Chapter 22

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

Baker was completely focused. He’d walked out of his meeting at five minutes till four and smiled when he saw he had a voicemail from Jodelle—until he saw she’d called several more times after. Then his adrenaline spiked.

He was already on the move by the time he’d finished listening to her message.

Several calls later—calls to Mustang, and the connections he’d made while researching Rowden—and Baker had a police escort headed north. His adrenaline was so high, his hands were shaking. All sorts of worst-case scenarios were swirling through his brain. He wanted to think he’d arrive at Rowden’s house only to find Jodelle had been there, then left with Ben, but he knew better.

Rowden thought he was untouchable. He’d gotten away with too much for too long. He was conceited and vain and secure in the knowledge that the men and women he had in his pocket would always have his back.

He was wrong.

Rowden was going down. Today. Right now.

Baker just hoped he wasn’t going to bring Jodelle down with him.

Worry for her kept Baker hyper-alert as he sped north. His role in what was about to happen was minimal. Yes, he set the wheels in motion, but he wasn’t a main player when it came to the actual takedown. He’d have to sit back and let the SWAT team do their thing. The Honolulu PD chief had received a search warrant signed by a judge minutes ago, even as they raced toward the North Shore. The director of the local FBI office was on his way. As was a representative from the DEA.

All of the law enforcement agencies on the island were in some way involved in what was about to happen, thanks to Baker’s intel.

Not to mention the dealer Rowden bought his drugs from had agreed to refuse him service ever again. The bookie he used to place his bets was no longer willing to take Rowden’s money.

Basically, the man was screwed. The empire he’d spent years building had crumbled under his feet. Now it was just a matter of getting the man in custody before he hurt anyone else. He’d surely attempt to use the information he had on people to his advantage, but he’d lost his leverage. He could attempt to blab all he wanted but if he was smart, he’d worry about himself, not taking others down with him.

Everything was happening about twenty-four hours earlier than expected, but Baker was pleased the various agencies had jumped to do what needed to be done. They’d understood the urgency and acted accordingly.

Baker wanted to be mad at Jodelle for going to Rowden’s house, but he couldn’t. She’d done just what she’d promised. She’d contacted him, tried to get his assistance. She’d also called Mustang, as well. But she could no more leave Ben vulnerable than she would’ve been able to ignore her own son if he needed help. Her tender heart was one of the many reasons he loved her.

Baker mentally kicked himself as they neared the neighborhood where Rowden lived. He should’ve insisted on putting off today’s meeting with the base admiral. He should’ve waited until Rowden was behind bars. He’d underestimated the man, which wasn’t something he did. Ever.

And his mistake had put Jodelle in danger. Ben too.

The police cars surrounding him turned off their lights and sirens as they got closer, moving in with stealth. The last thing they wanted was for Rowden to do something rash if he thought he was about to get busted. Baker didn’t think he would. The man was too arrogant. He thought he was bulletproof, that no charges would ever stick. He was wrong.

There was a SWAT van already parked on the street, down a bit from Rowden’s house. Baker looked around but didn’t see Jodelle’s van. He wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad one. Once more, he prayed that it meant she’d arrived, picked up Ben, and left. But the rolling in his gut told him that wasn’t the case. Rowden had brought his stepson here for a reason. He wasn’t going to let him go easily.

Baker jumped out of his car and stood with his hands fisted by his sides as the officers gathered to make entry into the large house.

Mustang and Midas came up beside Baker. They’d jumped into Midas’s car back at the base and had joined in the convoy. The rest of the team was waiting back in the Honolulu area. Watching over the women and children, just in case shit went south in some unexpected way. There was no indication that it would, but with everything that had happened in the past, no one was taking any chances.

“You good?” Mustang asked.

“No,” Baker said between clenched teeth.

His friend was smart enough to avoid platitudes about how he was sure Jodelle was fine. Mustang knew better than most how stressful this was, not knowing if your woman was okay. He’d been through something similar with Elodie.

Luckily, the SWAT team was prepared and didn’t take long to enter the house. Baker watched with his teeth clenched as they pounded on the front door, demanding for Rowden to come out. They gave him less than twenty seconds before using the battering ram to knock down the thick, ornate door.

Baker heard shouts and orders for people to get down. He lunged forward a step before Mustang stopped him by grabbing his arm.

“Wait. Give them time to secure everyone.”

That was easy for Mustang to say. It wasn’t his woman in danger this time.

