The next time Lana came awake was due to yelling in the hallway. There was no mistaking her boss’s loud, forceful voice and she shifted, smiling as Mark snapped awake as well.
“Holy shit, I’ve never heard her yell like that.”
“Poor Aaron.” Lana giggled into the pillow.
“And if you expect to remain a client at Lansing Public Relations, you damn well better divulge everything, you understand me?” Kate Lansing-Martensson was pissed.
“Kate, I didn’t…” Aaron’s voice faded as a familiar face peeked into the room.
“Erin.” Mark kissed Lana’s forehead and then quickly got to his feet.
“Hey.” Erin and Mark had been friends for a long time and hugged tightly. She turned to Lana. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.” Lana smiled. “Much better than last night, that’s for sure.”
“What are you doing here?” Mark asked her.
“Kate was on a tear last night when Aaron called her, and Karl asked me to come with her—I think he was afraid she was going to hurt him.” Karl was Kate’s husband.
Mark grimaced. “She kinda scares me when she’s like this.”
“Me too.” Erin chuckled.
“Tell her to get in here, will you?” Lana laughed.
Fifteen minutes later they all had coffee and Lana was sitting up in bed.
“So what happened to Joyce?” Lana asked.
Aaron had joined them and was leaning against the wall. “The teenagers she hired to distract Duke gave her up and when the cops got to the side of the highway where we found you, she was arrested. Bail is a hundred grand and I refused to post it, so she’ll be in jail until either her trial or her mom coughs it up. It sure as hell isn’t coming from me unless a judge orders me to take it out of her half of the house.”
“Crazy bitch,” Kate muttered.
“I’m really sorry,” Aaron sighed, running a tired hand down his face. “I had no idea she was this crazy. Our relationship went from okay to not bad to shitty over the course of five years and then made a leap to batshit crazy in the last month. I was never truly in love with her but we had good times. I never saw this side of her.”
“It’s not your fault,” Lana said gently. “If it hadn’t been me, it would’ve been some other woman you were friends with.”
“Yeah, but this was your job and I almost got you killed.”
“But Mark and Gage saved me, so all’s well that ends well.”
Kate made a noise that sounded like “bullshit,” but she covered it with a cough.
“I’ll take over the rest of this assignment,” Kate said after a moment. “My mother-in-law is in Vegas and can take care of the kids. Erin will help, so I can stay until—”
“That’s ridiculous,” Lana interrupted. “I’m fine and this is my job, my client. I need a day or two to get my strength back and then I’ll be ready to handle the children’s hospital and the interview for Sports Press.” She’d secured that interview just yesterday, before everything got out of control.
“Lana, I don’t think—” Kate began.
“You are not the boss of me.” Lana fixed her with a glare.
“Well…” Kate wrinkled her nose. “I kinda am.”
“Not when I’m in the hospital. Hospitals override work hierarchy.”
Kate cocked her head. “Since when?”
“Now?” They both snickered.
“Well, you’re off today,” Kate waved a hand. “I’ll make sure boy wonder here doesn’t get into any mischief and you and Mark can lie around playing kissy-face all day.”
“I should be released in the next couple of hours,” Lana protested. “I can get some work done.”
“Not.” Kate stuck her tongue out at her. “Do not make me dock your pay.”
Lana scowled. “As if.”
“There’s an extra bedroom at the house,” Aaron interjected. “You ladies are welcome to take it—it’s got a king-size bed.”
“We haven’t shared a bed in ages.” Erin giggled.
“Sleepover!” Kate held up her hand and Erin high-fived her.
“You two make me dizzy,” Lana moaned, lying back against the pillows, though her eyes were twinkling.
“That’s why you love me,” Kate winked.
It was much later before Lana was released and they got back to the house. Mark helped her shower before they crawled into bed. She curled against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and soaking up the warmth of his skin. Though she wasn’t cold anymore, she’d never appreciated a man’s body heat the way she did right now. Or maybe it was just the man, but either way, she couldn’t get enough of him.
“You doin’ okay, baby?” He was gently stroking her hair, careful to avoid the stitches in the back of her head.
“I’m fine. Thanks to you.”
“Listen, this whole thing has made me think…”
“Me too.” She lifted her head. “I could stay in New York until you decide where you want to be based. Then we could—”
“No, wait.” He took a breath. “I’m done. I loved the Marines but now that I’ve retired it’s time for me to sell my townhouse and leave D.C. I’ve been restless for a while, but now that I have you, well, I don’t want to be away from you. I’m excited about the new job, but Joe said I didn’t have to be based in Vegas. So wherever you decide to go, or even if you decide to stay in Manhattan, I’ll follow.”
“No, that’s not fair.” She was shaking her head. “But something has changed that we need to talk about. There’s an opportunity for me… in Las Vegas.”
“What?” He was confused.
“Kate and I talked about it yesterday morning, before the event at the rink. The Sidewinders are looking for a new head of Media Relations. The woman doing it now is leaving at the end of this season and Kate says she can get me an interview.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Just like it’s time for you to leave the military, it’s time for me to leave New York. I love it, but it’s not where I want to raise a family, and I’m ready for something different.”
“Ironically, I have a job based in Vegas.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want? To be based in Vegas and not move around anymore? Or work with Gage?”
He hesitated. He did enjoy travel and adventure. Being a bodyguard was more stressful than he’d imagined, but he enjoyed it and wanted to be part of it. He also knew he had a job here in Anchorage working for Gage if he wanted it, but that would never work for Lana. She didn’t have a job here, and after her ordeal in the mountains, chances were she never wanted to set foot in this state again, much less live here.
“It’s okay,” she whispered against his ear. “I understand.”
“We need to talk about compromise,” he said slowly, his fingers intertwined with hers.
“O-kay…” She drew out the word, unsure how they could find middle ground in this, but willing to listen.
“I have to talk to Joe... There’s a lot to consider, but maybe there’s a way for us to have it all. We could be based in Las Vegas, but I’d travel for different protection assignments, and if you get the job with the team, you’d probably travel some too. In the off-season, maybe you could arrange to work remotely from wherever I am, since it’s the off-season. It would be summer only,” he said quickly. “And during hockey season we’d be based in Vegas, even if I have to go out of town for different jobs.”
She laughed softly. “I love you, Mark. I would compromise on almost anything so we can be together.”
“You would?” He looked surprised.
“Of course I would.” She met his gaze. “I love you.”
“Even if it meant spending some summers in Alaska?”
She lightly smacked his arm. “Damn straight! One bad experience isn’t going to sour me from skiing the bunny slope.”
He snorted. “You’re up for skiing again?”
“The bunny slope,” she reaffirmed.
He chuckled. “Okay, I’m good with that.” He kissed her, his lips traveling down her neck and pressing against the soft spot in the middle where her collar bones met.
A soft sigh escaped her. “It’s been too long,” she murmured. “I need you.”
“You have me,” he whispered. “All of me.”