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Kian stood, every muscle in his body aching. He approached Paine with caution, but the man didn’t move a muscle. Kian bent to retrieve Paine’s weapon and then checked his pulse. Nothing. Paine was dead. Kian sighed.

“Thanks,” he said to Taggert.

His partner grinned and hauled Paine’s friend to his feet. “You’re welcome, Kian. You okay? I saw you take a bullet.”

Kian touched his chest. “The vest caught it, but it hurts like a mother.”

“I bet. You better go in, get it checked out.”

Kian nodded, but he was more concerned now about Meghan. He pushed fingers through his hair, exhausted, and began climbing back to his car. As he walked, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Evie. She answered on the first ring, breathless, and he knew she’d stood by, waiting and fearful.

“Kian! Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m headed to the hospital.”

“Why?” Her voice grew thick, and he kicked himself for not being clearer.

“Not for me, baby. I need you there with me, Evie.” His own voice cracked a little in his worry.

“Kian?” She seemed to hold the phone closer to her mouth, distorting the sound.

“Meghan’s been shot. I don’t know her status, but I want you with me. Can you do that?”

“Of course. Tell me which hospital, and I’ll be right by your side.”

Chapter Eleven

As Evie entered the hospital, her heart raced. She knew there were things Kian hadn’t said, like what happened with Leo and Anthony, but her priority was him. Meghan had been shot, and she didn’t need Kian to say how worried he was about the baby. She had heard it in his voice, the fear that choked off his deep voice. Joey drove her, asking no questions, and she’d darted from the car to run into the hospital emergency entrance while he found parking.

She spotted Kian right away and hurried over to him. He took her into his arms, but she noted the stiff way he moved and drew back. “What’s wrong, Kian?” She searched his form, looking for telltale signs he’d been hurt, but he waved her off and took her hand. He nodded to the triage nurse, and she buzzed them to the back.

Soon, they entered the emergency area where patients were treated, but were informed Meghan had just been moved to a room on the second floor. They rode in silence, Kian holding her close, his head bowed. She willed him her strength, praying the baby and Meghan were okay. Despite everything, all she wanted was Kian to be happy.

Kian flashed his badge, and the nurse summoned the doctor. She and Kian headed to Meghan’s room, and Kian nodded to the agent outside her door, but he didn’t pause to talk. Evie held back. “Maybe I should wait out here.”

He glanced at her, confusion in his green gaze. “I want you with me, Evie.”

She nodded and walked with him through the door. Meghan lay in the bed, pale, her eyes closed. Evie studied her lying so still, but her breathing seemed steady, and she wasn’t hooked up to any monitors. An IV dripped into the tubing that led to her left arm. Evie figured wherever Meghan had been shot, it wasn’t a visible place. She saw no bandages above the hospital gown.

A middle-aged man with flyaway salt-and-pepper hair stepped into the room, his eyes kind but distant. He held out a hand to Kian. “Hello, I’m Dr. Munoz. I understand you’re Special Agent Kian Sloane, Agent Blyth’s emergency contact?”

Evie suppressed a wince at the doctor’s words.

“I…yes, I guess so,” Kian said. “How is she?”

Dr. Munoz flipped a folder open in his hand. “She’ll be fine. The bullet entered clean and exited her right side without hitting any major organs. We stitched her up without incident.”

Kian heaved a sigh, and Evie knew he geared up to ask what worried him more. “And the baby?”

Dr. Munoz hesitated. “I’m afraid with all the trauma, she lost the baby.”

Kian sagged against the side of the bed and caught himself on it with one hand. Evie wrapped her arms around him, whispering soft words of encouragement. Her heart ached seeing the raw pain in his eyes. They grew moist, but he shut them, his lips compressed as he suffered in silence.

“Thank you, doctor,” Evie said in dismissal. The doctor said something, but she ignored him, and soon he left. She turned back to Kian. “Sit down, Kian.”

He started to drop onto the bed, but she led him to the chair in the corner. He buried his face in his hands, and she watched his shoulders shake. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she drew his head to her chest, stroked his hair, and did her best to console him. He’d known about his child only a short while, but she knew he loved the baby. The loss devastated him, and she wished she could do something—say anything—that would help ease his pain. For now, she rocked him and didn’t stop talking to him for a long time.

