Into the Storm (Signal Bend #3)(76)

“Most of it’s his. M’okay.” He reached into a back pocket and pulled out a blue bandana, so faded it was really grey. He wiped his hands and shoved it back where it came from, blood and all.

Finally able to move, she took a step toward him. “Show…”

“I gotta go, hon. That’s my mess they hauled away. Badger’s gonna keep track of the girl until we know more. But I gotta go.”

She nodded. “You’ll come back?”

He closed the distance between them and cupped her face in his blood-smeared hands. “Yeah. I’ll be back. We’ll talk. Right?”

“Yes. We’ll talk.”

He smiled, and something inside her eased. “You gonna be okay?” He nodded toward the inn. Her daughter was in there. And she was going to have to face her alone.

“I have to be. I…I’ll figure it out.”

He bent down and kissed her, a soft, slow kiss, lips brushing lips. “Be strong, hon. You’re strong. You made the best choice you could, right?”

“Do you believe that?” She didn’t. But he nodded.

“I do. You made the best choice you could, and you did it even though it hurt.” He kissed her forehead.

“Now. Time to stop running from it.” He released her and turned toward his bike.

“Show!” She could hear the strain in her voice, but she didn’t care. He stopped and turned back, waiting.

“Do you love me?”

He came straight back to her and grabbed her hips. “Shannon.” God, the sound of her name in his voice. God. It was the best sound. Even when he was angry, it got to her deep inside. He said it like he was naming her for himself. Claiming her. He bent again and kissed her, and this time, it wasn’t a gentle, slow pass of his lips. This time his mouth devoured hers. When he pulled away, they were both panting.

Shannon felt unsteady. He brushed his thumb very lightly over her the abraded skin of her throat, then tipped her head to the side and pressed his lips to the same spot.

When their eyes met again, he said, his voice so low it was only a rumble, “I love you. And I’ll be back later.” She nodded, and he went to his bike.

She watched until he was out of sight. Her daughter was inside the inn. No question about that anymore. Keith had sent her here. Fucking Keith. Looking for a way to get her back to Tulsa. God, her life had changed so much, so many times over, in the past twenty hours, she couldn’t begin to sort it all out.

Badger had been standing awkwardly in the lot, looking like he didn’t know where to go. When he moved, headed for the front porch, Shannon stirred from her thoughts and smiled at him. “Do me a favor, Badge. Hang out on the porch for a few minutes? I need to go in there on my own first.”

Badger nodded. “I gotta stay close, but I can give you five. No sneaking out the back, though, please.”

“Definitely not. Thanks.” She took a breath—her throat really hurt—and let it out. Then she climbed the porch steps, opened the door, and faced her past.

Adrienne was standing inside. Waiting for her, maybe. Yes, she must have been, because she took a halting step forward and lifted her hand vaguely toward Shannon, then dropped it, looking down at the floor between them.

Shannon closed the door. “Hi.” Her voice was hoarse and only half power.

Adrienne looked up. She was pretty. She had her father’s curly hair—and Shannon’s father’s freckles.

But now that it had been pointed out to her, she saw her own eyes, her own face, looking back at her. A younger, fresher version.

“I’m really sorry about all this. I thought…he said…I wouldn’t have just jumped out at you like this. I would have called or something.”

“It’s okay. And Keith’s going to be okay. I’m sorry you had to be witness to all that. Couldn’t have felt good.”

“No.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. “That great big guy—the one who did that. Is that…you two are together?”

Shannon nodded. “Yes.”

She looked confused. “Oh. Keith told me…it was all lies, I guess.” Meeting Shannon’s eyes, she said, “Look. I’ll go. I don’t want to cause you trouble. He told me you’d be glad.” She looked at Shannon’s throat. “I’m sorry he did that to you.”

Shannon felt like she was breaking apart. Her past and her present and her future were looping around and around, folding back on and over each other, and she felt sick and scared. But this girl, her girl, was standing there, looking just as overwhelmed. Looking defeated.

“I don’t want you to go. But I need to…wash off all this, what just happened. I need to calm down and take some time before we talk. Do you mind? Maybe an hour or two? And then we can go sit in the kitchen with some cake and coffee?”

She smiled a little, and the dip in her chin deepened. God, she was hers. “Yeah. That’s okay. Maybe I’ll drive around town a little.”

“Actually, you kind of need to stay close for awhile. Or take Badger with you. Until everything gets squared away with Keith.”

She looked confused. “Badger—that’s the guy on the porch?”

“Yeah. He can follow you. Like a bodyguard. The guys want to us to be safe while they make sure there’s nothing else going on. Just a precaution.” Shannon knew that wasn’t fully true, but how else was she going to explain a biker shadow? She didn’t even quite understand it.