“But—”
Without a word Axel took her by the elbow and scooped her up even though she could walk just fine. Gently, he set her in the passenger seat. When he cautiously took the bloody scalpel from her tight grip she belatedly realized she was still holding on to the thing. Then he brushed his lips over her forehead once.
She wanted to ask what her dad was going to do or if they were going to call the cops but she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer. Her new reality… She wasn’t certain if it was something she could live with. She’d always viewed the world, if not in black and white, as at least governed by certain rules and laws.
Now everything she knew had been turned upside down. And it scared her how easily she’d accepted everything.
Neither of them spoke on the way back to the ranch. After he parked, he strode around to her side and carried her, ignoring her feeble protest. When they reached the back door leading to the kitchen she finally said, “I’m okay to walk.” At least she hoped she would be. She felt a little shocky.
His jaw tightened once, but then he nodded and set her on her feet as if she was made of porcelain. When they strode into the kitchen and found not just Darcy and Brooks there, but all the others, including sweet six-year-old Valencia, she just about collapsed. God, what if that maniac had made it to the house? What if— Nope. She couldn’t deal with those thoughts now. Not when she was barely keeping it together.
She realized that Axel had said something to push the others into action as Brooks and Savage bolted out the door but she couldn’t actually remember what he’d said. Could barely focus on anything as her trembling got worse. She could have died a few minutes ago. Her father could have died. Axel could have died.
He was now saying something to her. Looking up into his blue eyes, she forced herself to focus on him, on his mouth. It was pointless because she didn’t comprehend anything. Jaw tight, he shook his head and scooped her up into his arms again.
Minutes later they were in her bathroom as he stripped off her grimy clothes. Blood was on her fingers and she wondered if it was from the horse or from the man. When Axel guided her into the hot shower, for a moment she thought he was going to leave her and almost panicked.
Then he stripped and dumped his own clothes into the pile with hers. Standing under the hot jets, he pulled her into his arms.
“I’m sorry,” Axel murmured, his voice slightly muffled against the top of her head.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I was going to kill him right there in front of you. I…I’m sorry.”
She tightened her grip around his naked body. “If you had, it would have been okay.” Even as she said the words she knew they were true. She didn’t ever want him to think she judged him. If they went into this relationship with him worried that she held something over his head or had moral superiority or whatever…just no. He’d made choices and he was living with them. Not ones she could ever make, but…she loved him.
“Hadley—”
She pulled back to look up at him. “I feel like a mess right now. A hot, flaming mess of emotions. I’m living in a new reality where my family doesn’t call the cops when there’s a kidnapping contract on me. One where the man I love used to kill people for a living. One—”
His eyes went intense. “You love me?”
“Yes?”
“Is that a question?”
“Yes. I mean no. I…do love you.” And now she felt a billion times more vulnerable, standing naked in front of him as she admitted it.
“Thank God. I love you too.”
Her heart turned upside down, relief rushing through her. “Really?”
“I think I fell a little in love with you when you spilled coffee on me.”
She smiled even as tension coiled tight in her belly. “I don’t know if I’m cut out for all this. For these shades of gray. For what…I’m pretty sure is happening to that guy right now.”
His gaze was steady on hers. “Do you want to involve the cops?”
“Would you be okay with that?”
“Whatever you need to happen, I’ll make happen.” The truth was in his gaze.
She shook her head. “No. It…can’t happen. I understand that on every level. I just… I don’t know. I think it’s going to take time for me to process all the changes in my life.”
He stroked a big hand up and down her back. “I’ll give you as much time as you need.”
“Wait…I don’t mean without you.” She tightened her grip around his waist, afraid he’d bolt.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. I’m just giving you warning that it’s going to take time for me to process everything, that’s all.”
“You can take all the time you need. I’m not planning on going anywhere.” He kissed her then, his lips soft at first before morphing into a hard, possessive kiss that sent spirals of awareness throughout her entire body.
Yeah, whatever it was she had to do to deal with her new reality, as long as Axel was by her side, things would work out. She knew that without a doubt.
*
Axel’s gaze strayed over to where Hadley sat with Mary Grace and Olivia as the three of them listened to whatever the animated Valencia was telling them. The little girl was completely unaware of what had happened earlier in the day.
Thank God for that.
When he realized Brooks had said something to him, he jerked his attention back to the man and Douglas. “What?”
Brooks just shook his head. “I said you’re welcome to stay here for the next week with Hadley—because she’s not going anywhere.” He said the last part like a challenge, as if Axel might argue.
“Thank you.” It wasn’t like the other man could keep Axel from Hadley but he figured that responding civilly was the best way to go. “Did you ever figure out how he got on the property?” Axel asked quietly.
Douglas nodded, his expression dark. “Stowed away on the bottom of the feed delivery truck. I’ve shored up that security hole. We’ll be doing more thorough inspections on all vehicles that enter the property.”
“Good.” The hitter who’d made it onto Douglas’s property wouldn’t be a problem to anyone anymore. Axel didn’t know where they’d taken the body and he didn’t care. He only cared that Hadley was safe. She hadn’t asked any more questions about what had happened to the guy and he figured she might not ever ask. She might not want to know the truth.
“How’s my daughter doing with everything?” Douglas asked.
“She’s handling it. I think it’ll be difficult for her at first. She’s always lived by a set of rules, and this past week…” He lifted a shoulder as his gaze strayed back to her. “She’s resilient.”
“At least we know the threat is finally over,” Brooks said.
“You’re sure?” Because he’d thought only three men had been hired. Not four.
“Yeah. Gage followed Fuller’s communication and money trails and it looks as if he was only in contact with this last guy once he lost communication with the first three men he hired. And now that Fuller’s dead…” Brooks shrugged.
Axel frowned. “You’re sure?”
Brooks pulled his phone out of his pocket, typed in his code and handed it over. Axel read the headline for the Miami Herald article. Deceased Magnate’s Son Dies of Apparent Overdose. He scanned the article before handing it back to the cowboy.
“I’m surprised he wasn’t found shot or tortured to death.” The loan shark he’d owed money to was purportedly vicious.
“Apparently Dixon is being watched by the police, and with Fuller’s loose relationship to him, maybe he didn’t want the extra heat so he faked the overdose. Or maybe Fuller really did overdose.”