Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)(69)
On their way out, Arrow stopped to say something to Robert, who smiled and nodded. Arrow picked Morgan up, bride style this time, with one arm under her knees and the other around her back, and carried her to his truck. He got her settled and climbed in next to her.
He didn’t start the engine immediately, and just when she was going to ask him why, Robert came jogging out of the building carrying a pair of flip-flops for her.
Arrow tipped Robert and thanked him, handing the shoes to Morgan.
“I thought you said you were going to carry me everywhere,” she teased.
Arrow merely shrugged. “I was, but then I thought that was a bit impractical. Besides, I can’t protect you if I’m holding you.”
Morgan’s smile died.
“Shit, beautiful. I didn’t mean to bring you down.”
“No, it’s okay. I mean, I hadn’t thought about that either. I would never want to be a burden to you.”
“You are not a burden,” Arrow growled. “Don’t ever say that again or even think it.”
Morgan couldn’t help it: she smiled. “Okay, okay. Sorry.”
“What are you smiling about?” he said grumpily as he finally started the truck.
“Just that it feels good.”
“What does?” Arrow asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“To be loved,” Morgan told him softly. She knew she was blushing but couldn’t help it.
In response, Arrow picked up her hand and kissed the palm before twining his fingers with hers and resting her hand on his thigh.
She had no idea where they were going or what they were doing, but ultimately, she didn’t care. She was with Arrow, and that was all that mattered.
Chapter Seventeen
Arrow didn’t really have a destination in mind. He just needed to get out of the apartment as much as Morgan. He was pissed at the prostitute, who hadn’t seemed to care that she was being used to try to hurt Morgan. All she cared about was being paid for her time.
He was pissed at whoever seemed to be one step ahead of him and the Mountain Mercenaries as well. They needed to figure this out so Morgan could relax. She’d been through enough.
He wanted to take Morgan somewhere they could just be themselves together. The morning had started out so well, and now it was . . .
He wasn’t sure what it was. But he was determined to get them both back to the feeling they’d had in the shower. A feeling of being connected. Loved.
He knew she loved him. Felt it deep in his bones. But saying it would take a while. He got that. In the meantime, he’d bend over backward to make sure she heard it from him often, and felt it even more.
All his life, his job had taken priority. First the Marines, then the Mountain Mercenaries. But no longer. Morgan came first from here on out. Period.
They spent the rest of the morning walking around Memorial Park and enjoying the antics of the dogs, kids, and couples who were there enjoying the beautiful Colorado weather. They had lunch at an Italian restaurant, and were on their way to Gray’s house to visit with him and Allye when Arrow received a call.
“Hello?” Arrow answered, and the voice came through the speakers in the car.
“It’s Gray. We have a situation.”
“Morgan’s here with me,” Arrow warned his friend. Then he asked, “What is it?”
“Dave was attacked.”
“Dave?” Arrow asked. That was the last person he’d expected to hear about.
“Yeah. He was coming in for his shift today and was jumped in the parking lot.”
“Shit. Is he all right?”
“Yeah. More pissed than anything else. He’s at the emergency room getting stitches.”
“Tell me it was caught on tape,” Arrow ordered.
“It was caught on tape,” Gray dutifully replied.
“Thank fuck. Where are you?”
“At The Pit.”
Arrow pulled into a grocery store parking lot and did a U-turn. “We’re on our way.”
“See you soon,” Gray said, then clicked off the connection.
“Should we go to the hospital to check on Dave?” Morgan asked worriedly.
“No. He’d expect us to look for the fucker who jumped him. If Gray says he’ll be fine, he’ll be fine.”
“Do you think this is related to me?”
“I don’t know, beautiful. But it doesn’t matter. We’ll find whoever did it and get to the bottom of why.”
The rest of the drive was done in silence. Arrow couldn’t help thinking that this probably was related to Morgan, and whoever was harassing him. The Pit wasn’t exactly in the best part of town, but it wasn’t in the worst either. They’d never had any issues in the parking lot before, and especially not in the middle of the day. He knew he’d have to wait and see the tapes for himself before he made any conclusions, but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the entire situation.
Glad he’d made sure Morgan had shoes, he led her into The Pit twenty minutes later. He headed straight for the back office, where he knew he’d find his teammates poring over the surveillance tapes.
Nodding at Noah Ganter, the other bartender who worked at The Pit, both alongside Dave and when he was off, Arrow didn’t bother to stop and introduce Morgan. He went into the back hallway and through the office door, not stopping until he was in front of one of the comfortable armchairs Dave had brought in a few years ago.