Tyler (Blue Halo Book 6)

The beeping was like a hammer in her head, hitting her skull in a steady, never-ending rhythm. There were other sounds too. The click of heels hitting hard floor. Whispers of voices at a distance. And there was a smell…a clean disinfectant type of smell. It reminded Emerson of the endless days she’d sat beside Levi in the hospital while he healed from the damage her father had done.

She stretched her fingers, frowning when she felt warmth encasing her right hand. Not just warmth. Strength. Hard, thick fingers.

“Em?”

Her heart gave one giant thump against her ribs. One she knew so well. The kind she only felt for one man.

Slowly, she peeled her eyes open. Sun shone into the room from a large window, hitting a tired, worried-looking Tyler.

“Tyler.”

“Yeah, honey. I’m here.”

His deep, familiar voice hummed through her system, forcing every part of her to attention. Memories trickled through her mind. Of escaping Callum’s watchful gaze. Slipping away from Cradle Mountain. Everything after that was a gray blur…but leaving this man, she remembered.

And even though she’d just run from him, having him here, beside her…it felt good. Safe.

Right.

She tried to sit up, but the second she moved, pain rippled through her skull and her side, causing her to groan.

Tyler cursed, pressing a gentle hand to her shoulder to keep her down. “Careful. You have a concussion and some pretty extensive bruising. Nothing’s broken though, thank God. The car had been driving slow enough that the injuries are minor.”

Car?

Flashes of what happened at the hotel finally came back to her. Levi. Stabbing Levi in the thigh. Running into headlights.

Her gaze flew up to Tyler’s. “I stabbed Levi with a knife. Is he here?”

Tyler’s jaw clenched, and she knew the answer before he gave it.

“No. He ran. Liam was closest, but he chose to go to you instead of giving chase. By the time Logan went after him, it was already too late.”

Disappointment dropped like a weight in her stomach. Disappointment that he was still on his own. Still so scared and angry and confused. And God, now he was wounded too. But there was also a small flicker of relief.

That he was still alive. That no one else had been shot…or worse.

The stroke of Tyler’s thumb on her hand brought her attention back to him.

“Emerson. We need to talk about why you ran…and Levi.”

Anxiety cramped her belly, but she remained silent.

Another swipe of his thumb. “I understand protecting the people we love. And when you asked if your brother was safe with me yesterday morning, I was still processing the new information and didn’t give you the assurance you needed. So I think I also understand why you ran.”

Some of the panic in her chest dulled. He understood…but did he understand everything?

It took a couple breaths before she could answer. “Callum told me about your mother. How you blame Project Arma and everyone involved for losing her.”

Pain flashed over his face. And anger.

“My mother was an amazing woman,” he said softly. “My father left her when I was a few months old, and she worked three jobs to make sure I was fed and had a roof over my head. She sacrificed for me, and she was my best friend.”

Grief was like lightning in her belly. She glanced down at their entwined hands, almost unable to meet his eyes. “If Levi had acted differently, if he’d let someone know what was going on, you might have gotten out in time to save her.”

The stroke on her hand was now a comforting, gentle rhythm. “Hylar was smart and strategic. He chose people he knew would be loyal to him. People who were angry or disillusioned or broken. He told them exactly what they needed to hear. And if things had ever changed for Levi, if he’d ever considered betraying Hylar, the man would have known it, and Levi would be dead.”

Her stomach rolled at the thought.

“But what you said in the car the other day was right. Nothing is black and white. Behavior, and why people choose to do what they do, is more complicated than that. Levi had PTSD. I understand the condition. It’s too common in the military for me not to. And maybe Hylar knew and took advantage. It’s likely. But regardless, you love him…so I’m going to try to help him. For you.”

Those words…that promise… It was all she’d ever wanted.

And something she now realized might not be possible. Though she still had to try.

Ignoring the ache in her head and limbs, she pushed herself up again.

“Emerson.”

She ignored his growled warning and the way his hand touched her shoulder, as if not sure whether to help her sit or guide her back down to the bed. She leaned into his chest and rested her head against his heart.

“Thank you, Tyler. You have no idea what that means to me.”

Instantly, his arms came around her, gently pulling her closer. And she felt it all. Familiarity. Safety. Home.

This man had become home.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth from the beginning,” she whispered. She hated that the start of their relationship hadn’t been built on honesty.

“I understand why you did what you did.” He pressed a kiss to her head. “But I need you to promise me something.”