“Fuck waiting,” Midas disagreed. “Go. We’ve got your back.”

Baker knew his friend’s reluctance to wait stemmed from the fact he’d almost arrived too late to save Lexie. If he hadn’t skipped the simple act of stopping for her favorite coffee the morning she was attacked, her outcome might’ve been very different.

Baker hurried toward the door, now lying catawampus on its hinges. He expected someone to stop him, but no one did. He entered the house and paused, tilting his head as he listened to the officers still clearing the house.

There were four teenagers lying on the tile in the huge entryway, hands behind their backs, but no sign of Rowden. Lifting his chin, Baker yelled, “Jodelle?”

Two of the officers guarding the teenagers jerked at the sound, but to their credit, they didn’t otherwise move.

He yelled her name again. “Jodelle!”

“If she’s here, the officers will find her,” Midas said.

Baker wasn’t willing to wait. He needed eyes on her. Pronto.

To his surprise, he heard his name. It was faint, but Baker immediately turned to the stairs and took them two at a time. The house was obnoxiously huge, but he didn’t stop to admire the paintings on the walls or the Berber carpet.

As he passed a bedroom, he saw two officers restraining Rowden on the floor, while two others were checking a woman lying motionless on a large bed in the middle of the suite. Rowden was screaming that they were making a mistake, that the officers were going to pay with their jobs, but Baker kept going. His concern wasn’t Rowden, it was Jodelle.

“Jodelle!” he yelled once more.

“Baker!” he heard from one of the rooms at the end of the hall. “We’re in here!”

Almost lightheaded with relief at hearing her voice, Baker ran toward the sound. He opened two doors, finding empty bedrooms, before he tried the third. Locked.

“Step back!” Baker shouted.

He thought he heard Jodelle chuckle, but that couldn’t be right. She had to be scared to death.

“You back?” he bellowed.

“Yes!” she returned.

Baker lifted a foot and with one mighty kick, the door was no longer standing between him and the woman he loved.

Moving recklessly, not caring if someone might be in the room with a weapon pointed straight at him—Jodelle would’ve found a way to warn him if that was the case—he burst into the bedroom. He briefly took in Ben lying on the bed, looking like complete hell, but then his eyes locked on Jodelle, sitting on the mattress next to the teenager.

His gaze flew straight to her smiling lips.

Fucking hell. She was smiling!

“Hi,” she said.

Baker thought he heard Mustang chuckle behind him, but he was so damn relieved Jodelle was all right, he felt dizzy. He swiftly bent and put his hands on his knees, attempting to stave off the blackness moving in from the corner of his eyes. Jesus, the last thing he needed was to fucking pass out right now.

“Baker?” Jodelle asked, alarmed. Then he felt her hand on his shoulder.

Moving too fast, he stood upright and grabbed her.

The dizziness sent him collapsing right to the floor, Jodelle in his arms.

She didn’t struggle to get up. Simply snuggled into him with her knees on either side of his hips, holding on just as tightly.

“Dammit, Baker. You know you aren’t supposed to be in here until we give the all-clear,” an annoyed voice bitched from the doorway.

“You were taking too long,” he told the head of the SWAT team without remorse.

“Careful with her,” Ben said from the bed.

Lifting his head, Baker caught the teenager’s eye. “What?”

“She’s hurt. Be careful.”

All the relief he’d felt at seeing Jodelle faded instantly. Every muscle in Baker’s body tensed. He put his hands on her shoulders and lifted her off his chest, gently, so he could get eyes on every inch of her body.

“I’m okay,” she said quietly.

That was when the bruise on her face finally registered. And the marks in the shape of fingers on her upper arm. And the way she held herself stiff, as if attempting to mitigate some other injury he couldn’t see.

“Get the medics up here. Now!” Baker demanded.

“Yes, do,” Jodelle agreed. “But not for me. For Ben. Al had those boys beat him up. And he’s been lying here covered in dried blood and hurting for hours,” Jodelle said, obviously outraged. “He needs to be looked at. And he needs clean clothes. Oh, and he wants to call Tressa to let her know he’s all right. She has to be worried sick.”

Baker couldn’t take his eyes off the mark on her face, getting darker by the minute. Anger raged inside him, almost obscuring his vision.

“Call my lawyer! This is illegal! You can’t barge into my house like this!” Rowden yelled from the hallway.

Without thought, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was Rowden who’d put his hands on Jodelle, Baker moved. He had no other thought in mind but to show the asshole what happened to men who touched someone weaker than them—especially his woman.

