Page 90 of The Hero
“Party,” she said, as if she could read his mind.
“Doctor, then party,” he countered.
Marlowe pouted but took a deep breath and nodded.
She turned to Chappy then, and surprised him by hugging him hard. “Thank you for having my back.”
“You’re family,” he said simply.
Marlowe grinned.
Bob wasn’t surprised when they stopped near JJ on the way to Cal’s SUV, and she hugged and thanked him too. She also thanked the deputies and the chief, and when she got to Cal, wrapped her arms around him as well. “Thanks for getting here so fast ... although I’d expect nothing less from a car that costs more than most houses.”
Cal grinned. “Knew there was a reason I bought this car.”
Bob helped Marlowe into the back seat, then turned to Cal. He was suddenly at a loss for words. His teammates had been there for him without question once again. He’d lied and gone behind their backs, and yet they still hadn’t hesitated to support him and Marlowe when they needed them most.
Cal shook his head. “No, mate. I get it. I’ve been where you are. When June was lying on that floor, bleeding out ...” His voice trailed off before he cleared his throat. “I was going to get you here before it was too late, no matter what.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now come on, let’s get Marlowe looked at, then we’ll go meet everyone at the office.”
Bob had a feeling Cal needed to see June, to make sure she was all right. Everything that just happened had reminded him of almost losing his wife, and yet he was still going to stick with him and Marlowe until she was cleared by the doctor.
Surprising himself, and Cal, Bob grabbed his friend and gave him a hard hug, thumping him on the back before letting him go. “Right. Let’s get this hunk of junk moving,” Bob quipped.
Cal chuckled. “Hunk of junk, my arse,” he mumbled before climbing behind the wheel of the ridiculously expensive SUV.
Bob carefully buckled Marlowe’s seat belt before doing the same for himself. Then he took Marlowe into his arms once again. It would be a long time before he’d be able to stop touching her, but he didn’t even care. That had been way too close of a call.
Chapter Seventeen
“I’m fine, Kendric,” Marlowe said for what felt like the thousandth time that night.
What happened with Ian was horrific, but surprisingly, Marlowe reallydidfeel as if she was doing okay. She’d gone to the medical clinic without protest. She had pretty nasty bruises on her neck that would only continue to darken, looking worse than they felt. Her throat was scratchy, as if she had a bad cold or something. But overall, she’d been tremendously lucky.
Kendric had hovered all afternoon, as had his friends ...theirfriends. After everything that had already happened to Carlise and June, no one was happy with how things had played out with Ian.
Jack’s Lumber had been packed, and even though Marlowe was tired, she hadn’t wanted to leave. It felt as if half the residents of Newton had stopped by, wanting to make sure she was all right. She had no clue how anyone knew about what had gone down, but ... small towns. She didn’t question it too hard.
Despite the office being closed for the party, April had been slammed with people inquiring about getting trees on their property pruned or removed. Everyone wanted to support them somehow, and it seemed one of the ways they felt they could do so was by hiring Jack’s Lumber.
Carlise, June, and April had been understandably shocked by Ian’s actions, even though Marlowe had tried to downplay them. Everything had happened so quickly, Marlowe wasn’t sure there should be this much fuss over an attempt on her life that was thwarted in less than sixty seconds.
JJ went out and got Granny’s Burgers, which he wasn’t charged for, and between bites, Marlowe found herself consoling her friends. She hated that everyone felt so awful. She was the one who’d put herself in a position for Ian to do what he did. She was the one who couldn’t let him get away with making money on Thailand’s heritage, who hadn’t been able to forgive him for putting her in prison. She’d knowingly put herself into a potentially dangerous situation.
Marlowe had even spoken with the mysterious Tex, who was a man of few words. He’d called to talk to Kendric, and had asked to speak with her as well. The conversation was short. She’d said hello, Tex had asked if she was all right, she said yes and thanked him for the earrings that had caught every second of what happened, ensuring Ian wouldn’t get away with any of his crimes. Tex had said he was glad she was safe, told her no thanks were necessary, then asked her to put Kendric back on. She’d done so with an amused chuckle.
The day had been long, and after just a few hours at Jack’s Lumber, Marlowe was exhausted. Kendric finally put his foot down and told everyone he was taking her home. Then he simply picked her up and carried her out of the office and to his truck, which seemed to be his new favorite thing.
Now they were home, and Kendric had already asked if he could get her anything three times and had practically buried her beneath a mound of blankets on the couch. He’d made sure she took some painkillers, and at the moment, he was currently in the kitchen doing God knows what.
“Kendric, come here,” she ordered gently.
He immediately put down whatever he was fiddling with and sat down next to her. But he didn’t pull her into his arms, which was where she desperately needed to be.
For a moment, a flash of uncertainty went through her. Had something changed between them? Was he reconsidering being with her? Had she been too reckless in insisting on meeting with Ian, then getting into his car?
