Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)(39)

He shifted until he was between his friends and Morgan and gestured for her to scoot along the counter. She did so without a word until they were standing on the outside of the space, rather than inside it.

Arrow knew the guys understood what he’d done immediately. Allye and Chloe weren’t quite as dialed in, but then again, they hadn’t seen what months of captivity and that kind of abuse could do to a woman like the team had.

“We’re gonna get going,” Arrow told the group. “Gray, thanks for tonight. If you could, tell Rex I’ll call him in the morning to get the details about the press conference.”

“Sure thing,” Gray said. “We’ll all see you tomorrow.”

“You’re all coming?” Morgan asked.

“Of course,” Black responded. “We wouldn’t miss it. Besides, if you need to escape, we’ll run interference.” He winked after he said it, indicating he was kidding, but Arrow knew he was dead serious. They’d all have Morgan’s back, no questions asked.

“Come on, beautiful, you’re sagging on your feet,” Arrow told Morgan, then waved and tugged her toward the door.

“How are we going to . . . oh!” she said as they stepped outside. The limo they’d arrived in was still sitting in the driveway. “Has he been here all along?” Morgan asked in surprise.

“Who? The driver? Of course,” Arrow said.

“But that’s . . . so rude!” she exclaimed. “We should’ve invited him in!”

Arrow chuckled. “He’s used to waiting on us, beautiful. Besides, he’s getting paid to sit around. He’s not exactly upset about it.”

The driver hopped out of the car as soon as he saw them exit the house and hurried around to open the back door. When they were settled, he shut the door and headed back around the car.

“It’s still rude,” Morgan hissed.

Arrow grinned, wrapped his arm around Morgan’s shoulders, and pulled her into him. He’d done it without thought, and immediately loosened his hold, not wanting her to be afraid of him, but she didn’t struggle. Instead, she relaxed into him, putting a hand on his chest.

They stayed like that for a beat as the driver started up the car and headed down Gray’s driveway. They had about twenty or thirty minutes before they arrived at his apartment. He leaned over and clicked her seat belt on, then did the same with his. Then he gathered her into his side once more.

“Close your eyes, beautiful. You’ve got time to take a quick nap before we get home.”

She nodded, and within seconds he heard her slight snore.

Morgan resting against him, knowing she was safe, was a heady feeling. He silently swore to get to the bottom of who could dare want to torture her as badly as they had.





Chapter Ten

“If you’re not ready for this, we can go,” Arrow whispered to Morgan the next morning. They were in an office connected to the briefing room at the Colorado Springs Police Department, where the press conference about her recovery was about to happen. They’d talked about how the day would go, including stopping by a private clinic so she could get a complete physical with a doctor that the team frequently used to examine women and kids they’d rescued, then talking with the team at The Pit.

“I’m okay,” she insisted for the tenth time.

But he knew she wasn’t really. She was holding his hand in a death grip, and she’d eaten very little that morning, saying her stomach was queasy.

Her father stood on the other side of the office, and he was smiling and talking with anyone and everyone, not noticing how reticent his daughter seemed.

“Did I tell you about the time I had to give a briefing to a bunch of Marine bigwigs?”

She looked up at him then. “No?”

“I was scared to death. I wasn’t prepared, and I had also gone out the night before and gotten shit-faced. I had the headache from hell, and I just knew I was going to embarrass myself and my unit.”

“What happened?” Morgan asked.

Arrow was glad her attention was on him now and not on what was about to happen. They’d spoken with Rex that morning and gotten their story straight. No one wanted the Mountain Mercenaries bandied about on national television, but they had to say something to explain why and how Morgan had been found. Nina’s mom was being interviewed at the moment, and soon it would be Morgan and her father’s turn in the spotlight.

Arrow couldn’t blame the general public for being interested and curious about both Nina and Morgan. Abductions were big news, but finding kidnapped people alive and well was huge news.

“I got up in front of the room and gave my thirty-minute presentation in fifteen minutes,” he told her. “I was talking so fast because of my nervousness and because I was afraid I was going to barf in the middle of the presentation, and as a result, I breezed through my notes and slides way too quickly. When I was done, I didn’t even ask if there were any questions. I just took my stuff and went and sat down.”

“Did you get in trouble?” Morgan asked.

Arrow shook his head. “I actually had some of the top brass come up and congratulate me on the effective way I didn’t open the floor to questions and thus ‘muddy the waters,’” he explained. “One guy told me it was ballsy and gave the impression I was in charge, and that I knew what I was saying was one hundred percent correct. I think that’s what you should do out there.”