“Baker,” Jodelle said softly as she grabbed his hand.

Somehow, he’d stood up, put Jodelle to the side, and taken a couple steps toward the door without even realizing it. It was only her touch on his hand that brought him out of his red haze of fury. Baker looked down at her.

“I need you,” she said softly. “We need you. Al had the kids take my van somewhere, along with my phone and purse. We need you to take us to the Kahuku Medical Center so Ben can get treated. He’ll need help changing into scrubs or something, and I’m sure he’d rather you be the one to do that than me. If you hit that asshole, he’ll try to have you arrested. Find a way to use that to make this search, or whatever it is, inadmissible or illegal or something. And the last thing I want is you hurting your hand on top of all that.”

Baker still struggled with what his head and heart were telling him to do. He wanted to make Rowden pay—but he also knew Jodelle was right.

“I knew you’d come,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I told Ben that you’d be here just as soon as humanly possible. He was worried, but not me.”

Her trust in him was humbling.

Taking a deep breath, Baker did something he’d rarely done in his adult life—he left dealing with the bad guy to someone else. He’d done the leg work, delivered Rowden to the Feds on a silver platter. The man was going to prison, no matter how much he squawked and postured.

Baker stepped closer to Jodelle and gently ran his thumb over the dark mark on her cheek.

She placed her hand over his and leaned her head on his palm. “I might’ve taunted Rowden and pushed him a little too far,” she said quietly. “But…at least if the cops came, I knew they’d take one look and know he hit me.”

Baker growled, but kept a tight grip on his control.

“The medics are here,” Midas said.

Baker opened his mouth to tell them to check Jodelle, but she turned and pointed to the bed. “Good. Ben needs to be looked at. He was jumped at school by several kids. I have no idea if anything other than his nose is broken or not, but he’s in a lot of pain.”

The paramedic nodded and made a beeline for the bed.

“When you’re done ordering them around, will you let them look at you?” Baker said with a small grin. He couldn’t fucking believe he was smiling right now, but how could he not?

“I’m okay,” she told him. “I just need a long hot bath and for my man to hold me.”

“Done,” Baker said. But if she thought she was going to get out of a full examination, she was kidding herself.

Jodelle stepped closer, put a hand on his chest, and went up on her tiptoes. Baker leaned down, and she put her lips next to his ear.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for being someone I can trust. I know you’re pissed, but thank you for holding yourself together for me. I love you, Baker. I knew you’d come. I knew it.”

Then she went back down on the flats of her feet and smiled.

Baker was still pissed. He couldn’t just turn off his anger like flicking a switch. But for Jodelle, he’d control the adrenaline still pumping through his veins. He leaned down and kissed the mark on her cheek. Then her forehead. Then her nose. Then finally, he covered her lips with his own. He kissed her softly, not wanting to hurt her any more than she already was.

When he lifted his head, he took a deep breath and turned to Mustang without letting go of Jodelle. “Think you can get one of the officers to talk to the punks downstairs, find out where they took Jodelle’s van?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” Mustang said with a smile.

Baker then turned to Midas. “And can you let everyone know what’s going on? That Jodelle’s good? Ben too? I’m guessing Lexie and the others have probably gathered their pitchforks and are ready to storm the castle if they don’t hear something soon.”

Midas chuckled. “You aren’t wrong, brother. I’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks.”

“We’ll meet you at the clinic,” Mustang said from the doorway.

“That’s not necessary,” Baker said.

“We’ll meet you at the clinic,” Mustang echoed more firmly, and with a glare thrown in for good measure.

“That would be great. Thank you,” Jodelle told him.

Baker nodded at his friend.

Mustang gave him a chin lift, then disappeared down the hall.

“You were lucky,” the paramedic said to Ben as he helped him slowly sit up on the bed. Ben winced but nodded. “You’re gonna be sore for a while and have some pretty nasty bruises, but it doesn’t seem as if you have any internal bleeding. I can’t tell if your ribs are cracked or not, you’ll need an X-ray for that, but as far as I can tell, you did a decent job of protecting yourself.”

Baker’s jaw tightened, and the hatred for Rowden welled up inside him once more. But just like before, all it took was Jodelle’s touch for him to get his anger under control.

It took a few minutes of discussion but eventually the paramedics decided on using a stair chair to get Ben down the stairs and into the ambulance. The teenager insisted he could walk, but Jodelle, and the medics, were having none of that.

