Landon (In Safe Hands Book 1) (16 page)

My
hotel room seems so empty after a week of her company, and the bed feels too
big without her. I toss and turn for over an hour before sleep finally comes
for me.

I
get a call that wakes me in the late afternoon from the construction company
working on my house. The roof has been repaired and while they still have some
painting to do, I can move back in. Thank fuck. Believe it or not, no matter
how luxurious, hotel rooms suck after a few weeks. As soon as it’s late enough,
I’m headed back home.

The
renovations have gone well and Justus has been there to install all the outlets
and wiring we need for ISH, plus get our high speed wifi up and running with
all the protections that mask our activities. The expanded office looks great.
We can now easily fit all our computers and equipment. ISH has a new home.

I
also had them install UV blocking windows since I know the guys won’t want to
sit in the dark any more than Zoe did. On the next place I purchase, I’ll have
them installed too, so she won’t feel so closed in. I’m used to the sun being
my enemy, so I haven’t bothered with it until now, but I guess it is nice to
brighten the place up.

Dare,
Justus, and Jeremy are all at my house when I pull into the drive. They’re
wasting no time moving our operation from Dare’s little apartment. “Hey, the
raisin is back!” Justus exclaims.

“Fuck
off stripper.”

“He
hates me because I’m beautiful,” he says to Dare, who rolls his eyes.

“Speaking
of beautiful, where is that pretty little thing you brought to poker night?”
Justus asks, taking a seat in his desk chair.

“I’m
meeting her for dinner in a couple of hours. As a matter of fact, I need to
talk you guys about Zoe.”

Dare
studies me, his eyes on mine. “How much have you told her?”

“After
we stepped in to help her brother’s friend, she figured out most of it on her
own. She knows we work outside of the law sometimes.”

Justus
runs a hand through his hair and gets right to the point. “Does she know we
killed the bastard?”

“She
knows I did. I didn’t tell her anything that would put the rest of you at risk,
but you should know I trust her. She had no problem with what I did. She thinks
child molesters should get the death penalty and has no compunction about who
carries it out, other than not wanting me to get caught.”

Dare
breaks the silence after a few minutes. “You’re pretty serious about this
chick, yeah?”

“She’s
the one.”

“If
you trust her, that’s good enough for me,” Dare announces.

Jeremy
nods at me, looking pleased.

Justus
shrugs. “Hey, if she can overlook the fact you’re a vampire, I say hold onto
her.”

Flipping
off Justus, I glance from one guy to the next. “So, you don’t have a problem
with her being here sometimes?”

“Can
we watch when you fuck her?” Justus asks, and dodges the punch I throw at him.
“Fine! Be that way.” He grins. “We’ll just listen.”

Jeremy
turns and starts typing on the keyboard in front of him. “I like Zoe. She
doesn’t take any shit. As far as I’m concerned, she’s one of us.”

“Landon’s
settling down with a woman. Hell must be a frost covered wasteland,” Dare
remarks.

“It’ll
happen to you assholes too. Just wait,” I warn, grabbing my car keys.

“To
Dare maybe. Justus is way too big a whore,” Jeremy laughs.

“Pots
and kettles come to mind,” Dare remarks, shaking his head.

“I
have to go. Are we infiltrating the new forum tonight?”

“Yeah,
they’re trading child porn for sure, but there’s one guy I’m pretty sure is
shopping for more,” Justus replies, his eyes darkening. Justus may love to give
me shit, and put his cock in anything that moves, but he doesn’t fuck around
when it comes to protecting kids.

“I’ll
be here.”

* * * *

“Thanksgiving
is next week,” Zoe remarks, leaning back against me as we sit bundled up on her
porch swing.

Is
it? The last few months have gone by so fast. I’ve never been happier, and Zoe
seems to feel the same way. I spend most of my free time at her new house. When
she showed me she had installed the UV proof windows, I scooped her up and we
spent the whole day in her bed, making love in a room filled with natural
light. There’s no doubt in my mind that this woman was born to be mine. That I
was meant to be hers.

“Ethan
and I usually volunteer at the shelter the night before, but I always cook for
us on Thanksgiving, if you’d like to come.”

“I’d
love to.”

“Do
Dare and the other guys have somewhere to go?”

“We
usually just hang out and play cards. Order pizza or something.”

She
turns to me, horrified. “They can’t eat pizza on Thanksgiving! I’ll cook at
your house. Tell them to be there.”

