Wind Therapy - A.J. Downey Page 0,50

her head under my chin, holding her tight.

“Things are gonna change, baby. Mark my words,” I whispered savagely.

She didn’t say anything, just slipped her arms around my waist and let me fucking hold her.

Trouble was that the damage was already done. There wasn’t any protecting her from the big bad. It’d already been living inside her heart and head for years by now.

I tell you what, Karma was riding back to Washington and it was bringing hell with it. Some motherfuckers were fixin’ to die. They just didn’t know it yet.

I couldn’t unilaterally make this type of decision, though. I needed to talk to my men. Get their take… so, I dressed Marisol in one of my clean tees and a spare clean pair of my boxers and laid down with her, holding her close, stroking her hair, waiting for her breathing to deepen and even out as I stared sightlessly into the dark, cogs and wheels going in my brain.

When she was finally out, it was too late to really do anything, but I wasn’t going to get any sleep. So, I thought, planned, schemed, and generally just did what I did best. I Plotted like a motherfucker on how to get what I wanted and yet keep myself and my club off law enforcement’s radar.

Of course, there was only so much I could plan for without knowing what the guys were going to think of this.

That in and of itself would be a delicate operation. I was sure Marisol wouldn’t want them knowing her business, but that wasn’t how club life worked. There were no secrets among the club.

I sighed and dropped into a light and uneasy sleep, but I was back awake before long, the birds chirping in the pre-dawn outside the lodge’s windows.

Chapter Fourteen

Marisol…

He believed me. I’d seen it written all over his face by the dim light through the little room’s window. He believed every word I’d said, and he was silently seething on my behalf.

It was more than a little mind-blowing to finally be believed after so long. I really didn’t think it was possible. It was certainly vindicating to a degree, but by the same token, I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high that it would change anything. I mean, what was to stop him from making the ride back to Washington and dropping me somewhere that was anywhere that just wasn’t his problem anymore?

Still, it was hard not to get my hopes up when he held me like he did. Tight to his body, with this utter savagery to it, like he would straight murder anyone who dared come near me.

I couldn’t help myself. I leaned into that embrace and pretended for the time being that that was precisely the intent with which he wrapped his arms around me.

We’d sat like that for a long time, with Maverick gently rocking me and stroking his hand over my hair. He didn’t say anything. I don’t honestly thing there was much of a need to. I mean, what was there to say?

He dressed me in one of his tees and a clean pair of his boxers and laid down with me, holding me gently, cuddling me, and I soaked it up shamelessly.

Comfort wasn’t something I was used to being shown and it honestly meant the world to me… even if I didn’t think it would last, I would take what I could get.

By morning, the spell was broken, though. I woke alone. The light in the room told me it was still morning, but I didn’t know by how much and I wouldn’t until I looked at an actual clock.

I looked around, relieved that Mav’s stuff was still in the corner where I’d stacked it neatly alongside mine. He was still here. I doubted he would have taken off without me but… well, let’s just say I couldn’t put anything past anyone anymore.

I sighed heavily and got up, going through a half-paced morning routine of brushing hair and teeth and finding an outfit to wear.

I went for more covered than not – one of my traditional light peasant blouses and a pair of shorts. The blouse was one of my favorites. A black linen-type material, brightly embroidered at the neckline, along the wide short sleeves and hem. I gave it a French tuck and slid my feet into a pair of simple dark leather sandals.

I was feeling raw and vulnerable, so I stopped and took my time to do my full