ream him a new asshole. The paramedics took Cash to the hospital for stitches and an evaluation. A detective asked her some questions and she managed to locate Cash’s knife, which shifted the conversation even more in Zy’s favor.
Two hours later, the police and EMTs were gone. Hunter, Logan, and Joaquin insisted she call if they needed anything else, then departed, too, leaving her alone with the colonel and Zy.
“What are you going to do?” her former boss asked.
Physically, she was exhausted. She wanted a shower. She wanted sleep. She wanted to forget. But mentally, fear still wired her, and she doubted she’d relax enough for any of those things tonight.
“She shouldn’t be alone,” Zy supplied. “I’ll stay with her.”
The colonel turned to him. “And what will happen if you do?”
They would wind up in bed. Zy looked like a man itching to claim her now that he’d saved her. And she was so desperate for his touch and his comfort that she would probably let him, consequences be damned. She would regret it tomorrow when she was unemployed—and the colonel knew it.
Tessa swallowed. “Do you have any other ideas?”
Edgington hesitated. “Let me make some calls. I’ll get something temporary arranged.” Then he turned to Zy. “Garrett, go home.”
Zy looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Colonel… Sir, don’t do this to me.”
“I’m not doing it to you. I’m doing it for her. She’ll be protected. I promise you that. You can call her all you want. You just can’t stay here alone with her.”
She would appreciate him—tomorrow. Tonight, she wished she could have Zy, but that was her desperation talking. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” the colonel said softly as he pulled his phone from his pocket and gestured Zy to the door. “You did good playing the hero. Now you need to go.”
Zy clenched his teeth and cursed as he sent her a gaze that burned with anger and unquenched need. “Bye.”
Her reaction was irrational, and Tessa blamed leftover adrenaline and emotion, but the thought of him leaving was nearly enough to make her weep. Still, she had to let him go—but it was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. “Bye.”
November 17
The weekend passed so slowly, Zy thought he’d lose his mind. A hundred times, he picked up the phone to call Tessa. Every fucking time, he put it back down. If he’d called her, he would have insisted on being with her. And if he’d gotten anywhere close to her, he would have pulled her into his arms to reassure her—and himself—that she was all right. And once she’d been that close, he couldn’t promise that he wouldn’t have kissed her. Wouldn’t have touched her. If he’d done that, even once, he would have done anything to feel her against him, under him—alive, safe, naked, and his.
So he’d stayed away and waited for her to call.
She hadn’t.
And now that Monday had finally rolled around, Zy was about to lose his fucking mind. Yeah, he knew the colonel himself had stayed with her that night, just like he knew the bosses and their brother-in-law, Kimber’s husband, Deke, had rotated guard duty the rest of the weekend. She’d been safe.
But how upset had she been? How much had she needed a friend?
When Tessa finally walked into the office a little before eight, she looked so damn gorgeous with pale curls skimming her breast-hugging gray sweater and black sheath skirt that it fucked with his head. But at least he was seeing her. He could breathe again.
“Zy.” She looked him over like she was thrilled to see him and wanted to touch him every bit as badly as he wanted to touch her.
“You didn’t call.”
She glanced down almost guiltily. “You did so much, I didn’t want to make anything harder for you.”
Fuck. Everyone knew he’d fallen for her, even Tessa. So he wasn’t allowed to touch her. Yeah, he got it. He hated it, but he got it.
“You okay?”
“Let her breathe, Garrett,” Hunter admonished, crossing the foyer to step between them. “You okay?”
What the hell? He’d just asked the same question.
“Fine.” She gave Edgington a smile that said she wasn’t fine at all, and Zy’s worry multiplied.
“The baby okay?”
Her smile turned more genuine. “Hallie seems no worse for the wear, and I think she enjoyed playing with the other kids this weekend. Thank you for that.”
“Our pleasure,” the boss assured, then turned to him with a glare. “Don’t you have an assignment?”
Yeah. To prove his best friend was innocent,