“Is
that an order?” My arm snakes around her waist and I lift her into my lap.

“Yep.”

“I’m
the one who gives the orders around here.”

She
snorts. “In the bedroom maybe.”

“No
maybe about that, sweetheart.”

“You’re
awfully proud of being bossy.”

“You
like it.” A shiver runs through her when my lips brush her ear. I love the way
she responds to me. “You love it when I tell you to bend over for me, and when
I smack that plump little ass.”

“Prove
it.”

God,
I love this woman. And I spend the next hour proving it before I have to meet
the guys back at my house.

The
guys are more than happy to come for Thanksgiving. Dare shocks the shit out of
all of us when he announces he’s bringing a woman.

“Not
you too,” Justus says with a grin. “Another one bites the dust.”

“Shut
the fuck up. It’s the woman next door. I’ve told you about her. She’s alone,
and it pisses me off.”

“The
girl with the scars on her face?” Jeremy asks.

Dare
glares at him. “Her name is Ayda, and I expect you fuckers to be nice.”

“When
am I not nice?” Jeremy pretends to be offended.

“Ditching
Zoe’s friend Frannie without so much as a text message wasn’t exactly nice,” I
remind him.

“We
were just fucking.” He shrugs. “Wait, Frannie’s not coming to Thanksgiving is she?”

“Relax,
chickenshit. She’s going to her family’s.”

I’ve
never really had a real Thanksgiving, with family and friends all gathered
around a table, so when the day comes, I’m excited. Zoe shows up early with
Ethan and his boyfriend, Colin. Zoe heads right to the kitchen to get started
while I show the boys where the X-box is set up in the new game room. I’ve done
away with the basement man cave. Being stuck down there kind of killed the fun,
but one of the larger guest rooms has been cleaned out and furnished with a
sectional and a huge T.V.

“Can
I talk to you a minute?” Ethan asks, as Colin turns on the game.

“Sure.”
I lead him into the hallway. “Is something wrong?” I’ve gotten to know the kid
pretty well, and we get along, but he’s never asked to talk to me.

“Are
you going to ask Zoe to marry you?”

I’m
floored by his question, and my hand instantly goes to the diamond ring in my
pocket. How the hell did he know? Does Zoe suspect? “How would you feel about
it if I did?” Am I seriously asking a seventeen year old kid for permission to
marry his sister?

“How
do you feel about her finishing college? And having a career?”

“What?
Of course I want her to finish. Why wouldn’t I?”

He
leans against the wall and brushes his overlong hair from his eyes. “I don’t know.
My dad would barely let my mom out of the house without him unless it was to go
to church. Zoe has big plans, you know?”

I
look him in the eye. “Ethan, what I want most is for Zoe to be happy and to get
everything she wants out of life. I would never hold her back. Besides, if you
haven’t noticed, she isn’t exactly a woman who’s going to do what she’s told.”

Ethan
laughs. “That’s true. Push her and she’ll dig in those heels.” He glances down
the hall toward my office. “I know what you do. Well, not really, but I’ve
heard enough to know you break the law to help people like Colin. Just don’t
get her involved, okay? She doesn’t need to get in trouble, or to have some
psycho after her for turning him in.”

“I’d
never let that happen. What I do can’t be tracked back to me, and Zoe will
never be a part of it. I promise.”

He
nods, and then looks up at me. “Thank you. For what you did for Colin. He’s so
much happier. They placed him with a foster family who really cares about him.”

“You’re
welcome. And to answer your first question, yes, tonight I plan to ask Zoe to
marry me.”

I
reach out my hand and he shakes it. “Hurt her and I’ll hurt you. I may not be
big, but I’ll find a way.”

“I
have no doubt about that, kid. She’s safe with me.”

“I’m
graduating early and have already been accepted at a few colleges. It’s good to
know she has someone to watch over her while I’m gone.”

“I’ll
take care of her.”

Ethan
returns to the game room after our little talk, and I head to the kitchen to
find Zoe. She looks so cute, covered in flour, her hair up in a bun on the
crown of her head. She rarely wears her hair up and my lips can’t resist the
creamy skin of her long neck. “Mmm,” she hums. “Don’t start something you can’t
finish.”

“Who
says I can’t finish?” My hands roam down to her ass.

Laughing,
she steps away. “Everyone will be here.” As if her words triggered it, the
front door opens and the guys tromp in.

Justus
enters the kitchen first and places a twelve pack of beer on the counter. “Hey
Zoe, what are you making?”

