me, then at the door. I wait as patiently as possible as she makes her decision.
With a resounding sigh, she walks straight for me. As soon as she is within reach, I grab her hand and bring it up to my lips.
“I’m so sorry,” she says, her voice breaking as her tears flow freely. “I’ll never be able to forgive myself. I’ll never get the image of you falling to the ground out of my head.”
Ignoring the pain in my neck, I pull Jessa’s hand until she comes closer.
“Climb up,” I tell her.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she says shyly.
“Jessalyn, get in this fucking bed so that I can hold you.”
With a small smile, she does as I say.
The room is quiet as Jessa snuggles against the left side of my body and rests her head on my chest.
“I love you, baby,” I say, wrapping my left arm around her. “Not a single thing that happened was your fault. I don’t want you to ever put any blame on your shoulders.”
“You almost died,” she whispers.
I hold her closer and kiss her head.
“I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
I hold my woman tightly as she silently cries. No matter what I have to do or how long it takes, Jessa will one day understand that none of this was her fault.
She eventually falls asleep with tears still wetting my chest.
“That woman loves you something fiercely.”
I glance over to where Trigger, Wolf, and Bear are sitting. Trigger looks like his usual bored self, Bear has a small smile, and Wolf looks horrible.
“Looks like you could use a full few days of sleep, brother,” I say quietly to Wolf.
He chuckles. “I probably could,” he admits. “Now that you’re awake, I might just go do that.”
Wolf walks over and kisses Jessa’s head, bumps fists with me, and walks out.
“He hasn’t left her side since you were shot,” Bear says. “It took some convincing to let Jessa and Wolf stay here with you, but Wolf was adamant that your life was in danger, and they both had to stay.”
“Not that I’m complaining,” I start. “But why?”
“Because I gave you my word that I wouldn’t let her out of my sight until you were back at her side,” Wolf says, walking back into the room. “Sorry. Forgot my phone.”
“Thank you, man,” I say, gratitude like I’ve never felt warming my body. “Thank you for taking care of her when I couldn’t.”
Wolf smiles. “She can be stubborn when she wants,” he laughs. “I had to threaten her with a feeding tube if she wouldn’t eat. It even took three whole days before I talked her into taking a shower, and the bathroom is in this room.”
I smile, completely understanding what he’s talking about.
“Anyway, I’m going to head home for a shower and a change of clothes. I’ll be back tonight.”
Without another word, he leaves the room.
“That man is something else,” Bear says.
“What happened to Jessa’s mother?” I ask the question that’s been on my mind.
Neither one answers me. The silence alone has my heart racing.
“I would like an answer,” I growl, losing my patience.
“Jessa shot her,” Trigger says softly. “We were on our way to the truck to meet the ambulance when she turned and went the other way.”
“We don’t know the smaller details,” Bear interrupts. “Both Chains and Wolf were there. You would have to ask them. But, from what they’ve told us, Jessa was like a completely different person. She was calm and completely under control of her next move.”
“She saw the gun that her mother must have dropped when Chains subdued her. Waltzed over, picked it up, and shot her right between the eyes.”
Trigger’s voice is loaded with pride as he tells me what my woman did.
“Backlash?” I ask, concerned about any consequences.
“Taken care of,” Bear answers. “She was never there. None of us were.”
Satisfied that my brothers took care of everything, I settle back and close my eyes.
I focus on the soft breaths Jessa takes, causing the hair on my chest to move with each exhale. I focus on the warmth of her hand as it lays lightly against my stomach and her leg wrapped around my left one.
Knowing that she’s safe helps me to relax.
I’m drifting off to sleep when another question pops into my head. One I hate to ask but know that I need the answer to even if it isn’t what I want to hear.
“Brother’s,” I hesitate. My stomach turns with the memory of how I found