After a while, he calmed, but he didn’t look up at her. She waited in silence, wondering if she should leave and give him some time alone. He seemed to sense her indecision, and he squeezed her hand, holding on. They laced their fingers together, and his free hand circled her waist. Evie leaned into him and laid her cheek against the top of his head.

A sound brought them both up, and Evie saw Meghan had awakened. She gave a light pressure to Kian’s fingers and released him then walked toward the door. This time, he let her go. Outside the room, she crouched against the wall, feeling drained.

“Hey.”

She glanced up, and Joey stood before her. “Hi. She’s okay.”

He glanced toward the room. “He in there?”

She nodded.

“He needs to be looked at.”

Evie stood up, her eyes widening. “Why?”

“He was shot. The bullet hit the vest, but he still needs to be checked over.”

Evie’s knees gave, but Joey caught her. A few seconds later, Kian emerged from the room, and he rushed to her. “Evie!”

“I’m fine.” She pulled from Joey’s hold and moved into Kian’s, but she didn’t let him hold her too tightly. “You should have told me you were shot, Kian! What else haven’t you told me? Forget it for now. You’re seeing a doctor!”

The next couple of hours dragged by, Evie growing more weary with this day. The highlight of it all was of course that the doctor had informed them Kian suffered bruised ribs, but otherwise, he was fine. He could go home, but needed rest. After the doctor released Kian, she rode with him in his car back home, and he sat in silence, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. Sadness clouded his eyes, but he seemed nervous too. She wanted to ask him about her cousin and about Leo, but was too scared to know the truth.

Kian pulled into their drive and jogged around to open her door. He led her into the house, his arm around her shoulders. She had the feeling he was comforting her when he’d just lost his baby. She sniffed, trying not to break down again. Instead of going to the living room, he led her upstairs to the bedroom, and by silent agreement, they shed clothing and lay skin to skin in each other’s arms. Evie burrowed under his chin and pressed her face to his throat, shutting her eyes. Kian engulfed her in a bear hug, holding her tight as if he’d never let go.

“Just tell me, Kian,” she whispered.

He went through the details of what happened from the moment he arrived on the scene at the standoff between Anthony and the police on through the chase on the highway and the final confrontation where her cousin had shot the man she loved with the intent to kill him. Kian had had no choice but to put him down. Hearing that her cousin was gone made her go numb at first in disbelief. She’d loved Anthony, but on some level, relief also flooded her being. He no longer had the ability to screw up her life. Whether she and Kian made it or they failed with the reconciliation was entirely in their own hands. Despite knowing all that, she cried, and Kian bundled her into his arms and held her tight until the emotions settled.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I wish it could be different, if only for you.”

She offered him a small smile and stroked his cheek. “You hated them both.”

“I didn’t let this happen.”

“I know,” she rushed to say. “You’re too good a man not to do your job the best way you can. I love you, Kian, and if I could take away your pain too, I would. In a heartbeat.”

“Suffice it to say we’re both busted tonight.”

She winced. “Please, don’t try to talk like that. It just sounds funny.”

He chuckled and kissed her. At first, she thought they’d make love, but all her energy had drained away, and Kian didn’t appear to be in a better state. Neither of them moved as the hours ticked by and, at last, a little past two in the morning, Evie drifted off snuggled on his chest.

* * * *

Evie shifted on the bed and moaned when the warmth disappeared. With her eyes still closed, she reached out to find it and scooted over to follow it. The more she moved, the more the warmth receded, and she frowned. A low chuckle brought her to full awareness, and she opened her eyes. Kian lay on the edge of the bed watching her. She put her hands up to cover her bare breasts.

“Why are you over there? I’m cold,” she complained.

He sobered. “I was just thinking.”

Her stomach dropped. “About yesterday?”

He shook his head. “No, about having you here beside me again. Two years felt like a lifetime, Evie.”

“For me too.”

He slid closer to her and drew her hands from her breasts. “Stop that. I want to see all of you.”

“You’ve seen me a million times.”