When Ben was strapped into the chair and ready for transport, he looked up at Baker and asked quietly, “My mom?”

Baker wanted to feel bad that he hadn’t even thought about the woman, other than to note her presence in a room when he’d walked by. He opened his mouth to tell the kid that he had no idea when Midas spoke up.

“She’s being taken to Honolulu, to a detox clinic. She’s pretty out of it.”

Ben sighed and nodded. “I figured as much.”

Jodelle walked over to him and put a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “She’s getting help. Finally. Maybe this will be the push she needs to get off the drugs and get her life back together.”

Ben shrugged.

Jodelle frowned as the paramedics began to wheel Ben out of the room and into the hall. Baker gently wrapped his arm around her waist. She wasn’t as steady on her feet as she’d like to pretend she was. Still, Baker couldn’t help but be impressed by her strength.

She looked up at him. “I feel bad for her.”

“She had to know what the hell her husband was doing,” Baker told her.

“Maybe, maybe not. But she’s losing the best thing to ever happened to her. Ben. That sucks. I’m hoping once she’s clean, or at least not so drugged, she’ll get her head out of her butt and do what she has to in order to salvage some sort of relationship with her son.”

“Come on, Tink. You can work on saving the rest of the world another day. Right now, we need to get to the clinic and make sure Ben’s good. Then you need to be looked at. Then we’ll go home and I’ll get that bath ready for you.”

Jodelle leaned against his side, giving him most of her weight. “I love you, Baker.”

“I love you too. More than you’ll ever know. Now, come on, let’s get out of this fuckin’ house.”

“Gladly,” she said on a sigh.

* * *

Hours later, long after the sun had set, after she and Ben had seen a doctor and been cleared to go home as long as they both took it easy, after she’d taken a long bath, after Mustang had gone out and picked up dinner from a sandwich shop in Haleiwa, after her van had been returned safe and sound, and after Ben had gone to his room to call Tressa, Jody sat on the couch in her living room.

She’d gotten text after text from Elodie and the others, who wanted to check on her and make sure she was all right. She’d done her best to talk them out of coming up in the morning. It felt good that they were concerned about both her and Ben, but Jody needed some time before she’d feel up to entertaining anyone.

Mustang had left not too long ago, and she was currently watching Baker through a window. He was in her backyard. He’d gone out there after his friend left, claiming he needed a moment to himself.

Jody wasn’t offended in the least. He’d been by her side every second since he’d kicked in the door to the room where Al Rowden had locked up her and Ben. The second she’d heard him bellowing her name, she’d relaxed. Baker had arrived, as she knew he would, and she and Ben were safe.

The amount of restraint Baker had shown after seeing her injuries was admirable. But Jody wasn’t an idiot, she knew that self-discipline had taken a toll. He was a man used to being in the thick of things. Taking down bad guys himself. For him to step aside and let others deal with Rowden, to not even get one minute alone with Ben’s stepdad…to tell him what a douche he was, or inform him that Baker was the reason he’d likely spend the rest of his life behind bars…had to be eating at her man.

So Jody gave him the space he needed.

When he’d first gone outside, his fists had been clenched and his jaw tight. He’d picked up a mango that had fallen off a large fruit tree in her backyard and thrown it as hard as he could toward the trunk. He’d hit it dead on, and the mango had shattered, sending sticky fruit pulp everywhere. Then Baker picked up another and did the same thing.

He threw the rotting fruit over and over again, until there were no more available for him to throw. Then he closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and stood stock still.

A tear escaped and slid down her cheek, but Jody didn’t take her gaze from her man. Eventually, his fists unclenched and he took a deep breath. It took another five minutes before his shoulders relaxed and he turned to come back inside.

By now, Jody’s face was wet with tears, and she was sniffling nonstop. Baker stopped in his tracks when he saw her.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

Jody sent him a watery smile. “No, I’m good. I just…I love you so much.”

Baker looked down at his sticky hands and immediately headed for the kitchen sink. Jody turned, wincing at how the move sent a small twinge of pain shooting through her torso. But that didn’t stop her from keeping her eye on her man. He washed and dried his hands, then made a beeline for where she was sitting on the couch. He sat down and carefully lifted her, settling her on his lap. He sat back, cradling her against him, and sighed.

“Feel better?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He grabbed a tissue from the box on the table next to the couch and brought it up to her face. He dried her cheeks, then held it to her nose. “Blow.”

