Page 98 of Deserving Ryleigh
“Except for her to stay where it was safe,” he murmured.
“She’s safe withyou. She knows it, and was smart enough to stay where she needed to be in order to feel protected.”
Dude wasn’t wrong. But the funny thing was, Tiny felt just as protected by her. It wasn’t about him being a man, a SEAL, it was about knowing if the shit hit the fan, she was smart enough to help him figure out what their next steps should be. They were a team, and it felt amazing. “Yeah.”
“Right, gonna let you go. Don’t forget to tell Wolf to call me later.”
“I won’t. Thanks again, Dude. Seriously, I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”
“Your woman would’ve looked up how to disarm bombs and figured it out,” he said with a chuckle. “Later.”
Tiny clicked off Wolf’s phone and stuck it in his pocket. Dude wasn’t exactly wrong. Ryleigh totally would’ve researched how to disarm a bomb, or she would’ve found someone on the dark web who’d know how to do it. Anything The Refuge needed, any kind of expert they needed, he had no doubt Ryleigh could find.
Once upon a time, the power she had would’ve scared him. But now? After going through what they had? He embraced it. His Ryleigh was amazing. A treasure. He could no more be afraid of what she could do than he was the skills of his fellow special forces friends. They were all scary in their own right. And yet, their women didn’t cower from them. Didn’t expect them to suddenly start using the skills they’d learned in the military to harm others. Why would he think Ryleigh would do any different?
A hand clasped his shoulder, and Tiny turned to findBrick standing there. Before he knew it, he was hugging his friend. Hard.
“Thank you,” Brick said huskily.
Tiny pulled back and nodded at him. Today had been a roller-coaster of emotions. Both men were well aware they could’ve lost everything. The Refuge, the loves of their lives, their friends and family. Today had been way too close of a call, but Harold Lodge was no longer a threat. Hopefully now everyone could relax and live happily ever after.
Tiny grinned a little at the thought. Who was he kidding? He had no doubt there would be a ton more ups and downs as they all raised families and continued serving the PTSD community. But together, they could conquer anything. They’d proven it time and time again.
“Come on, we need to get back. Check to make sure the lodge is safe, then deal with the authorities,” Brick said.
Tiny pressed his lips together and nodded. There would be questions about what happened, how a dead man came to be on the floor with a knife in his neck.
He felt Ryleigh’s arm go around his waist and his anxiety quieted. “The cameras were running. It’s all on video. As much as I would like for the things my father said never to be repeated again, I’ll face whatever consequences I have to face to make sure you and Wolf don’t get in trouble for killing him.”
Tiny leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “There will be no consequences.”
“But—”
“No. Consequences,” Tiny enunciated. “We have connections, sweetheart. And you’re too good to leave atrail. You’re fine. Besides, who will believe the rantings of a demented man? A man who was wanted by the FBI and broke out of prison?”
“And who planted nine bombs—that we know of—and blew up two buildings?” Brick added.
“You’re one of us,” Alaska said as she sidled up to her brand-new husband. “And we protect what’s ours.”
“Damn straight,” Brick agreed.
Ryleigh smiled and snuggled against Tiny. He was still exhausted, and wasn’t looking forward to dealing with the authorities back at the lodge, but nothing felt as good as his woman at his side.
Mutt barked once, as if to tell them to stop talking and start walking. Brick chuckled and patted his dog on the head. “Sorry, we’re going,” he told him. Then he took Alaska’s hand on one side, and his mom’s on the other, and started heading for the lodge.
Luna and Robert were behind them, and before Ryleigh could follow, Tiny held her in place.
She turned so she was against his front and looked up at him. “Tiny?”
“I love you,” he said.
She smiled. “I love you too.”
“I’m also proud of you. And in awe. What you can do…it’s extraordinary. You’re way too smart for the likes of me. To be out here in the middle of nowhere. But I’m not giving you up. You can do whatever you want, work for whoever you want, I know for a fact our government would love to have you on their payroll, or you could work as a security consultant teaching companies how to avoid being hacked. I don’t know. But I’m not letting you go. I’m yours, sweetheart. For now and always.”
She smiled up at him. “How about The Refuge? Can I work here?”
“As I said, you can work wherever the hell you want, as long as you let me stay by your side. Because I’ll tell you one thing, the safest place I’ve ever felt is right here. All you need is a cell phone and you can do anything. Take down terrorists, save the oceans and planet, make the world a better place.”
