Page 99 of Deserving Ryleigh
“Tiny,” she whispered, clearly overwhelmed.
“No, don’t cry. I’m just stating facts. We need to go make sure the lodge is safe, give statements to detectives, you need to download security footage to give them so they can see that your father was a threat and we were defending ourselves.” He kissed her then. And not a brief kiss either. He put all the love he had for her into the embrace. Showing her without words his love, his trust, and his pride in all she could do.
When they parted, they were both breathing hard.
“Is it bedtime yet?” Ryleigh asked. “The only thing I dislike more than bugs and being in the great outdoors is exercise. And we had to have jogged for miles and miles.”
Tiny chuckled. He looked at his wrist. “Actually, it’s not even dinnertime.”
She blinked. “Seriously? It feels as if hours and hours have passed.”
“I know. But it actually hasn’t been that long. If we hurry and get through the rest of the crap stuff, maybe we can even finish out the reception.”
Ryleigh smiled. “I’d love that. And I know Alaska would too. It would be just what we need to put this shitty day behind us.”
“Amen to that,” Tiny said. Then he took her hand inhis and they started after the others, through the trees. There was a lot of work to be done. Cabins to be rebuilt, holes in their security to be patched, the C4 had to be removed…but first, they needed to see their friends. See for themselves that everyone was safe and unharmed.
Then their future lie ahead of them. The possibilities were endless, and Tiny couldn’t wait to experience every moment with this woman at his side.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
When Ry and Tiny got back to the lodge, everyone was pretty keyed up. The police and fire department were already there. The cabins exploding had been heard—and felt—all the way to Los Alamos and people had called 9-1-1 immediately.
Two hours later, her father’s body had been removed, the evidence of his death scrubbed away, and all the buildings had been searched for additional explosives—with no more found. The bomb squad from the Los Alamos Police Department was working to remove the C4 and the bombs at each of the bunker locations.
“I’m sorry your bunkers are no longer a secret,” Ry told Tiny when they had a moment to themselves in all the chaos.
“It’s okay. They’ve served their purpose. Once upon a time, we needed them for our own peace of mind, but as time has passed, and as we’ve all found our soul mates, I think we’ve outgrown them.”
“That’s good,” Ry told him, squeezing the hand she still held.
“Yeah. And I’m thinking after today, we’ll probably have them dug out. Maybe sell them. The thought of what could’ve happened to everyone if Wolf wasn’t here to call his friend…” Tiny shuddered.
Ry hugged him. Hard. He returned the embrace just as fiercely. Then he pulled back. “How are you doing? That was a pretty intense scene you went through.”
“I’m fine.”
“Ryleigh, don’t shut me out,” Tiny said with a frown as he looked down at her, his hands clasped at the small of her back as he held her against him.
She shrugged. “My dad used to do that kind of stuff all the time. Tell me I was under a time crunch…which, I might’ve been, because I wasn’t always as good as I am now at hacking, so if someone had caught me mucking around in their files, it could’ve been bad.”
“I didn’t mean the power grid thing, though that was truly awful. But also…you shouldn’t have had to see your father like that.”
“What? Crazy? Money-hungry? Fucking insane?” Ry said, a little harsher than she intended. She took a deep breath. “Sorry. Tiny, any feelings I had for my dad had long since died. He wasn’t a good person. No, that’s an understatement. He was a monster. Absolutely no empathy for anyone other than himself. He didn’t care whatanyoneelse was thinking or feeling.
“What happened todayhadto happen. You know as well as I do that if he was taken into custody again, it would only be a matter of time before he got free. Here’s the thing…the world revolves around computers. My father might not have been as good as I am at manipulating code, but he was still very knowledgeable. What happened today, him dying, is best for everyone.”
“Still…he was your father.”
Ry shook her head firmly. “No. He stopped being that a long time ago. Now…can we please talk about something else?”
“All right. But Henley is always here if you need to talk, and me too, of course.”
“I appreciate it, but honestly, Tiny, I’m good. Promise.”
“Okay.”
Just then, her cell phone rang. Surprised, because pretty much everyone she cared about or knew was there with her, Ry pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen, only to see the number had been blocked. She was about to ignore it…but something made her answer instead. “Hello?”
