by Maddie Wade
Gunner took Blake’s hand, a weight lifting as he shook it. “We’re good.”
“Thank God. The couch is getting old really quickly.”
Gunner’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. “Pax still mad?”
“You wouldn’t believe it. Grace can hold a snit better than anyone I know.”
“A snit? Don’t let her hear you call it that or that couch could become permanent.”
“Yeah, good point.”
Gunner laughed as they walked into the hallway and then they heard a commotion from the war room and both men were running as the sound of gunfire came over the comms. Rounding the corner, he saw Lopez and Decker at the terminal, but it was the sound of Waggs’ voice coming through that made his blood run cold.
“We’re pinned down by gunfire and can’t get to the house. We need back up, stat. The house is burning, and Lacey is inside.”
Before the last word was out, Gunner was moving without thought, his only instinct to get to the woman who meant more than anything to him and was inside a burning building. His gut clenched as he jumped in the hummer used for tactical situations. He was about to gun the engine when the door opened and Blake jumped in with weapons and an oxygen breather.
“Thought we might need these.” Gunner was glad to have someone thinking with a clear head. The entire journey took less than eight minutes, but it was the longest eight minutes of his life.
He could hear the updates coming through from Liam and Waggs and was relieved when they said the gunmen had left, driving off and leaving two of their men stranded. Gunner knew Waggs would go for the house and try to save Lacey.
His breath caught in his throat when he saw the haze of orange in the sky as he drove towards her house. The sounds of fire engines and emergency vehicles in the distance hardly reached his consciousness as he pulled the car to a stop and saw Waggs walking out of the front door covered in soot and dirt with a lifeless Lacey in his arms.
Gunner felt his heart fall through a hole in his chest as he raced to her, gently taking her from Waggs as Blake helped get Waggs to the ground where he began to cough up a lung. Lacey was covered in blood and dirt, but she had a pulse. Blake turned and placed the oxygen mask over Lacey’s mouth, watching her colour and checking her pulse with his fingers against her neck. The steady thump of her pulse reassured him that she was okay, but she’d inhaled a lot of smoke.
Fire crew and paramedics arrived and took over giving her oxygen as they got her onto a gurney and transported her to the ambulance. Gunner didn’t let go of her hand, not wanting her to wake up alone and afraid.
The chaos around him dulled, his only focus Lacey. “Come on, Cosmo, wake up and show me those pretty eyes.”
Jack arrived on the scene and walked over to him. “She okay?”
Gunner looked to the paramedic seeking reassurance.
“She will be. Looks like she hit her head, so she’ll need a CT scan and an MRI to check her out and maybe a day or so to clear her lungs. But we’ll know more when we get her to the hospital and she wakes up.”
“Keep me updated.” Gunner nodded as Jack walked away to take charge of the tricky situation involving his men.
Lacey began to move as the ambulance drove toward the hospital, fighting the oxygen mask on her face.
“Cosmo, keep it on. You need the oxygen in your lungs to clear the smoke.” She looked at him as she coughed, and he held her hand tight, letting her know he wasn’t going anywhere.
Slumping back against the trolley, she closed her eyes, but this time he knew she was exhausted, not unconscious. Tonight, she’d gotten incredibly lucky. He shuddered to think what would have happened if Waggs and Liam hadn’t been there. From now on though he would make sure she was safe. He hadn’t wanted to take her out of her home, but this changed everything. He wanted her where nobody knew how to find her, not Osbourne and certainly not Carmine Russo.
Digging out his phone, he sent a text to Jack and then held on tight to Lacey. He didn’t care if it took him the rest of his life, he wasn’t leaving her alone, and he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.
At the hospital, they left him to give her details to the desk while the doctors rushed Lacey through. He went to follow and was held back by a formidable-looking receptionist.
“Sir, you can’t go back there.”
Gunner turned ready to argue and saw Kanan rushing through the door. “Jack sent me, wanted me to make sure you weren’t alone.”
Gunner just nodded, more moved by the caring than he could say. “Thanks.”
“Roz called the girls and Skye is on her way. We’ll find the pricks who did this, Gunner.”
Gunner knew Kanan well, having worked and socialised with him on many occasions and was glad for the ex-spy’s back up.
“Excuse me, sir, does your girlfriend have an allergy?” Gunner felt lost, not knowing for sure if she did or not. He was coming to realise just how little he knew about the woman he loved. As he was about to admit he didn’t know, Skye rushed through the door and looked around frantically before she ran over to him when she saw him.
“Does Lacey have any allergies?” Skye gripped his hand and proceeded to answer the questions put to them, by the medical receptionist on duty.
Before long, the waiting room was full of people he knew. Lizzie and Smithy, Lucy and Jace, Zack and Ava, Evelyn, Taamira, Callie, Astrid, Bebe, and Pax. It was overwhelming in a good way to know she had so many people who cared about her.
He sat, his leg bouncing up and down with impatience as he waited for an update. He felt someone sit down next to him and sat straight, his gut clenching when he saw it was Pax.
“She’ll be okay, you know. Lacey is tough and won’t let a little thing like smoke bring her down.”