Jody rolled her eyes and grabbed the tissue from him. She blew her nose, causing another twinge in her torso, then settled back against him when he took the used tissue and threw it back on the table. Her cheek rested against his chest, and she could hear the rhythmic thump thump thump of his heartbeat.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” he asked.

“For putting myself in that situation. I know you have to be mad.”

“I’m not mad. I would be if you hadn’t called me though.”

“I knew you’d be almost done with your meeting,” Jody told him. “But I didn’t want to wait. Ben had already been there for hours, and I had no idea what Al was capable of. No, that’s not true. I know exactly what he was capable of. Sending a bunch of kids in to beat up his stepson so he could get him back under his roof and try to blackmail him some more.”

“What’d he say to you?” Baker asked.

“What do you mean?” Jody asked, stalling for time. The police chief had agreed she should receive medical treatment immediately, and in deference to Baker, said she could make her statement tomorrow. So he’d yet to hear the details.

“You know what I mean. Ben hinted that Rowden said some pretty bad shit.”

Jody shrugged. “He was desperate. He was losing control over Ben, and he had to know his leverage against him was shit, and I think he was scared about what it could mean for him when I showed up.”

“What’d he say?” Baker repeated.

“I don’t want you to have to go outside and take your anger out on my poor mango tree again,” Jody said, not really kidding.

“I’m good. I just needed to release some of the tension and stress I’ve been holding onto since I listened to your voicemail.”

She sighed. “He said he was gonna force me to overdose. Then throw me into the sea.”

Every muscle under her went taut, and for a second, Jody was afraid for her poor mango tree again. But Baker reined in his emotions and squeezed her gently.

“I hated that Ben had to hear him say that, but I knew it wouldn’t happen,” she said.

“He could’ve killed you,” Baker said in a low, tortured tone.

“I know. And I was scared. But I had no doubt you would get there before he had a chance to do anything he was planning.”

Baker shook his head. “You couldn’t have known that.”

Jody sat up and looked him in the eye. “Yes. I did. Baker, you were fifteen, twenty minutes away from getting out of your meeting. You were coming, I knew that as well as I knew my own name. I feel bad because you actually suffered more than I did today. You were worried sick for me and Ben, not knowing what we were going through, and all we were doing was lying on a bed waiting for you to show up.”

“You’re amazing,” Baker whispered.

“I’m not,” she insisted. “If I didn’t have you, I would’ve been a hot mess. But I watched you work tirelessly to take him down. I had every confidence in you. Trust, Baker. I’ve learned it. You taught it to me. I don’t know if I fully believe the soul business like you do, but if you’re right, I’ve more than learned what I need to in this life. Because of you.”

“I’d have to agree,” Baker said. “And because of you, I’ve learned the true meaning of love.”

“Baker,” Jody whispered.

“Sucks that it took so long for me to find you though,” he muttered as he scooted down until Jody was plastered on top of him on the couch.

“You know we have a perfectly good bed, right?” she asked with a smile.

“Yeah. But we can hear Ben better from out here. Just in case he needs something.”

The love Jody had for this man seemed to get bigger and bigger every day that went by.

“He’s gonna struggle with what happened,” she said softly. “Especially over his mom.”

“Yeah. But he’ll have us to talk to. He’ll be good,” Baker said confidently.

A full minute went by before Jody asked with a grin, “How long do you really think we have before Elodie and the others descend?”

“A day at most,” Baker said without any angst in his voice. “But if you truly aren’t ready, I’ll talk to Mustang and the others.”

“It’s okay. I really do want to get to know them all. As well as your friends. And I want to meet Theo. And have dinner at Duke’s with them. And see Food For All and the mural Theo painted on the wall.”

Baker chuckled. “Then that’s what we’ll do.” He turned and kissed her temple.

Jody relaxed against her man, and even though she had the best intentions to stay awake, to make sure Baker was truly okay after everything that happened, the second her eyes closed, she fell into a deep healing sleep, secure in the knowledge that the people she loved most were safe under her roof.

* * *

Baker didn’t sleep. He couldn’t. He couldn’t turn off his brain and the visions of all the different ways today could’ve gone differently. When he heard his phone vibrating on the kitchen counter, he managed to slip out from under Jodelle without waking her, which just showed how exhausted she was and how today had taken more of a toll than she was willing to admit.

He saw it was Slate calling. He stepped outside so he could talk without waking Jodelle or Ben. “What’s up, Slate?”

“I know it’s late, I’m sorry. How’s Jodelle? And Ben?”

