Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)(61)

“This is so beautiful,” Morgan breathed. “I would love to wake up to a view like this every morning.”

“Don’t say that in front of Arrow,” Allye warned.

“Why?”

“Because if he’s anything like Gray, he’ll buy a piece of property and start plans to build a house before you can blink.”

“Oh shit, you’re right,” Morgan said.

“I know I am,” Allye said as she turned off the engine. “Other women would take advantage of their men wanting to give them every little thing they wanted, but not us.”

“No,” Morgan agreed. “Not us. Thanks, Allye. I . . . It helps to talk to someone who’s been where I have.”

“Anytime,” she said. “I mean it. Our men are a lot alike. They can be hard to figure out at first. I’m here anytime you want to chat.”

“I appreciate it.”

Morgan startled when the door next to her opened, but she relaxed when she saw it was Arrow standing there. He held out a hand, and Morgan took it, allowing him to help her up and out of Allye’s car.

“You okay?”

“Of course. Are you okay?” she asked back.

In answer, his head tilted, and he squinted his eyes as he looked her over. “Something’s different,” he declared.

“What?”

“About you. Something’s different. I take it the talk with the therapist went well?” he asked.

Morgan looked over at Allye, who was busy kissing Gray, and smiled. “You could say that,” she said mysteriously. “But seriously, what’s up with your tires?”

Arrow shrugged. “Some asshole decided he was bored,” he said. “Come on. Ro’s almost done, then we can leave.”

Morgan smiled at Allye as she passed her and Gray and gripped Arrow’s hand tighter as he towed her to Ro’s garage.

“Hey, Ro,” she said as she entered, feeling more confident after her talk with Allye.

Arrow’s truck was up on a lift, and Ro was standing by a tire when she called out her greeting. He looked over at her and raised one eyebrow. “Hey,” he replied. “Looks like the session with Nina went well today.”

Morgan nodded. “It did. I think she’s finally getting over the hump. She’s not one hundred percent over what happened, but I have a feeling she’s not going to wake up screaming anymore . . . at least I hope.”

“And you?” Ro asked, wiping his hands on a rag. “You’re okay too?”

“I’m getting there,” Morgan told him honestly. “I’ve got good days and bad days, but I’m thankful to be alive. I didn’t ask for what happened to me, and I’ve got too much life left to live to wallow in misery for the rest of those years.”

Arrow wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her to him. His lips brushed against her temple as he said, “I’m so proud of you.”

Morgan shrugged. “I’m kinda proud of myself, actually.”

“Good girl,” Ro mumbled, and turned his attention back to the tire in front of him. “I’m almost done, Arrow,” he said.

“Thanks.”

Ro waved off the gratitude. “Did Meat have any luck finding surveillance footage to see who did this to your truck?”

Arrow shook his head. “No. There were cameras in the lot, but they were all pointed in the opposite direction from where I parked.”

“I’m assuming you educated them on the correct way to use surveillance cameras and they’ve changed the positioning of them now?”

“Meat did,” Arrow said. “After he chewed them a new asshole and told them they were opening themselves up to a hell of a lawsuit if someone got hurt in their parking lot when all their fucking cameras were focused on the entrance to the building instead of the cars.”

“Bloody wankers,” Ro said under his breath.

Morgan wanted to giggle, but refrained. She loved listening to Ro. His slight British accent was sexy, and the phrases he used now and then were so quintessentially British, she found herself almost sighing in pleasure when she heard them.

“Hey, no mooning over my friend,” Arrow scolded.

Now Morgan did giggle and turn in his arms. “I’m thinking I need to find myself a nice Brit. Or maybe a Scot. There’s just something about a Scottish accent that does it for me. I loved watching Outlander before I was taken.”

“If you want a Scottish accent, I can do that,” Arrow said, in a perfect imitation of Jamie Fraser from Outlander. “Maybe you want me to throw you over my shoulder and take you back to my castle and have my wicked way with you?”

Morgan burst out laughing and threw her arms around Arrow’s neck. “I didn’t know you could talk like that!”

Arrow smiled back and said in his normal voice, “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, beautiful.”

She sobered. “I know. But I want to learn every single one of them.”

The look in his eyes felt like it scorched her where she stood. She realized for the first time just how much she’d been holding back with Arrow. Hadn’t told him how much it meant, spending time with him. How much she liked him. She’d still been afraid if she admitted it out loud, somehow he’d change his mind about her.