Gunner looked across at the woman he’d watched get hurt and saw only compassion and kindness.
“I’m sorry, Pax. I’m so damn sorry for what I allowed to happen.”
Pax cocked her head. “I won’t say I forgive you because there’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t do it, Gunner. You were a victim as much as I was. You were protecting your sister, and that is noble no matter what you believe about yourself.” Pax looped her arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder.
Gunner swallowed around the lump in his throat and nodded not trusting himself to speak for a minute.
“You’re a good woman, Grace.”
She looked up and grinned. “I know, right! Now to see if I can forgive Blake his idiocy.”
Gunner chuckled at a time when he never thought it possible. “He apologised and explained, and we’re good now. I know he has my back and I have his and yours.”
“Fair enough. It was getting lonely in bed alone.”
Gunner patted Pax’s hand before a doctor called his name from the double doors that Lacey had disappeared behind.
“Gunner Ramberg!”
He stood and rushed forward with Skye and Nate. “That’s me.”
The doctor looked around the waiting room with a frown and then looked at him. “Miss Cannon is asking for you. You can go on back when she comes back from her CT scan.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yes, I believe so from everything I’ve seen. I just want to check her lungs and her head and then she can go up to a ward overnight.”
“Thank you, doc.”
“You’re welcome.” The man spun on his heel and strode away. He may not have had the best bedside manner, but he’d said all the things Gunner needed to hear, and that was enough.
Gunner went back when Skye nodded and saw Lacey in the bed sleeping. Her hair was messed, her skin was covered in smoke, and she’d never been more beautiful.
He took her hand and brought it to his face, cradling it against his skin as he kissed her palm.
“Hey.”
Her gorgeous blue eyes were staring into his. “Hey, Cosmo, how you feeling?”
“Like I have the worst hangover in the world and swallowed a smoking
pipe.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
The curtain swept back, and the same doctor from before faced them. “Miss Cannon, your scans are clear. We just want to keep you overnight to make sure your lungs are clear and dress the cuts on your hands and feet. You can go home tomorrow.”
Gunner watched Lacey bite her lip and tears fill her eyes. “Thank you, doctor.”
The man looked at him and then Lacey and then turned on his heel and left.
Gunner reached out and swept her hair away. “Why the tears?”
“My home.”
She didn’t need to say more because Gunner knew full well what she was asking. He kissed her forehead and wrapped an arm around her as she leaned into his embrace with a trust that humbled him.
“I’ll get an update from Jack as soon as I can, but, Lacey, regardless of what happened with your house, you can’t go back there until it’s safe. No matter what happens with us, I care about you too much to let you be in danger.”
“Where will I go? I could ask Skye and Nate, I guess.” She tried to sit up as if she was going to get out of the bed that second and go and fix things, but he placed a firm hand on her shoulder. “Stay there. I’ll sort it all out for you if you’ll let me?”
He knew he was asking her to trust him even more than she was already and given everything and the fact he still hadn’t explained what happened with Pax, it was a big ask.
“Would you? That would be a big help. I feel so tired.”
Gunner kissed her hand where the doctor had bandaged from the cuts. “Sleep baby, I won’t leave you alone, I promise.”
Chapter 19
When Lacey woke up from a very fitful sleep, she saw Jack in the corner of her room. He was reading something on his phone and frowning, but he must have felt her eyes on him because he looked up.
“Morning. How do you feel?”
Lacey tested out moving her head, and apart from a slight headache and a sore throat, she felt okay. “Morning, Jack, and okay, I think.”
“Good. Gunner had to pop out and sort out living arrangements. He should be back shortly.”
Lacey blushed that Jack had read her mind so easily.
“Sorry, I appreciate you being here, I just...” She let the sentence hang because she honestly did not know how to finish it.
“It’s fine, Lacey, I get it. Gunner is the one person you want to see when you wake up. He’s a good guy.” Jack looked away and then back at her. “I’m just sorry it took me so long to remember it.”
“It all worked out in the end, though right? I mean he’s safe now. You do have his back?” Lacey didn’t really have the energy to take on Jack in a verbal sparring match, but she felt bad for how everyone, including herself, had treated him.
Jack smirked. “Yes, Eidolon fully has his back, and bridges have started the process of healing. What about you? Have you forgiven him for Pax?”
Lacey inspected her fingernails as she considered that Gunner hadn’t exactly told her anything but on reflection, if Pax could forgive it and now so had Blake, then there was obviously more to the story than she knew. Acting rashly was not like her, but it had been an emotional response. “I think that’s between Gunner and me.”
“Fair point.”
Jack stood and moved toward her. “Your house is salvageable. The fire brigade managed to contain it to the ground floor mostly, but it’s going to take a lot of work and will most likely be months before you can move back in there.”
“Just as well I was going to redecorate. Do we know who did it, and was anyone else hurt?”
“Everyone is fine, and we’re still making inquiries.”
The door opened, and her face fell when she saw a nurse instead of Gunner.
“Miss Cannon, let’s change those dressings and get you home, shall we?”
Jack moved to the door. “I’ll wait outside.”