“Right
now, noodles.”

“You
make your own noodles?”

“On
Thanksgiving I do.”

“Please
tell me there’s pumpkin pie,” Jeremy says, slinging an arm around Zoe’s neck.
She slaps her palm on his chest, leaving a handprint of powder. “Cooling in the
fridge and don’t you dare touch it.”

Jeremy
raises his hands and backs away.

“Is
he starting shit already?” Dare asks, leading a thin woman by the hand. This
must be Ayda. Her gaze is wary, but she forces a smile as she’s introduced to
everyone. Dare told us she has burn scars and of course we’d never ask about
them, but I can’t help but feel sorry for her. One side of her face is
perfectly normal with smooth pale skin, but half of her other cheek is marred
with scars like wrinkled paper from her jawline to her hairline.

“All
right! Everyone with a penis, out!” Zoe demands when Dare’s elbow knocks a bowl
into the floor. “Stay and chat, Ayda, if you’d like to get away from these
brutes for a bit.”

“Brutes?”
I grab her waist. “I’m a brute?”

Giggling,
she nods. “Yes, go grunt in front of the T.V. with the other savages.”

“Then
get to cooking, woman.” I smack her ass and she flings a handful of flour at
me.

Jeremy
grabs my arm and drags me toward the door. “Come on before she changes her mind
and we have to eat pizza again.”

“This
isn’t over!” I call over my shoulder, and she grins.

“Not
even close!” she agrees.

Zoe

A
loud burp rings out across the room. “Six,” Ethan announces.

“Six!”
Landon protests. “That was an eight at least.”

Ethan
lets out a long belch. “No, that was an eight.”

Yeah,
guys are gross. Ayda smiles and shakes her head at me when Dare joins the
competition.

“You’re
all disgusting,” I announce, flopping on the couch between Landon and Justus.
Everyone is stuffed full of turkey and lying around the living room.

“But
you love us anyway,” Landon says, dropping a kiss on my lips.

“That
was fucking delicious,” Justus says. “Please tell me you’re going to cook on
Christmas?”

“We’ll
see.”

Landon
excuses himself and disappears down the hall. Justus heads to the kitchen and
reappears with another slice of pumpkin pie. “Oh my god, how can you still
eat?” I groan, feeling like I could pop.

“He’s
a never ending pit,” Jeremy complains. “If I ate like him, I’d be fat as hell.”

“It’s
just like a woman to say that,” Justus mumbles, stuffing his face.

“Stripper.”

“Ass-licker.”

Landon’s
reappearance silences their argument. Especially since he’s now dressed in a
three piece suit and holding a bouquet of roses. He offers me his hand, and I
take it, getting up to stand in front of him. “What’s this about?”

As
soon as I take the flowers, he drops to one knee. “Love. This is about love,”
he replies, and produces a ring box from behind his back.

My
heart comes to a standstill and I don’t think I take a breath for at least a minute.
“Landon,” I whisper.

“Zoe
Page, I didn’t realize what was really missing in my life until I met you. I
don’t need the sun when you light up my days. You’re my sunlight. I love you
and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

It’s
so quiet I can hear the fast hard beat of my heart. I didn’t see this coming,
but I know it’s what I want. We haven’t been together long, but I can’t imagine
my life without him. His ocean eyes gaze up at me with equal amounts of hope
and fear, but I can’t seem to make my voice work.

“Well,
don’t leave him hanging, Zo!” Ethan calls, making everyone laugh.

The
connection from my brain to my mouth finally re-engages and I nearly shout,
“Yes.” He’s on his feet in half a second and I’m in his arms, being kissed like
he’ll never get another chance while everyone hoots and cheers.

All
the guys hug me. “Welcome to the family, honey. I’m happy for you,” Justus
says, grinning at Landon. “And you too, raisin.”

“Raisin?”
I question.

Landon
scoffs. “A grape that shrivels in the sun.”

I
smack Justus on the chest. “That’s mean.”

“He
calls me a stripper!”

“You
are!”

“I’m
an exotic dancer,” he replies, crossing his arms, a smirk on his face.

Landon
pulls me into his lap. “Let it go, baby. He’s jealous because he isn’t as good
looking as I am.”

For
the next hour or so, we just sit around and talk. It does feel like a family,
and I realize how happy I am to be a part of it. To be with people who aren’t
judging me or my brother, whose affections won’t be dependent on whether or not
we agree with their beliefs. Just hanging out with them, I can feel how much
they care for one another, and I want to be a part of that.