She lifted her head and looked at him. Her hands remained on his chest. “Anything.”

“Never run from me again.” He smoothed some hair away from her face. “I need you within arm’s reach. I need to be able to protect you. The fear I experienced when I learned you were gone…”

Pain tormented his eyes, causing guilt to streak through her.

“I won’t. I promise.” She had no reason to now. And more than that, she didn’t think she’d be capable of leaving him again.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Come in,” Tyler said quietly.

Liam, Blake, Logan, Jason, and Callum stepped into the room. She almost didn’t want to look at Callum. Was he angry with her for escaping him?

She forced herself to look into the big man’s eyes.

He didn’t look happy, but he didn’t look angry either. “We’re okay, Em.”

The air rushed from her chest. “Still. I’m sorry.”

Liam clutched Callum’s shoulder. “Maybe our friend here needs to brush up on his bodyguard skills.”

Callum shoved him away with a snort.

“We ready to get out of here?” Logan asked.

The guys nodded.

She frowned and looked back at Tyler. “How’d you get in here, anyway? Isn’t there usually a family-only rule?”

One side of his mouth lifted slightly. “I told them you were my wife.”

Callum scoffed. “Wishful thinking.”

The guys laughed. All except Tyler, whose eyes heated as they looked at her. “Damn straight it is.”

Tyler let the steady beat of Emerson’s heart calm the storm in his chest. She’d fallen asleep an hour ago and had been sleeping ever since. They were almost home, and it couldn’t be soon enough. He wanted her in his house with its high-tech security system. In his bed with his arms around her.

The lights of the car behind him—Blake, Jason, and Liam—glowed in the rearview mirror. Logan and Callum drove in front. He wasn’t taking any chances. Levi had attempted to take her twice now. And he’d try again.

Everything in him tightened and iced at the thought of last night. He’d gotten there just in time to see her body hit the pavement.

Breath hissed from his lips. His whole world had stopped.

Never again. He’d never allow the man to touch her. Not unless he was absolutely certain she was safe. She was too important to him. Losing her, seeing her almost die, put everything in keen perspective.

He loved her. So he either had to be the support she needed or accept that she’d run from him again.

It wasn’t a hard choice.

Levi was tremendously fast. If they ever saw him again, they needed to be faster. He’d slipped away from them too many damn times. It was enough. Beyond enough.

Her breathing shifted, shortened. He looked across the seats to see her eyelids scrunch tight, then slowly lift.

“Hey there, Amber Eyes.”

The second she met his gaze, her frown eased and her expression softened. “Sorry, did I fall asleep?”

“I’m glad you did.” And she needed a hell of a lot more of it. “Your pain medication’s in the middle console.” He reached down and handed her the small bottle.

He waited until she’d taken a pill before resting his hand on her thigh and squeezing. She covered his hand with her own, stroking the pad of her thumb over his skin.

Fuck, he felt that stroke deep inside.

He cleared his throat. He needed to ask her something. It was something he’d been planning to bring up later, but he couldn’t hold back the question any longer.

“Yesterday, at your cabin…you said he almost died saving your life.” The muscles beneath his fingers tightened. “Is that when he ended up in the hospital and your dad was shot?”

Her throat bobbed. “Yes.”

“Was that also the first time your father tried to hurt you?”

There was a heavy moment of pause. Like she was collecting her thoughts. Trying to think of the best way to word what she needed to say, maybe to soften the blow.

In the end, her reply was simple.

“No.”

His grip tightened on the steering wheel. He’d suspected as much, but hearing it out loud was worse. “Will you tell me about him?”

It might kill him, but he needed to know.

She stared at his hand on her thigh as she spoke. “My mother died just after giving birth to me. There were complications and she lost too much blood.” His chest ached at the pain in her voice. “I wish I could say my dad did the best he could after that, but he didn’t. He blamed me for her death. I think he hated me for it.”

Jesus. How any person could hate a child, he had no idea. “I’m sorry.”

She traced the veins on his hand, running her fingers over him so softly he almost didn’t feel it. “He was an awful father. I could never do anything right. I felt like all I had to do was breathe too loudly for him to want to punish me.”

Tyler’s throat tried to close. “How did he punish you?”

“He was violent. He hit me a lot. Kicked me. Sometimes he’d throw me into walls.”

An anger like Tyler had never known exploded in his chest. If the man wasn’t already dead, he’d kill Emerson’s father himself.

