Morgan has hired off-duty deputies to protect the house twenty-four hours a day. Once you came back, neither of us could sleep very well at night."
Jesse said quietly, "He's dead, Ryland...they're all dead." She leaned over until she felt her shoulder brush up against Morgan. "I killed Guillermo and...and Richard came after me down in the room. He threw himself at me and I drove his fucking nose up into his brain." She paused and looked away, then turned back to Ryland. "He's dead. I made sure he was dead this time."
Ryland and Morgan shared a relief so intense that they left Jesse to herself and went out into the living room together. Morgan sank down into the couch and Ryland tucked herself up under her friend's arm and began to cry. She hadn't realized how terrified she'd been that Richard would be back, and with a vengeance this time. She let it all come flooding out, and Morgan gathered her into her arms and held her very close.
Morgan rubbed her cheek on Ryland's hair. “I'm sorry I didn't protect you. I should have protected you. Shhh...I'm so sorry...I am so sorry."
Ryland cried until she was exhausted. The afternoon sun had fallen below the tree line, and the room began to fill with shadows and memories. "Morgan?"
"Hmm?"
"If you had protected me, and he had killed you—" She put her hand to her eyes. “I thank God you didn't protect me."
Morgan rolled Ryland's words around in her head a while, then smiled. “I'm not quite sure what to say to that. You're welcome that I didn't protect you?"
Ryland chuckled and they were quiet a while longer until Ryland sighed. “I guess you can tell the deputies they can go home. We don't need them anymore, and our life can maybe start to get back to normal. What do you think?"
Morgan kissed the top of her head. "I think that's a wonderful idea."
Jesse, who'd been standing in the hallway listening, limped in and sat down on the other side of Morgan. She leaned up against her, reached over and took Ryland's hand in hers. “There's something I've been meaning to ask you guys."
The serious tone in Jesse's voice concerned Ryland, who put her hand on Jesse's cheek. “What's that, Hon?"
"Do you think we could ask Mary if she'd like to come nurse me back to health? Maybe bring me some dessert?"
Morgan threw her head back and laughed while Ryland pulled Jesse's smiling face close and playfully tapped her on the head with her knuckles. Life had started down its own path to normal, and Ryland knew all they could do was hang on for the ride.
###
To find more books by Alison Naomi Holt go to www.alisonholtbooks.com
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
The Door at the Top of the Stairs Page 29