I
guess now I am.

Landon
tries to get us to stay the night, but I need to get the boys back, and I have
a paper I need to work on tomorrow, so we leave a little after nine. After I
drop Colin off at his new foster family’s house, we head home.

We’re
up early the next morning to drop the apartment keys off at the manager’s
office. I’ve never been so glad to leave a place behind. Well, maybe that’s not
true. When we get to the parking lot, Ethan asks, “Can I drive?”

He
has his permit and has had a few driver’s education classes, so I don’t see why
not. Traffic is pretty light this time of day. I’m surprised how quickly he’s
learned when we make our way through downtown. His acceleration is smooth and
he doesn’t hit the brakes too hard. He’s a bit overly cautious, if anything,
and I won’t complain about that. At least I don’t have to worry about him on
the road.

“How
do you feel about me marrying Landon?” I ask.

“I
gave him my permission,” he laughs.

I
don’t get a chance to respond before the world is jerked sharply to the right.
The sound of shattering glass is nearly drowned out by the squeal of crumpling
metal. Everything stops. My ears are buzzing and there’s some kind of powder in
my mouth. Fear fills me. Is it from my teeth? Did something crush my teeth? My
eyes burn when I open them, but at least the confusion clears. It’s from the
airbag. We must’ve hit something.

Ethan
is slumped in the driver’s seat, blood trickling from his nose, covered in the
same fine powder. “Ethan? Ethan? Wake up. Oh god.” I manage to undo his
seatbelt just as an unfamiliar face appears at his smashed window.

“Don’t
move him, Miss. I’ve called the paramedics. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,
I think so. He won’t wake up.” I can hear the hysteria in my voice. Maybe Ethan
heard me too because he groans and his eyes flutter open.

“Zo?”

“Yeah,
buddy. I’m here. We were in an accident.”

He
runs his arm across his face, smearing the blood and wincing as his wrist glances
off his nose. “Shit. Zo, your new car. I’m so sorry. I didn’t see anyone and…”

“Shh.
The hell with the car. I didn’t see anyone either. Are you okay? What hurts?”

He
methodically moves both feet, legs, arms, and wrists before turning to me. “I
can move everything. My head hurts and my nose is throbbing. I think the
seatbelt bruised my chest. What about you? Your lip is bleeding.”

“Yeah,
from the airbag. I feel okay, though.”

A
young man opens Ethan’s door and introduces himself as a paramedic while an
older lady does the same for me. I step out of the car and let her check me
over, but alarm grips me when I see them remove Ethan on a board. The lady
paramedic lays a hand on my shoulder. “It’s just a precaution because he has a
bit of neck pain. It’s probably whiplash, but we have to be safe. Is there
someone I can call for you?”

I
open my mouth to ask her to call Landon, but quickly think better of it. It’s
daylight. He can’t come. He’ll send Dare and I don’t think that’s necessary.
“I’ll call a friend when we get to the hospital.”

They
put Ethan in the ambulance, and I climb in behind him. “Are you okay?” I ask,
trying to stay out of the paramedic’s way. Riding in an ambulance is
surprisingly bumpy.

“This
board sucks, but yeah.”

Relief
makes me chuckle. He sounds like himself, not like he’s in a lot of pain. We
arrive at the hospital and Ethan is whisked off for x-rays while I’m taken to
an exam room. Other than a split lip and some bumps and bruises, I’m okay. They
release me, but tell me to stay put until an officer comes to speak with me.
“Where’s my brother?”

“They
just finished his x-rays. He has some bruising, a cracked rib, and mild
whiplash. He’ll be fine. It was good you were both wearing seatbelts. I notice
you don’t have an emergency contact on file with us?”

“Yeah,
I don’t have any family. Just Ethan.”

“I’m
her emergency contact.” I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Landon. Dressed in
yellow from head to toe in an uncomfortable looking suit. It’s not quite as
bulky as a bio-hazard suit, but is complete with a hood and tinted face mask.

The
nurse takes a step back as Landon continues. “She’s my fiancée.”

“Are
you…do you have a contagious illness?” she asks.

“No.”
Landon explains his condition, and the nurse smiles at him.

“You
can give the receptionist at the front desk your contact information before you
leave.” She turns to me. “I’ll go check on your brother. You should both be
able to leave soon.”

“Thank
you,” I reply absently. I still can’t believe he’s here. He hates that damn
suit. “How did you know we were here?”

