not. Just because no one had seen him in Florida for a few days didn’t mean he’d hauled himself home, either. But if he were to be home when they drove up into the yard, she knew Bane would want to deal with him somehow. He hadn’t brought anything with them, but surely he had something in mind, just as he’d already known about the existence of this hotel. He was a planner, unlike Myrt, who seemed to do things flying by the seat of her pants.
She’d seen him eyeing a few things when they’d shopped for the boys. Items that didn’t say a single thing about rescue but had everything to do with an offensive move. He hadn’t bought them then; she didn’t know why. But she was sure he’d left to see if he could find likely replacements.
Nearly an hour later, the van turned into the parking lot off the side street, not the front entrance where she’d spent most of her time staring. The two lines of parking were narrow and long, and she watched as the vehicle pulled up next to the dumpsters at the end of the building next to the hotel and Bane exited the vehicle. He looked front and back as he walked to the back of the van, opening the doors and stepping between, moving out of her line of sight. A few minutes passed, and he backed away, one arm full of what looked like trash. He shoved it into the dumpster, closed the lid, and shut the doors. Back in the driver seat, he moved the vehicle to the space underneath her window. When he climbed out, he looked up and caught sight of her. Their gazes locked before he glanced back towards where the dumpsters were, then back up at her. His head dropped, and she imagined she heard him cussing himself as he walked towards the hotel’s side entrance and out of sight.
Less than a minute later, the door buzzed lightly, and he walked through, closing it gently behind him.
“You get what you needed?” She didn’t know how to tell him she’d be okay with however he handled things. “All sorted?” Maybe turning it into nothing wasn’t the right way, but it was all she could think of. “It’ll be dinnertime soon. Got a hankering for anything special?”
Bane swooped her legs out of the chair and deposited his rear, settling her feet in his lap. She could see the moment he decided not to take the out she’d given him, teeth setting in a fierce grin. “Thanks for that, darlin’. We’ll order pizza or something later. Right now, though, we’re gonna finish our talk about the boys, and then get our plans set. You’ve talked about the roads up there. I want to get up the mountain and back down before it gets dark.” He glanced at the window, then across the room to where a clock sat on a table between the beds. “So we’ve got about an hour to chat before getting moving.”
“Luke.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how he’ll react. It depends on what’s happened. Thad will be okay.”
“Okay, time for the talk, then.” His fingers wrapped around her calves and made slow, soothing circles through the fabric of her jeans. “If the boys aren’t there, we go to your daddy’s house and get them. The fact you believe the man’s capable of doing this tells me they aren’t safe there, either. We talk to Marian while we’re there, get her the info she’ll need if she decides she doesn’t want to leave quite yet.” His fingers stopped moving and gripped firmly. “If the boys are there and Sallabrook’s not, we take the boys and anything belonging to them, and bring them back here. I’ve got a friend coming in soon. He can stay with the boys tomorrow morning while you and I go out to talk to Marian.” Bane dipped his chin, gaze pinning her to the chair. “You with me so far, baby?”
“I’m with you, Bane.” That phrase felt like more than a simple affirmation, and she saw the words hit him the way they’d felt coming out of her throat. Real and tangible, she’d pledged him something lasting. Just to see if it felt the same, wholly unafraid of the outcome, she repeated the words, “I’m with you.” A shiver crawled up her spine, and his eyes grew dark, intense.
“Jesus, baby, the things I wanna do with you.” The low