Fearless: Complicated Creatures Part Three by Alexi Lawless Read Free Book Online Page B

hers.
    She saw the gravity in Alejandro’s pitch-dark eyes. Knew he was serious. “Lucien Lightner escaped yesterday, and we know he has some unfinished business with you. We need to get you out of here.”
    “How do you know he’s coming here?” Carey asked, stepping forward.
    “Because Sam and Jack Roman have taken everything away from him. And you know what happens to desperate, ruthless men when they get backed into corners,” Alejo replied. “He gets the perfect ‘buy one, get one free’ deal if you’re both in the same place, doesn’t he?”
    “He could be going to ground,” Carey pointed out. “It’s too hot for him to take any chances after the bombing.”
    “That a risk you’re willing to take?”
    Worry was etched across Carey, Rush, and Talon’s faces. Wes squeezed her hand, instinctively moving closer.
    She was groggy from the drugs and half-delirious with the pain, but Sam knew what had to be done. She didn’t have the strength yet to do it herself… she needed all the help she could get right now. And for a woman who prided herself on being independent, that was saying something. She could move her feet, but barely; her legs felt like lead, and her back burned as if Nazar had taken a hack saw to it.
    “He stays,” Sam told her team. “If Rox sent him, she had reason to. So he stays.”
    Alejo lifted an insolent brow as Rush and Talon glared at him.
    Seeking to diffuse the tension, Sam lifted her hand. “Rush, come here.”
    He came to her side immediately, leaning over the bed, his face lined from worry and fatigue. She clasped his hand, holding it tightly. “You saved my life—more than once.”
    Rush squeezed her hand, emotion bright in his eyes. “I’ve always got your back, boss.”
    “Thank you,” she whispered. “From my heart—truly, thank you.”
    He nodded, clearing his throat roughly as he swiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
    “Talon,” she called out softly. He stepped forward, standing opposite of Rush over her bed, his liquid eyes dark, though his expression stoic. “You’ve covered everyone’s asses on every single mission. We can only do what we do because we have the confidence of knowing you’re out there, watching over us. You know that, right?”
    “No one harms you and lives to talk about it,” Talon told her fiercely, gripping her other hand.
    Such warriors, these men. Completely trustworthy. Utterly devoted. For all the loss she’d had in her life, Sam had gained so much too.
    She smiled at them. “I need you boys to take care of Carey and Lennox Chase while I’m recovering, okay?”
    Both men nodded.
    “I’m proud of you both,” she told them in a rare display of emotion. “I’m also damn lucky to have you both. I know that. Now both of you need to go get some rest for what’s coming. Let Alejo take over babysitting me for a while.”
    Rush glanced uncertainly at Alejo, “Boss—”
    “Please, Rush?” She met his eyes, and he finally assented, stepping away from the bed. He and Talon nodded toward Carey as they left.
    Her eyes turned to Wes, who’d moved to stand by the large picture window, arms crossed, resting on the ledge. She could see the snowflakes glistening behind him as they fell in a flurry, sticking to the glass, the pale light outlining him like a halo. He was wearing a thick cable knit sweater that made him look like the captain of some sea vessel, his burnished hair over-long, days’ old scruff lining his jaw. Wes watched her, the vulnerability from the stress of the last few days plain in his golden gaze.
    “Carey, I’d like a moment to speak with Wes privately,” she murmured.
    “You got it, Sammy,” Carey said with a nod. “We’ll be right outside,” he added before leading Alejo out of her room and shutting the door with a soft click.
    Wes moved toward her slowly, picking up the pitcher of water and the plastic hospital cup that Carey had helped her drink from earlier. He poured more water for her