Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)(57)

He relaxed a bit when he heard her chuckle. “If you get tired of having me there, you’ll tell me, right?” she asked.

“Morgan, the day I get sick of you being in my space is the day Rex will need to commit me for having lost my mind.”

“If you’re sure, I’d love to stay with you at your apartment, Arrow,” Morgan said.

“Awesome. I’ll see if Chloe can go to the store while I’m on my way tomorrow and stock up on orange juice for you.”

Morgan chuckled again. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Is your mom going to be okay with you leaving so soon after you got there?” Arrow asked.

“I’ll try to make sure I talk to her every day to make her feel better about it. She won’t be thrilled, but I’m twenty-seven. I need to get past what happened to me and live my own life. I can’t stay with her forever, as much as she might want me to. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“If it’s not, you call me,” Arrow ordered.

“I will. But my mom will get over any disappointment and worry,” Morgan insisted. “What time should I expect you tomorrow?”

“Before ten. I’m going to head out of here around four, four thirty. I’d leave right now, but I didn’t get enough sleep last night and don’t want to risk passing out behind the wheel of my truck.”

“Please drive safe, Arrow. I couldn’t handle it if something happened to you because of me.”

“Nothing that happens to me is your fault, beautiful. Now, go drink some more OJ—it’s good for you. Get some sleep, pack your things. I’ll be there before you know it.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” Arrow told her. “Not a lot of people would be willing to drop everything for a kid they don’t even really know.”

“I might not know her all that well, but spending a week together under the crappy conditions we did seems to have forged an unbreakable bond.”

“As did spending a day hiding under a bunch of cardboard boxes,” Arrow said dryly. “I’ll see you soon, beautiful.”

“Bye, Arrow.”

“Bye.”

Arrow had to consciously refrain from telling Morgan that he loved her before he hung up. Shaking his head at himself for how sappy he felt, he forced himself to dial Rex’s number and let him know that Morgan had agreed to come back to Colorado Springs to help Nina. After that was done, he called Chloe and asked if she would stop at the store for him tomorrow, and he gave her a list of things he wanted her to buy so Morgan would hopefully feel more at home in his apartment.

Just when he’d gotten settled into bed, his phone rang. It was Meat.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“Just calling to give you a heads-up that Ball and Black are headed to Atlanta tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“To have a little chat with Lance and Lane Buswell.”

“What did you find out about them?” Arrow asked, sitting up in bed.

“Nothing that you didn’t already know, but we all agreed that it would be better to talk to them in person to see their reactions to certain questions and revelations about what Morgan went through. They’re planning on talking to Sarah and Karen as well. A trip to the nightclub she disappeared from is also on their agenda. Basically they just want to get the lay of the land in person and see if anything sticks out.”

“Keep me informed?” Arrow asked.

“Of course.”

“I’m headed down to Albuquerque tomorrow to pick Morgan up and bring her back here.”

“It’s about time,” Meat said.

“She’s only been down there a week,” Arrow protested.

“Exactly. It’s about time,” Meat repeated. “Later.”

Arrow shook his head in exasperation at his friend. Meat was certainly the most unique of their bunch. He made incredible furniture and definitely knew his way around computers, but he was also the most outspoken at times. If Arrow had to guess, he’d say the man had some sort of attention deficit disorder. Something that made it hard for him to sit still, and ensured his hands had to be busy at all times. Something that led to him blurting out whatever crossed his mind, whether it was entirely appropriate or not.

But Arrow and the rest of the team had been around him enough to find it endearing instead of annoying. Meat was just . . . Meat.

Arrow lay back and forced himself to close his eyes. He had to get some sleep if he was going to be able to drive for ten hours round-trip the next day. The last thing he would ever do was put Morgan in danger.

It was hard, as he wanted nothing more than to fantasize about having her in his space once again, but eventually he fell into a light sleep.





Chapter Fifteen

“Hi, Nina. How are you today?” Morgan asked as she hugged the little girl tightly.

In the last week since she’d been back in Colorado Springs, she’d seen Nina every day at therapy. The sessions had been tough, but necessary. She’d had sessions with Nina, by herself, with Nina and her mom, as well as a couple with Arrow.

She hadn’t liked feeling vulnerable in front of Arrow. She wanted to be the strong woman he thought he saw when he looked at her, but the therapist had shown her that she could be struggling with what happened to her and still be strong at the same time.