“Ethan
called. He said he knew you wouldn’t.”

“Because
we’re okay. You didn’t need to come.”

“He
told me that too.” His cloth clad fingers run lightly over my split lip. “Just
bumps and bruises?”

“Yeah,
we were lucky. I have no idea what happened.”

“You
look terrible,” he says, his eyes dark.

Laughing,
I sweep my eyes down his body. “Yellow isn’t exactly your color.”

Finally,
a smile lights up his face. “I know. I look like a Teletubby. Now you know why
I never wear it.”

“But
you wore it for me,” I murmur.

“It
was an emergency.”

“Does
that mean you won’t wear it in the bedroom, so we can play spaceman seduces the
scientist?”

“Nothing
about this is sexy,” he laughs, shaking his head.

“Zoe
Page?” A uniformed officer enters, notepad in hand. “I need to ask you a few
questions. Do you know what happened?” Landon’s hand slips into mine.

“My
brother was driving. He only has a permit, but I don’t think this is his fault.
He wasn’t speeding or anything. I never saw the car coming and…I really don’t
know what happened. We have up to date car insurance and everything.” Please
don’t let Ethan be in trouble for this.

“It
wasn’t your brother’s fault, ma’am. We have multiple witnesses that saw the
other motorist cross from the oncoming lane and hit you. I’m not surprised you
didn’t see it, he was traveling well over the limit.”

“Was
he drunk?” Given the dangerous tone of Landon’s voice, I’m surprised the
officer answers him.

“Yes,
sir. The fault is all his. Once he’s patched up here, we’ll be charging him.”
The officer hands me a paper. “This is where your car has been towed. In my
opinion, it’s probably totaled. You’ll want to contact your insurance company.”

“Thank
you.”

“I’ll
be in touch if we have any more questions.”

Landon
is glaring at the door after the officer leaves. I know what he’s thinking.
“Let it go. I know he’s here and you’re pissed, but I want you with me, not
locked up for choking a drunk.”

His
shoulders relax a bit and he wraps his arms around me. “I’m not going
anywhere.”

“Is
it hot in that suit?”

“Stifling,”
he laughs.

Ethan
walks in accompanied by a nurse carrying yet more paperwork. “I’m so sorry
about the car, Zo. I swear I didn’t see him.”

“It
wasn’t your fault. The asshole was drunk and crossed into our lane. I didn’t
see him either. There’s nothing you could’ve done. And the car is insured.
We’ll get another one.”

The
nurse hands me a pain prescription for Ethan, and has me sign a few papers.
Finally, we can leave.

It’s
mid-afternoon and the sun beats down, reflecting off the cars in the parking
lot. Why couldn’t it at least be cloudy today? “Does that suit fully protect
you?” Ethan asks, climbing stiffly into the backseat of Landon’s car.

“Not
a hundred percent, but it helps,” Landon replies, crossing the road to a drive
through pharmacy.

My
head whips around. “You’re still going to have skin damage?” I demand.

“Maybe
a little. Nothing noticeable. Don’t worry.”

Is
he fucking kidding me? “Landon! We’re fine. You need to go home. I can get the
prescription. We could get a cab.”

“Not
happening, Zoe. You were in an accident. I’m filling his script and taking you
both home.”

His
tone brokers no argument. “If you get burnt because of this, I’m kicking your
ass.”

“You’re
welcome, baby.”

Ethan
laughs and hands his prescription to the pharmacist at the window.

Fifteen
minutes later, we pull into my driveway. I’m glad we got most of the move
completed, even if we aren’t unpacked. At least the UV proof windows mean that
Landon can ditch the suit once we get inside. He orders delivery from our
favorite Italian restaurant, and brings Ethan a glass of water and a pain pill.
“I’ve cracked a rib before. They take a while to heal, but this will help. Just
don’t take these less than six hours apart.”

“Thanks.”
Ethan grins at him and tosses back the pill. “I think I’ll go watch T.V. in my
room and take a nap.”

“Good
idea, kid.” Landon turns to me and abruptly pulls me into his arms. His body is
warm and comforting. “You scared the shit out of me, woman. Next time something
happens, you call me, understand?”

“Mmm
Hmm.”

“Come
on. The food won’t be here for nearly an hour. You need a hot bath so you don’t
get all stiff.” He accompanies me to my bathroom and runs a bath, pouring in my
lavender bath beads while I lay out a pair of panties, leggings and a T-shirt
on my bed. All I want to be tonight is comfortable.