Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 139088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
We went out, and Cap and Gabe led us to a waiting Denali.
There were four of those vehicles all in a line outside.
Talk about a cavalry.
Yowza.
Knox put me in the back seat. He pulled off his vest and handed it to Gabe before he rounded the hood and got in beside me. Cap handed off his vest too and got in the driver’s seat. Gabe stowed the vests in the back and got in on the front passenger side.
Once we clicked in, Cap pulled out.
When we were on our way, I caught Cap’s eyes in the rearview mirror.
I gave a slight shake to my head.
He gave a slight jut of his chin.
Knox, of course, didn’t miss this.
Which was why he stated, “I’m good.”
I turned to him and took his hand in both of mine. “Honey.”
“Babe, I am. I’m good,” he assured.
“That was—”
“Closure.”
I didn’t have a lot of light to see him, but what I could see, not to mention feel coming from him, was that he seemed impossibly…
Chill.
Maybe it was closure.
“You good?” he asked me.
“Peachy,” I replied.
“That was intense, honey,” he noted.
“It’s also over,” I stated.
Knox waited a beat, and I knew he was checking me out in the dim light too.
He must have approved of what he saw because he said, “I called and Raye took Jacques out.”
I stared.
“We’ll order a pizza or something when we get closer to Phoenix,” he carried on.
“I could eat,” Gabe put in. “Let’s swing through a drive thru.”
“What’s the consensus?” Cap asked.
Gabe pulled out his phone. “Let me look at what’s close.”
We decided on Sonic because the menu was acceptably varied.
I was down with this because I suddenly craved a cherry limeade.
I was munching my chili cheese dog and Knox and I were sharing mozzarella sticks when I asked, “How many of the guys came with you?”
“All of them, save Jacob, Moses and Cody,” Knox answered.
“All?”
“Babe.”
I looked to my guy.
“That’s how you storm a warehouse,” he educated me. “You don’t go in alone and wait for them to rush you. You use a diversionary tactic to confuse and scatter them. Make noise and fire rounds to freak them when you breach. Then you pick ’em off while they try to position or flee.”
It was just then that I realized what had played out in that warehouse was somewhat like what played out in that spy show we watched over a year ago.
As such, I burst out laughing so hard, I lost some chili off my dog.
I was still doing this when Knox informed his buds, “She’d disarmed and neutralized Dad before I even got up there.”
And damn.
He was so totally bragging.
I fought preening.
“Right on, Luna,” Gabe said.
“It wasn’t dramatic. His gun was on his desk. I swiped it to the floor, then kneed him in the ’nads when he made a play for me. I hit him with a chair when he was down,” I explained.
“Awesome,” Gabe said.
“Jesus,” Cap said.
“Baby,” Knox said.
I looked to him.
“Kiss,” he demanded.
He could lean my way and take one.
But…
Whatever.
I leaned his way and gave him one.
He went back to his crispy chicken sandwich.
And I returned to my dog.
To say the courtyard was populated when we arrived was an understatement.
Everyone rushed me after we got through the gate.
But it was Martha who shoved me into a patio chair and Harlow who pushed a glass of wine into my hand.
“Good Lord, you girls are going to give me a heart attack,” Martha complained.
Yes, the Oasis Square residents somewhat knew about the Angels’ business. We didn’t brief them on our missions, but this wasn’t the first return after a kidnapping, just sayin’.
“Are you all right?” Raye asked, taking a chair beside mine and grabbing my free hand.
“I’m fine.” I leaned toward her and whispered, “Knox’s dad is an asshole, though.”
She made a face that didn’t state the half of it.
Alexis gave me an over-the-back-of-the-chair hug. “Ohmigod! I’m so glad you’re okay.”
I twisted my neck to look at her. “Nothing could keep me away from your big day.”
She let out a sobby laugh and hugged me harder.
“Have you had dinner?” Gemma asked while Alexis released me.
“We swung through a drive thru,” I told her.
“Kidnapped?” Martha spat. “What? Nothing to see here. No biggie. I’ll just get rescued and grab a burger on the way home.”
“I got a hotdog,” I corrected her.
“Jesus!” she screeched.
“We’re just really glad you’re all right,” Linda, as she often had to do, translated for Martha.
“Well, it’s all hands on deck tomorrow, so I’m glad we didn’t lose a pair of those hands,” Zach remarked.
“That is what you’re glad about?” Martha asked.
Zach indicated me. “She just said she’s fine and enjoyed a hotdog on the way home.”
“I need something a lot stronger than wine,” Martha decreed.
“Shooters!” Joey cried.
“I can’t get drunk before my wedding. I don’t want bags under my eyes for the pictures,” Alexis put in.