Page 75 of Fighting for Valor
Ripper stares daggers at him, and I look from Ryker to Dax and back to the man in front of me again. “What? Someone better explain—”
And then his lips are on mine, and I don’t care because there’s so much promise in his kiss, I can feel it down to my toes. I’m vaguely aware of the rest of the group shuffling and moving around us, but until Ripper comes up for air, I can’t be sure of anything.
“For now,” he whispers against my cheek, “just trust me.”
“I do. But I feel like there’s some inside joke I’m missing here.”
He links our fingers and scans the room. “I don’t even know all of you people. So what the fuck are you doing here risking your freedom to stand up for me?”
Despite his words, there’s genuine affection and wonder in his voice. A tall, older man with graying temples and his arm around a woman with blond hair steps forward. “Trevor showed up at our apartment at midnight last night. Said he had a plane waiting and you might need backup. We came.”
The woman holds out her hand to me. “I’m Joey. That’s Ford. Ripper…when he was—”
“Isaad,” Ripper says quietly.
“He helped us. Without him, we never would have escaped Faruk’s compound.”
“I work with Dax,” Ford says. “We own Second Sight.”
West speaks up next, angling his head to the woman at his side. She leans on a cane, a cup of coffee in her free hand. “This is Cam. My wife. Former army ordinance specialist and owner of Emerald City Security.”
“Royce Nadiri,” the other older gentleman says. “Army. And my fiancée, Inara Ruzgani. Former Army Ranger sniper now on Ry’s team.”
“That’s Graham.” Ry gestures to the young man currently leaning against the counter alone. “Former Coast Guard. You know Dax, but Evianna’s his fiancé. You’ve heard of Alfie, the home automation bot that came out a couple of months ago?”
I nod.
“Hers.”
My head spins with all the names and faces, everyone here to make sure Ripper wasn’t alone.
“Still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. “Pritchard could have arrested all of you.”
Ryker and Dax look at one another, then at Ripper. “We’re family,” Ry says simply. “That’s what we do.”
Hours later, we’re all sitting in a backyard not far from Ripper’s apartment. West and Cam’s house, apparently. A couple of the guys stand around a grill, the scents of meat and corn on the cob filling the air.
I still can’t keep everyone straight, and the single beer I’ve been nursing for half an hour has already gone to my head. At my side, Ripper looks vaguely uncomfortable, but at the same time, happier than I’ve ever seen him.
“Are you okay, handsome?” I ask, and almost topple over as the whole world tilts on me. Giggling when he pulls me into his lap, I barely notice the pain from my various bruises. Not when he’s so very willing to touch me, to hold me, to rain kisses along my neck and up to my ear.
“Gonna take me a while to wrap my head around this family thing,” he says. “But, yeah. I’m okay. Should probably get you home soon, though.”
Home. To my apartment. My empty, solitary apartment. I don’t know why, but I just assumed I’d be staying with Ripper. But, we’ve only known each other a little over a week. No logical person would ever be ready for the “move-in-together” stage that quickly.
Except me.
Charlie comes running up to us, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. He’s been playing with this little white fluffball of a dog ever since we got here, the two of them chasing one another around the yard, both retrieving toys whenever one of the guys tosses one, and generally having a blast.
He rests his head on my thigh, and I lean down to scratch behind his good ear. “Gonna miss you sleeping next to me tonight,” I whisper. “Take care of Ripper for me, okay?”
“Cara?” The look on Ripper’s face…it’s like someone slapped him. “You want to…? I didn’t mean—fuck.”
I don’t know what’s wrong, and neither does Charlie. The dog whines and butts his head against the hand Ripper has clenched at his side.
“What is it? What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
“I thought you might want to stay with me. And Charlie. To move in.” Shaking his head, he stares down at the grass under his feet. “It was a stupid idea. My place is so small. And you could go back to your life in Fort Bragg now.”
