Page 63 of Searching for Bristol
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Very.”
“I hate to leave you.”
“If you’re saying that because you enjoy my company and will miss me, great. But if you’re saying that because you don’t think I can’t manage by myself, you need to get over it. Yes, I needed your help when I first got here, but even Doc Snow says I’m healing very well. I’m good, Rocky. Go.”
She was right. She was doing amazingly well. The time was coming when she wouldn’t even need the knee walker anymore. She’d be able to put weight on her leg and just have the cast. Still… “We haven’t gone more than a few hours at a time without seeing each other since you got hurt.”
“We haven’t, have we?” she said with a small smile. “I promise I’ll be here when you get back. Go do your thing. But be careful. I don’t know the details, but I got the gist that you’ll be looking for someone who doesn’t want to be found.”
“Won’t be the first time,” he told her.
“I realize that. But it doesn’t mean I’m not going to worry about you just the same,” she said.
She never failed to surprise him. In a good way. “I dated a woman who hated what I did. Didn’t like that I could get called away at a moment’s notice.”
“Was this the same woman who didn’t like your beard? Because we’ve already established that she was stupid.”
Rocky chuckled. “Right.” Then he reached for her, holding her against his chest.
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly in return.
“I need to get ready,” he murmured into her hair. He was cutting this close. Ethan was going to be here any minute now. But he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her.
It was Bristol who made the first move. She pulled back and shoved lightly against his chest. “Go,” she ordered.
“We’re gonna finish what we started here,” Rocky told her.
“I sure as hell hope so,” she said with a shy smile.
“Fuck, I don’t deserve you,” Rocky said.
“Yes, you do. We deserve each other.”
He memorized her face for a long second, then stood. He headed straight for his bedroom and changed into his cargo pants, hiking boots, and a long-sleeve wicking shirt. He sheathed the KBAR knife he’d gotten as a SEAL and carried with him on every mission, and now every search, and walked back out into the living room.
Bristol hadn’t moved from the couch, but was now sitting with her feet on the floor. He knew if he went to her, it would be even harder to leave, so Rocky forced himself to head toward the front closet. He grabbed his pack and took a deep breath before turning back toward the woman who’d quickly become extremely important to him.
“Do me a favor?” he asked.
“Anything,” she said without hesitation.
Damn, she slayed him. “Sleep in my bed tonight.”
She frowned in confusion.
“It’s likely I won’t be back. Not with how late it is and this guy not wanting to be found. When I’m hot, tired, and frustrated tonight, it’ll make me feel better to know you’re here, safe and sound, sleeping in my bed.”
“Okay,” she said with a small nod.
“Thank you.” Wanting to say so much more, but knowing he was out of time, Rocky took one last long look at her, then turned away. He left, making sure to lock both the knob and deadbolt after he’d shut the door behind him.
His brother was waiting in the parking lot below, and probably impatient as hell because it had been more than five minutes since they’d talked on the phone.
With every step Rocky took away from his apartment, his determination to find this Theodore guy increased. He’d been reluctant to leave a second ago, but now he was proud to be called out. The man they were hunting wasn’t a good guy. He wanted to get him off the streets, out of his forest, and put away so he couldn’t hurt anyone else. What if Bristol, or Lilly, or Elsie, or anyone else he knew ran into a man like him?
Feeling his energy surge, Rocky jogged past the three apartments beyond his own and turned to head down the stairwell. He took the stairs two at a time and threw his pack in the back seat of Ethan’s car before climbing into the front passenger seat.
