[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Once Shannon got over the firstwave of sickness and caught her breath, she was done.She pressed a kiss toJohn s cheek and slid from his lap, butstood beside him as they answeredquestions.The contact that Duncan hadbeen talking to all day, Chief Quillen,arrived and paved the way for a lot ofthe details to be smoothed over andexpedited.Within just a few minutes,they were given permission to go home.One of the men had driven Duncan svehicle inside the warehouse, so it wasa lot easier to leave.John s hands weregritty with glass, but he didn t sayanything as they all bundled into thetruck for the ride back to town.He sat inthe backseat and kept his arm aroundShannon all the way.She nestled into his chest and drifted off to sleep.The knot in his chest loosened insidehim as he thought of what could havehappened, but didn t.Everything hadturned out as perfect as was possible ina situation as crazy as this one.Yes, aman had died, but by his own actions.He knew Shannon would be feeling allkinds of guilt over what she d done, buthe hoped she felt vindicated as well, andmore secure in her own ability to takecare of herself.He felt useless as fuck.He d trustedLisa when he shouldn t have andShannon had been stolen out of hisgrasp.He hadn t been able to track her,or find her, or even fucking get to herrescue in time because of the damn chair.She d killed to protect herself,which he admired, but he would havetaken that responsibility off her hands ina heartbeat.It would have been a drop inthe bucket considering all the years ofservice he d had. Do you think she wants to gohome? Duncan asked softly. Yes, Shannon murmured againsthis chest.John was surprised she was awake.She was still curled into his side, quiet,unmoving, but apparently cognizant.Within just a few minutes Duncanpulled into her driveway.He circled thevehicle to retrieve John s chair.John s face heated as they waited for him to shift off the seat and drop down.All of the attention should have been onShannon, and her comfort.Instead, hewas making her wait on him.He musthave made some involuntary movementbecause she reached out and grabbedone of his hands, turning it palm up.Shegasped at the sight of his ripped-uppalms and seeping blood. Jeez, John.Why didn t you saysomething? Duncan growled.His skin glinted with glass.When helooked at Shannon s face, he wasdismayed to see her eyes full of tearsagain. Aw, Shannon, I m fine.It s nobig deal. She shook her head and pursed herlips, then stepped behind his chair. I know it pisses you off to be pushed, butyou re going to let me this time, JohnPalmer.Do not touch those wheels.Duncan, thank you for the ride. No, problem, Shannon.I m justglad we made it there when we did.Don t worry about work.Take as longas you need.And John, he continued, Iexpect you to be with Shannon whileshe s off.There ll be two guards postedfor the next forty-eight hours, as well. John snorted but didn t argue.Ofcourse he d be with her.Actually, theguards would be welcome.The two ofthem could rest without worry.Shannon rolled him up the ramp asDuncan pulled out of the driveway. Somebody had cleared it of snow whilethey were gone, but he gritted his teeth inhumiliation.He was damn heavy andshe d been through ten hours of hell.Forward motion slowed at the top of theramp and he reached down to help her,but she snapped at him to not touch.Biting his tongue, he crossed his armsover his chest, struggling not tocompletely lose his shit.*****Shannon paused to retrieve her clutteredkey-ring from the pocket of theborrowed coat.Harper had secured thehouse when he reconned and given thekeys to John.When he handed it to her, she d gotten choked up at that glimpse ofthe familiar.And as she pushed himinside the entryway, she felt it again.Shenever thought she d see home again.Tears dripped down her cheeks, but shebrushed them away and straightened.John was hurt.She didn t realize until afterwardwhere they d kept her, less than fivemiles from her own house.She d seenthe glass on the ground, but it just hadn tregistered.Heck, John had probably hada hell of a time even getting to her withall the debris littering the warehousefloor.Her throat tightened at what he dobviously gone through to get to her.Shelooked at the wheels of his chair.Glassglinted there as well. John, we have an issue. He turned his head to look up at her,and something about the way he looked,pissed and grumpy, made her heart ache.She pressed a solid kiss to his foreheadbefore she motioned to the wheels of hischair. Fuck! She grinned at the familiar expletiveand shook her head. I think what weneed to do is, you need to sit here for aminute while I go strip off these clothesand grab tweezers.Once we get as muchas we can out of your hands maybe youcan shift to my desk chair and we llwork on the wheels. His solid jaw was clamped shut and he looked furious that she had to do allthis for him, but he gave a tight nod. Goahead and hop in the shower.I m notmoving. As quickly as she could she went toher bathroom and ripped off herbloodstained clothes, shuddering at theclammy feel.Thoughts of Jimmy comingat her again clouded her mind, but sheshoved them away and stepped under thespray.John needed her.And she neededthe distraction of John needing her.Within just a few minutes she hadscrubbed and washed her whole bodytwice.She also took a few seconds tobrush the sickness from her mouth
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]