The Protector (Game of Chance, #1)(88)



Carlise ignored him. “Whenever you want.”

A gleam entered Riggs’s eyes, but he only nodded.

Carlise had a feeling she might be Mrs. Chapman before the week was out . . . which was perfectly all right with her. “But I want my mom there,” she said a little belatedly.

“I was going to call her as soon as we got cell service on the way to Newton,” Riggs reassured her. “She’ll want to know you’re all right and what happened.”

Carlise nodded, her eyes feeling extremely heavy. Suddenly, she could barely keep them open.

“Sleep, love,” Riggs murmured. “I’ll take care of you.”

“I know you will,” she told him, before she let the stress of the day and the pain take her under.





Chapter Sixteen


“I’ll be back as soon as you give me the word that you’re getting married,” Carlise’s mom said, doing her best not to let the tears in her eyes fall down her cheeks.

“I will, Mom,” Carlise reassured her. Her arm was still in a sling, but she was feeling pretty darn good, all things considered.

The doctors at Newton’s clinic were top notch, and they’d immediately gotten to work removing the bullet from her shoulder when she’d arrived with Riggs. Luckily, because of the distance between her and Susie, it hadn’t gone too deeply into her flesh. They were able to extract it without the need for any kind of major surgery. But they’d still used some heavy-duty drugs to knock her out, and they’d completely numbed her shoulder before they’d started.

When she woke, she’d been in quite a bit of pain, but Riggs had taken it on himself to make sure she didn’t downplay her discomfort, that she took the pain pills she’d been prescribed.

Her mom arrived not too long after she’d woken up in the clinic, and they’d both been pretty emotional about what Susie had done. It was a rough day or two for Carlise, but with the support of Riggs and his friends, she’d managed to put what had happened behind her pretty quickly. For the most part. She knew she’d have bad moments for a long time to come, but with Riggs at her side, she could deal with just about anything.

The cameras in the cabin had been all the proof anyone needed as to what had happened, and that Susie had arrived to kill her former best friend. It still didn’t make a lot of sense to Carlise. Until Chief Rutkey told her that he’d dug deep . . . discovering that Susie had kept a lot of secrets.

Her birth name wasn’t even Susie. She’d spent most of her childhood in and out of psychiatric hospitals. She’d learned to cope amazingly well for years, but apparently, she’d stopped taking her meds sometime after Carlise began dating Tommy, and she’d slowly spiraled downward.

The entire thing made Carlise extremely sad. Especially the fact that she’d never really known her friend at all.

Carlise’s mom had stayed in Newton for four days, enough to make sure her daughter was really all right, and to meet Riggs and all his friends. JJ was driving her back to Bangor in a few minutes so she could catch her flight to Cleveland.

“You love him,” her mom said.

Carlise smiled. “So much. You aren’t worried we’re rushing things?”

“Not at all. Anyone can see just by looking at you two that you were meant for each other. But with that said, if you ever decide you need more time or you change your mind, don’t hesitate to say something. I made the mistake years ago of going ahead with a marriage I didn’t want because I couldn’t bear inconveniencing anyone.”

Carlise wanted to reassure her mom that there was no way she’d ever feel that way about Riggs, but she just nodded instead. “Okay.”

“I love you, and I’m so happy that this stalker business is behind you, and you can get on with your life.”

“I wish you’d consider moving here,” Carlise said a little sadly.

But her mom chuckled. “I’d never make it here. I mean, I love you and all, but Newton is a little small for me. Rest assured, I’ll be happy to come and spend weeks at a time visiting my grandkids.”

Carlise felt her cheeks flush as she smiled.

Her mom leaned in and hugged her, being careful not to touch her bandaged shoulder. “Again, just say the word about the wedding, and I’m here,” she said.

“It’s not going to be anything huge or fancy,” Carlise warned. “In fact, Riggs has already requested we have Granny’s Burgers at our reception.”

“Sounds good to me,” her mom said with a grin, not looking upset in the least. “As long as my baby’s happy, it doesn’t matter what kind of wedding she has.”

“I love you, Mom,” Carlise said.

“I love you too. I’m going now, before I ruin my makeup by crying it all off.”

“Call when you get home,” Carlise ordered, doing her best not to cry as well.

“I will. Bye!”

Carlise watched through watery eyes as JJ took her mom’s arm and led her to his Bronco. She felt a cold nose nudge her hand and looked down to see Baxter sitting by her side, looking up at her with concern. “I’m okay,” she told the dog.

She saw his gaze dart to the left a split second before she felt Riggs’s arm come around her waist. She leaned back into him and waved with her good arm as JJ drove out of the apartment building’s parking lot with her mom.

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