Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)(18)

“I just want to make sure someone has the info about my life . . . just in case,” she said.

“I get it. But, Morgan, I’m not blowing smoke up your ass. I’m going to get you out of this country safe and sound. I swear on my life, I’m not leaving without you.”

His words seemed to be exactly what she needed to hear, because he felt every muscle in her body relax. Finally. She melted into his arms and let out a long relieved breath.

“Believe me, I want to hear about everyone you’ve ever met, no matter how inconsequential you think they are, simply so we have a good snapshot of anyone who might have a beef with you. But right now, I want you to sleep knowing that I’m here watching over you.”

“What if it was a stranger abduction?” she asked.

“It’s possible, but unlikely,” Arrow told her honestly. “A stranger wouldn’t be going to the lengths he has to keep you here . . . and alive. I promise we’ll talk about this soon. Will you try to sleep now?”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” Arrow agreed.

And between one breath and the next, Morgan was out. She began to snore in the cute way she had almost immediately.

But Arrow didn’t sleep. Not one wink. He took his responsibilities, and his promises, seriously. No one would touch another hair on this woman’s head if he had anything to say about it. He and his teammates could figure out who the asshole was who wanted to crush this beautiful woman beneath his shoe . . . and they’d crush him.

Morgan Byrd was going to be free to live her life however and wherever she wanted. He’d make that happen, or die trying.





Chapter Six

Hours later, Morgan went from being asleep to being immediately awake, just like she’d done for the last year. She couldn’t afford to wake up slowly. She had to be fully aware at all times.

Sitting up in bed, keeping the covers pulled over her, she sighed in relief when she saw Arrow sitting at the crappy desk in the corner. He was fiddling with the clock radio and had pieces of it all over the desk in front of him.

“What are you doing?” she asked quietly.

He looked up, and Morgan was amazed to see a slight blush spread across his unshaven cheeks. “You’re awake,” he said.

“I am.”

Arrow smiled. “I couldn’t sleep, and didn’t want to disturb you or leave you here alone. I needed to think, and I do that best when my hands are busy.”

“So you decided to kill the clock radio?”

He smiled. “I’m an electrician back in Colorado Springs. I love tinkering with things. I turned on the radio to try to mask the noises from outside so you’d be able to sleep longer, and couldn’t get any stations to come in clearly. I thought maybe I could fix it.” He shrugged. “One thing led to another . . . and here I am.”

Morgan looked from the sheepish expression on his face to the mess of wires and plastic on the desk in front of him. She could just imagine him as a little kid, constantly taking things apart to see how they worked. “Did you figure out why the stations were fuzzy?”

“Nope,” he said with a grin.

Morgan returned his smile. The muscles in her face felt stiff, as if it had been so long since she’d smiled, she’d forgotten how to use them.

“I was going to wake you up in about ten minutes anyway,” Arrow said, pushing the pieces of the radio to the side and standing. “We need to get going and meet up with the others.”

Morgan nodded.

“Your clothes are almost dry. You can take another shower and get dressed. Then we’ll head out, get something to eat, something better than protein bars, and go to the other hotel. Black said he’s got toiletries for you, including an entire bottle of conditioner. If you trust me, I can try to help you untangle your hair before we resort to using scissors on it.”

One of her hands went up to her hair protectively, as if that would keep it safe from having to be cut. Last night in the shower, she’d known it was going to be iffy. It had been too long since it had seen a brush or comb, and she wasn’t sure it could be saved. She shouldn’t be upset about that—she was alive, her hair would grow back—but somehow, losing her long blonde hair seemed like the ultimate fuck you by the universe. As if she hadn’t been through enough.

Forcing herself to drop her hand and swing her legs off the side of the bed, she mumbled, “Okay.”

Before she could stand, Arrow was there, crouched at her feet. He wasn’t touching her, but the earnest look on his face made her stop and look him in the eyes.

“If it’s more comfortable, we can find a hairdresser to work on it.”

She blinked in surprise. “A hairdresser? Here?”

“Yup. I have no idea where we’ll find one, but I can ask Meat to find one for you. He’s one of my teammates back home. He’s a computer genius, and I have no doubt he’d be able to do it. We could get her to come to the hotel. In fact, that’s probably a better idea anyway. I’ll contact him as soon as—”

Morgan put her hand on Arrow’s arm when he started to stand up, stopping his words midsentence. “I trust you to do it,” she said. “There’s no need to call in a professional. I just want to leave here as soon as possible. Besides, I’m not sure I trust anyone other than you and your friends.”