Page 77 of Retribution
“All night and most of this morning.”
“Wow. What happened last night at that house?”
“You sure you want to know the answer to that, sweetheart? You’ve been through a lot and you probably need to rest—”
“Cobra, I can handle it. Tell me.”
Concern wavered behind his eyes as he took a deep breath and put his elbows on his thighs then clasped his hands under his chin.
“A few of my buddies and I went to rescue you.”
“I knowthat,but how did you know where I was, and what happened to the guys who were in the house?” All of a sudden the image of Sean, bleeding with a hole in his head assaulted her. “Oh, fuck! I saw that old guy kill one of the guys who messed with me at the bar. The guy killed him right in front of me.” She shivered. “It was awful. There was so much blood.” Dakota’s voice quivered.
Cobra scooted by her side in an instant, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He held her securely to him, her face pressed to his chest. “I know, sweetheart. That must’ve been a horrible thing for you to see,” he said.
“It was. The old guy got so mad at Sean for trying to touch me.” Dakota felt Cobra stiffen, and a low growl sounded in the back of his throat.
“Did the fucker mess with you?” he whispered.
“He wanted to, but Big Pat got pissed. They exchanged words and then the old dude shot him.”
“Sounds like Big Fuck did you a favor.”
Dakota snuggled closer against him. “Yeah. So what happened to him?”
“Big Pat?”
“Yeah.” Dakota knew Cobra was evading her questions about what had happened. All of a sudden, she wasn’t too sure if she really wanted to know what had transpired in the house that night.Maybe it’s better to let it go.
“Iron found you while I was talking to Big Pat. Iron kept an eye on things while I came downstairs and got you.” Cobra swallowed so hard she could see the constriction in his throat. He swiped his palms down his jeans brought his lips to her right temple and kissed it. “Could you hear me while I was talking to you?”
“I think so. I heard something.” She licked her dry lips and shifted on the bed, wincing from the pull of her weak, tired muscles. “So … what happened to Big Pat?”
“He won’t bother you anymore.”
That was all Cobra said on the subject. She had a damn good idea what he meant. Dakota had decided that she didn’t want the details, but a strong sense of knowing that justice had been served washed over her.
“You went through something terrible so you might have nightmares for a while, but I’ll be here. I’ll always be here,” he said.
Shock made her whole body numb for a beat while Dakota processed his words.Always. He’llalwaysbe here.That was a pretty big and important word to be throwing around, especially since Cobra was a nomad, and he hadn’t yet told her how he felt about her. But as he stroked her hair, gently whispering “You’ll always be safe with me” into her ear, she knew he meant it.
Then the images of her ordeal came stalking across her peace of mind. Apprehension grabbed her. As if sensing her disquiet, Cobra held her tighter, his hand reaching for hers.
“Oh shit. Am I going to have to testify at some kind of trial?” A shiver of fear made Dakota’s teeth chatter and she nestled even harder into Cobra.
“No, darlin’. Don’t even worry about it. Scum like those assholes never make it to trial. You won’t have to think or worry about any of them again.”
“Okay.” She relaxed against him.
“We need to get out of here, sweetheart.”
Dakota lifted her head, though it felt like a million pounds worth of effort.
“Leave? Why? Do we have to go on the run or something?”
“No.” Cobra chuckled and tweaked the tip of her nose then brushed his lips across her forehead, making her knees go weak even though she was sitting down completely supported by him. “We’re leaving this fuckin’ shithole. You deserve better than to be here. I’m gonna get us a room in a good hotel—room service, mints on the fuckin’ pillows, a mountain view … the works. Does that sound good?”
“I can’t afford anything—”