“Then after he hurt me,” she continued, “he’d lock me in my closet for hours. Sometimes days. I hated that more than his fists. It was so dark and tiny in there.”

“That’s why you hate small, dark spaces,” he said quietly.

She nodded. “It got better when he met Pixie. They had this whirlwind romance and married within a couple of months of meeting. She and Levi moved in after the wedding. My father never hurt me in front of her. In fact…some days, I could even convince myself he’d started to love me.”

Tyler amended his previous thought. He wouldn’t have just killed her father. He would have torn the asshole apart.

“She was a shift worker,” Emerson continued. “There were some evenings when she wasn’t home. Levi was close to my age, but he was always out with sport practices and games, so there was still opportunity for my father to do plenty of damage.”

“Until Levi found out,” he said quietly.

“He saw the bruises on my arms.” Tyler heard her heart speed up. “I was so scared he’d tell Pixie and she’d leave my father. Leave me. And it would go back to how it used to be. I denied it at first. Then one day, he got home early from practice and heard me crying in my closet. He jimmied the lock and let me out. I told him everything, then begged him not to tell his mother.”

Tyler gave her thigh another squeeze.

“He agreed. Very reluctantly. But he made his mother take me to his sporting events after that. He did everything he could to make sure I wasn’t alone with my father. I felt so safe when I was with Levi, even though he was only a year older than me.”

“I’m glad you had him.”

Another tick of her heart. “On that terrible day…Levi had to stay late after school. I think my father and Pixie had had a fight that morning, because I remember hearing their shouts. My father was so angry. After school, I was in the kitchen and I dropped a glass. I still remember the sound of it shattering and my heart stopping.”

Again, her heartbeat sped up. Again, he tightened his fingers around her thigh, wanting to remind her she was safe.

“My father entered the room and did that thing where he got really close and towered over me, but something seemed different that time. His eyes were darker. And I just knew, whatever was about to happen would be worse than anything before.”

She paused, her breathing slightly labored.

“He punched me. He didn’t try to avoid my face like he usually did. I didn’t even hit the ground before he grabbed me and threw me into the living room. I landed hard on the coffee table, then fell to the floor.”

Jesus. It was getting hard for Tyler to keep his rage in check.

“I’d never been so scared as when I watched him cross that room. He looked ready to kill. Then the door opened and Levi stepped inside. My father didn’t even care. He lifted his fist—but Levi raced across the room and stood in front of me. Told my father to leave me alone. There was no fear in his voice at all. My father told him to move…and he said no.”

She swallowed once. Twice. “It was like my father was completely blinded by rage, because he hit Levi. Instead of staying down, Levi got back up and stood in front of me again. My dad shouted at him to move, and when he still refused, he hit him harder…

“And he got back up and stood in front of me again.”

A quiet sob escaped her throat, and it made his entire chest hurt.

“I was screaming at my father to leave him alone. Every time Levi got up, it just enraged him further. But neither of them would stop. Eventually, Levi couldn’t get up, and my father still didn’t stop. I ran out of there as fast as I could to get a neighbor.”

She paused, turning toward the side window.

“What happened next, Em?” He had to know all the details, even if it killed him.

“I told my neighbor my dad was killing Levi. The guy grabbed his gun and ran over. He shouted at my father to stop, and when he didn’t…he shot him. I thought he and Levi were both dead.”

Her voice hiccupped.

“Pixie was frantic when she got to the hospital. And so was I. Worried that Levi was gone. That Pixie would leave me. All of it. But she never left my side.”

Her heart started to calm.

“My father made it to the hospital but died shortly after. I didn’t speak for days after that. I couldn’t. I just felt so guilty and traumatized. It’s why the police report wasn’t entirely correct. By the time I was ready to talk to the police, Levi was awake and had already given a statement. He said he broke the glass and my father started beating him. He was just a kid himself, so I think…I think he did it so I wouldn’t have to relive that part.”

Tyler shook his head, thinking of the suffering Levi had endured. First at the hands of his stepfather, then after what happened during his military service.

“Pixie didn’t blink, she adopted me, moved me and Levi to another home, and loved me like I was her own. They both did.”

“I’m glad you had them. Both of them.” So damn glad. He wished he could’ve met her stepmother.

“Thank you. Levi saved my life that day, and in return, he almost lost his.”

He heard her unspoken words. Not only did she love him. She felt indebted to him. And now, finally, he understood why. “We’re not deserting him. We’re going to do everything we can to help.”

“Thank you.”