“I want to see you a million more.” He bent his head and kissed the turgid tips of each breast. A chill of pleasure ran down her spine. She pulled his head down again, and he caught her around the waist. A knee between her thighs, and he rolled her to her back to shift above her. Evie’s breath hitched in her chest. Kian’s gaze slid over her body, taking in every curve, and from the darker color, she knew he liked what he saw. He dipped his head and licked a nipple. She moaned, shutting her eyes and arching up to his touch. Kian kissed the tender skin across her breast to the space between them and moved to the opposite nipple. Her pussy clenched with each caress, and she felt herself growing wetter.

“Kian.”

“Evie, I want us to try again.”

She looked at him. “I know. We said we would get back together. I agreed to remarry you.”

He shook his head then trailed a blaze of sensation across her belly to her apex. He breathed deep, and a rumble sounded in his chest. “I mean I want you to have my baby, Evie, the way it was meant to be. The way
we
were meant to be. Go off the pill. I want you pregnant with my child as soon as possible.”

Evie’s heart threatened to burst. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I can’t really take back the past and all the hurtful words I said to you, but I’ve never been surer about it being you in my life. It kills me that my first child is gone, but little Emma has been waiting all this time.”

She bit her lip. “Little Emma?”

“She’ll have big brown eyes and be able to wrap me around her finger.”

Evie laughed. “Wow, you’ve already planned to be at your daughter’s mercy.”

“Oh no, our future is going to be explosive, but it’s not written yet. Will you make Emma with me?”

“Like you have to ask?” She smiled at him and ran fingers over her pussy, teasing him as she spread her lips to let him see how wet and ready she was. Kian stared and licked his lips. She dipped a digit into her heat and pulled it out moist. Then she pushed it in again and ground on her own hand, moaning. Kian looked fit to shoot his load into the bed.

He caught her on a third entry and raised her hand to his lips. A long lick at her cream-coated fingers and his capture of them in his mouth made her tremble. He then peppered gentle kisses along the inside of her thighs, working his way from her knee toward her center. Kian straightened and stroked her clit with a feather light touch. His thumb grazed her clit, massaging it in a circular motion. Her thighs quivered, and she grasped his wrist, wanting more. A growing orgasm had her teetering on the edge of senselessness, and she cried out his name.

“Mm, Evie, you’re driving me crazy,” he breathed between her legs. “I can’t get enough of you.”

He tucked his head low, and his lips replaced his thumb. A powerful suck brought her hips up off the bed. He encouraged her to rise higher with hands on her ass cheeks, squeezing them and driving her to his mouth. He ate, laving over and over like a man savoring a meal but too hungry not to devour it. Evie thrashed about, struggling against the overwhelming sensations. When she came, she screamed long and loud. She shook as her core muscles contracted nonstop, and then Kian released her poor clit to move lower to her entrance and thrust his tongue in. The sounds he made while he laved her cream drove her wild. She reached down to rub her own clit while he continued to push his tongue inside. A second vibration hit stronger than the first. She whimpered and rode it out.

At last, Kian sat up, and she got a look at his stiff cock, jutting from his body, the tip moist with precome. She didn’t even pause to think, but flipped around and backed up onto his erection. Kian’s hands settled on her waist while she arched to raise her hips. The head of his cock poked her still wet pussy and parted the lips. A groan wrenched from his throat. She pushed back farther, letting him stretch her pussy wide and sink deep inside. His strong thighs were unyielding behind hers and turned her on even more, and she leaned forward, one hand flat on the mattress. A glance over her shoulder showed her lover with his jaw slack and eyes closed. He held on by a thread. She knew him well enough to know he was close to coming, but he didn’t want it to be over too soon.

Evie held still—for a moment—then she wiggled her hips. Kian’s cock jutted to the hilt. Air hissed between his teeth. His fingers dug into her sides in his attempt to hold her still. She wriggled again and whimpered sweetly.

“Damn,” Kian swore. His arm slung around her waist, and he ground into her. A few rough stabs of his cock into her pussy, and he slammed it as far as it would go. Then he held himself inside. Hot come spread over her insides, and Kian’s forehead bumped the back of her head. He growled. “You did that on purpose.”