The nurse began to unwrap her hands, and Lacey let her mind go back over last night. She’d been lucky to get out of the house alive, and she needed to thank Waggs for saving her. She remembered Gunner being there in the ambulance and wondered how he got there so quickly.
Fifteen minutes later, with small coverings over the more significant cuts on her hands that had stitches and a prescription for pain relief and antibiotics, she was given her discharge letter. Alone in the room, she was contemplating calling Skye when Gunner walked in. He’d recently showered if his wet hair was any indication and had changed into cargo trousers and a black tee that fit perfectly over his broad, sculpted chest. He had a carrier bag in his hand which looked odd with his overall appearance of manliness.
“Morning, Cosmo.” He strode toward her and kissed her head with a smile on his face. “Ready to get out of here?”
“Yes, please.”
He placed the bag on the bed and pulled out joggers, sequin slippers, a long sleeve tee, a mini wash kit, and hairbrush still in its packaging.
“I wasn’t sure what you would need but thought if I brought the basics you can go crazy online when we get home and get you settled.”
Lacey smiled and leaned her head back to look at him. “You’re too sweet to me.”
Gunner raised his eyebrows and grinned. “Is that even possible?”
“I mean it, Gunner. After the way I was with you, and you still show up when I need you.”
He faced her fully as she sat on the edge of the bed, her feet dangling. Lifting a hand, he tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and caressed her face, making her lean into his touch. The scent of his deodorant and the shower gel he used surrounded her, and she felt her belly flutter with desire for him. This was what home smelled like—Gunner was her safety, her happiness, and the only place she wanted to be was with him.
“I have some things we need to talk about when we get home, and we’ll talk about Pax too, but let’s get one thing clear right now. I’ll always show up for you when you need me, and even when you don’t, until the day you tell me to stop. I realised this last week that I should’ve fought harder to explain things to you, to fight for what we were building. I love you, Lacey. Maybe I shouldn’t say that or even feel it yet but it’s the truth. I’m head over heels for you.”
Lacey went to speak, and he held his finger over her lips. “No, don’t say anything. Let me tell you what I need to when we get back and then you can tell me whatever is on your mind. It won’t change how I feel either way, and I want you to have all the facts first.”
Lacey knew this was important to him, but in her heart, she knew the truth already. She loved him too, and she wouldn’t change her mind this time or freak out and run. Her heart did a happy flip as it registered the fact he’d said he loved her. She itched to say it back, but she would respect his wishes and only say it when she was absolutely certain.
“How about I get changed, and we can have that chat?”
Gunner lowered his head, giving her time to pull away, but he needn’t have worried. She wanted this kiss more than her next breath. She could taste the mint on his lips as the firm, soft mouth touched her own. It was sweet and sexy, and as he pulled away, not enough to convey everything she felt. She swayed into him from the simmering passion and the undiluted passion.
His thumb rubbed over her bottom lip, and he groaned. “So fucking sweet, Cosmo.”
He helped her hop off the bed, and she gingerly walked on her hurt feet to the bathroom, with his arm supporting her the entire time.
“Can you manage?”
Lacey cocked her head. “And if I can’t?”
Gunner looked down, and she followed his eyes, gasping at the erection outlined in his trouser.
“Oh!”
“Not like it will make me any hornier, will it?”
“Is that a challenge, Mr Ramberg?”
Lacey felt lighter than she had all week, flirting with Gunner despite the fact she’d almost died, and her house was a fiery wreck.
Gunner swatted her ass. “Go before I decide to give the nu
rses a show they won’t forget.”
Lacey closed the door on him with a giggle and slowly changed into her new clothes from the hospital gown she’d slept in last night.
After insisting she sit in a wheelchair or he would carry her, Lacey had given in and allowed him to push her to the car and help her inside before buckling her in. The slippers had been perfect for her feet, and she loved the glamour of them, wondering if they were something she could work into her range for teens.
Gunner turned right out of the hospital, but instead of going toward her home, he carried on straight out of the city and headed towards where the Eidolon offices were.
“Are we going to Eidolon?”
Gunner glanced at her. “No. I rented a place from Zack. He has a couple of properties he’s been renting out, and this one happened to be available.”
“Oh, that’s handy.”
“Yeah, he saved me a lot of time doing this.”
Lacey watched the world go by enjoying the mid-morning sun. “Jack says my house is still standing but has a lot of damage.”
Gunner pursed his lips and grabbed her hand, his silent support and acknowledgement holding her steady as reality began to set in.
They passed the turn for Eidolon, and she was surprised when they turned left not far after and onto what looked like farmland. Intrigued she turned to Gunner, who was smiling as he pulled up outside a black and white barn conversion.
“Is this it? It’s beautiful.”
Gunner looked back at the property and nodded. “Yes, it is. It’s an attached four-bed, but Kanan and Roz bought the other one so we won’t have any issues.”
“Wow, she didn’t mention moving to a new house when I saw her.”
“Yeah, well, she was too busy orchestrating an ambush.”
Lacey laughed. “Yes, not very subtle is she but it’s nice to know she cares.”
“If you say so.”