He kisses me again, and his hand slides down my back as we watch the fireworks still in action.
“Ever been in love?” he asks, worry etching his tone.
“No, you?” I muse, my breath catching in my throat.
“Not yet,” he says while smiling into my hair.
Not yet?
Does that mean he’s falling for me? Do I want him to fall for me?
Yes I do, because I’m falling for him.
Northshore’s wind is much stronger than most places. I cringe as I see the blood spilling free from the man’s mouth after my uncle slams him into the wall for the hundredth time.
“That’s all of them,” he growls while injecting the bloody man with a sedative.
“Good. We’ll start interrogations as soon as we can get someone out here. I should have prepared for this,” Jase says while inspecting the heap of unconscious men.
“You should have?” I chuckle out. “You mean Unc should have.”
He and my uncle exchange a look, and then Jase shrugs.
“I’m usually the one in charge of assembling groups. That’s all I meant,” he says casually, and my uncle walks over to start calling someone.
“Any chance you’d come out of retirement long enough to grill some men for me?” he asks the person on the other line.
“Really?” my mother asks in a puffed tone, and I smirk as I see Uncle Grayson working his magic on her.
She has always had a soft spot for him. I swear she secretly adopted him and never told anyone.
“Please, Araya. It would really help us out right now. No one is half as good as you are, and your daughter kicked ass by finding these guys. I think it’d be cool if the whole family worked together for one night.”
Oh he’s good.
Rex smirks while joining me and Jase, and then he wraps his arm around my shoulders while whispering, “She’s coming.”
I giggle lightly, and then I almost hear my mother roll her eyes.
“I heard that, Rex,” she playfully scolds.
“I knew you would, Mom,” he adds.
“I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Northshore isn’t far from where we’re staying. Tell the commander not to get any ideas though. This is a one time deal.”
“I’m sure he understands the special circumstances,” Unc says while looking toward Jase.
I see that secretive smirk emerge, and then Jase’s lips find my forehead as he pulls me into his arms.
“You really were amazing. You saved all our lives, and you found what we were looking for. I’m impressed.”
“Well, you should be,” I smugly retort, and he chuckles lightly while kissing me sweeter.
“I need a shower though. As much as I love a good mud bath, I’d like to be clean before my mother gets here and starts asking a bunch of questions. Let’s leave out the part where I went flying out the windshield.”
He winces lightly when that memory floods back, and his grip on me tightens as he kisses my head again.
“How did you go flying out the window?” my aunt asks while walking up and leaning over the car, propping her elbows up on the hood.
