I under the downy cover and into Sam’s soft sheets. Then I looked at Sam’s alarm clock and saw it was twelve minutes after three o’clock in the morning.
At twenty past, Sam came back and Memphis and I watched as he put his gun on the nightstand then he slid in bed in his shorts and gathered me and my dog in his arms before he twisted and turned the lamp off.
“Deaver on duty?” I asked.
“He did a perimeter check and yeah, he’s on duty.”
I nodded, my cheek sliding against his chest.
Sam’s arms got tight.
Then I whispered, “It’s over.”
Sam’s arms got tighter.
I felt tears sting my nose and my voice was husky when I whispered, “Thank you, Sam Cooper.”
Sam rolled to facing me, Memphis jumped out from between us and went to sprawl on her side and Sam pulled me close. I shoved my face in his throat and wept, luckily silently but with extreme relief.
As I did this, lips against the hair at the top of my head, Sam whispered back, “My pleasure, baby.”