Bodyguard by Melanie Shawn

58

Gage

“I can’t quite believe this,”Savannah’s father murmured quietly, as if to himself. “Is this really real?”

“It is, Dad. I promise,” Savannah assured him for about the thousandth time.

She was tucking him into a warm, safe bed at Bear’s, and he was still having trouble wrapping his mind around his sudden change of fortune.

His eyes locked onto her. “I only cared that you were okay. That you got away,” he said, emotion choking him up so that he could barely get through the end of the sentence.

Savannah leaned down and hugged him. “I know, Dad,” she whispered. “I know. You sacrificed yourself. Or thought you were. To give me enough time to run. I know that.”

He nodded and hugged her back, although I couldn’t imagine he could exert much pressure with as frail as his arms looked.

“And then I pretended to be a little off my rocker. I knew they’d kill me the minute I gave them the formula. But I never imagined that you’d find me. I wouldn’t let myself. Thank you, Savvy. Thank you so much.”

Savannah pulled back, wiping her eyes. “Just sleep now, okay? That’s what you really need. Rest.”

He nodded and turned over, and we left the room, dimming the lights on our way out.

I took her hand in mine as we moved down the hall toward our bedroom.

Our bedroom.

That was a new concept, and one I could definitely get used to. Now that Savannah and I were together again, neither one of us was ever going to sleep alone another night in our lives. Not if I could help it.

When we’d closed the door behind us, I took her in my arms. “How do you feel?”

She laughed, and I realized that it was an absurd question. She must be feeling every single emotion in existence, mixed together like a cocktail. Shaken and stirred.

“Oh my God,” she breathed, after her laughing jag was over. “I would have never guessed that would be one of the hardest questions in the world to answer.”

I held her, stroked her hair, and she leaned against me. Actually, melted into me was more like it.

Aside from her father, we were alone in the safe house. Bear had taken Woodward to get his go kit and put his ass on a plane. He’d insisted he could handle it alone, and so I thought Woodward might be in for a pretty good ass kicking before boarding, if I knew Bear.

Savannah looked up into my eyes. “Do you really think it’s over, Gage? Do you really think we’re safe?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Don’t get me wrong. We’ll always be watching. Barlowe’s an enemy. You don’t turn your back on enemies.”

Her eyes filled with tears and she buried her face in my chest. I held her close, thinking that she was upset—maybe even heartbroken—at the idea of always looking over our shoulders, even just a little.

But when she looked up into my face again, she was smiling through her tears, and she laid a hand on my cheek and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you for that.”

“For what?”

“For turning him into just an enemy. Believe me, having an enemy is very different than being hunted. Being prey. They’re not even in the same realm.”

My heart tightened in my chest. Like prey being hunted down by a predator—that was how my girl had felt for twelve years. Of course she had. Because it was true. It took my breath away, the sheer terror and anguish she must have felt. And yet she still managed to live, to laugh…and to love. To love me.

It was stunning. She was stunning.

Like they did so many times, words failed me. There was so much in my heart, so much I wanted her to know. But expressing those feelings with words felt impossible. Showing her how I felt was so much more natural.

I bent and pressed my lips to hers, kissing her gently, like she might break. Which was ridiculous. She was the toughest person I’d ever known.

But in my eyes, in my arms, she was delicate. A delicate, precious treasure that I would never fucking take for granted.

My heart was pounding fiercely as I pulled back and looked into her eyes. “Fuck. I wish I could take everything in my heart and just give it to you so you could feel it. Like a scratch n’ sniff for emotions. Then I wouldn’t have to try to explain it. Because I don’t think I can.”

Her eyes widened and she stared up at me for a moment without saying anything. So long, in fact, that I thought maybe I’d said something wrong. Suddenly, though, she burst into a fit of laughter. “Oh my God,” she choked out between breaths. “A scratch n’ sniff for emotions. That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard!”

I shook my head, a tiny smile touching my lips. At least I could make her laugh. Even if it was at my expense. I didn’t care. I just wanted her happy.

As her laughter died down, she looked at me, pressed her hands to my chest, then moved them to my face. “Gage,” she breathed, her voice so rich with intense emotion it took my breath away. “I don’t need sweet words. They’re nice, but not necessary. All I need is you. All I’ve ever needed is you.”

I pulled her tighter, even more determined now to never let her go.

“Then you’ll always have everything you need,” I said, so full of love for her I thought my heart might explode right then and there. “You’ll always have me. No matter what. That’s a promise, my sweet girl. Because all I need is you.”