“They’re okay. Sleeping.”

“Glad to hear it. Midas let us know the doctors say they’ve only got superficial injuries and should heal up fairly quickly, yeah?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Good. Anyway, I’m calling to make sure you know what’s going on with Rowden.”

Baker straightened. “And?” He’d planned on making some calls in the morning to his contacts to find out what was happening, but having intel now would be better.

“Even though he was crying for a lawyer at the house, he agreed to talk to the Feds without one when they arrived in Honolulu. He denied everything. But after the Feds started laying out the evidence against him, he started talking. Fast. Tried to blame everything on Ben at first, saying he was the one who got him involved in the break-ins. Then claimed Ben was the one buying MDMA for the parties. When the Feds didn’t buy that bullshit, he turned against Emma. Saying she was desperate for the oxy and begged him to get it for her.”

“What a fuckin’ douchebag,” Baker said.

“Yeah. He didn’t have much to say about the gambling, but the bookie you talked to has very good records—not to mention audio and video recordings of their meetings. By the time they started showing him the interviews with the kids you tracked down, the ones who worked for him and he’d been blackmailing, Rowden shut down. He couldn’t deny anything. And finding the older kids who’d stood up to him, and ended up in adult prison for shit Rowden forced them to do, was the nail in his coffin. He’s got a shitload of charges looming, but the corruption charges alone, because of his position as a juvenile judge, will send him to prison for a very long time.”

“Good,” Baker said, not hiding the relief in his voice.

“For the record…” Slate said. “You’re fucking scary sometimes, Baker. But my wife and I are very glad to call you a friend. That being said, friends are there for each other. So I’m giving you a heads-up that there’ll be a caravan of people headed your way tomorrow afternoon. The women agreed to give you the morning, but they aren’t waiting a few days, like Jodelle suggested. They’re coming to see with their own eyes that you, Jodelle, and Ben are all good.”

“Fuck,” Baker sighed without heat.

Slate chuckled. “We’ve got your back,” he said. “Today, tomorrow, and in the future. Prepare to be invited to baby showers, renewal-of-vow ceremonies, birthday parties, graduations, barbeques, and anything else the women can think up. We might not have the connections you do, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t here for you however you need us.”

Baker was almost overwhelmed with emotion…which never happened. He blamed it on everything that had gone down that day. He’d always felt alone, which had never bothered him before. Now he not only had a woman who loved him, he had a teenager who looked up to him, a team of SEALs who treated him as if he was still one of them, and their women, who wanted to smother him with affection simply because their men considered him a friend.

Baker was a lucky son-of-a-bitch, and he knew it.

“If someone can wrangle some malasadas…Jodelle would appreciate it.”

“Done,” Slate said.

“Oh, and we’re running low on strawberry Pop-Tarts.”

Slate laughed. “Do I want to know what that’s about? Because I know you aren’t eating that shit.”

“They’re for Jodelle.”

“Say no more. Anything else?” Slate asked.

“Just…thank you.”

“We’ll see if you’re still saying that tomorrow when we all descend on you. Glad Jody’s all right,” Slate said quietly. “And Ben.”

“Thanks for the update.”

“Can’t believe I knew something you didn’t. You’re slipping, Baker.”

He chuckled. “Whatever. Was cuddled up with Jodelle on the couch. That’s way more important than getting the deets on that fuckin’ asshole.”

“True,” Slate said.

“Besides, I’m good. I knew he wasn’t gonna get out of the shit hole he dug himself into.”

Slate laughed. “You’re an arrogant asshole, but you aren’t wrong.”

“See you tomorrow,” Baker said, smiling himself.

“Tomorrow,” Slate returned.

Baker clicked off the phone and stared out into the dark night for a moment. Then he turned to look inside. Jodelle was still lying where he’d left her. The bruise on her face had darkened further throughout the day, which still infuriated Baker, but the love and admiration he had for her overshadowed his anger at Rowden.

He slipped back into the room, put his phone on the counter, and headed for the couch once more. He maneuvered Jodelle until she was draped against his side, sighing in contentment.

“Everything okay?” she mumbled sleepily.

“Yeah. Go back to sleep, Tink.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Baker would never get tired of hearing or saying those words. He was an idiot for resisting her pull for so long. He’d kick his own ass for that for the rest of his life. But she was his now, just as he was hers. There was nowhere he’d rather be than right where he was in this moment.

Holding her in his arms and thanking his lucky stars that their souls had once again found each other.