mind. Maybe it was, but it was best to make that crystal clear.
“Just keep Kendall safe,” Jewell said, her voice as thin and ghostly as the rest of her.
That was exactly what he planned to do.
The moment the guard unlocked the door, Aiden lifted his gun and with Jewell and Kendall in tow, he ran toward his truck.
CHAPTER NINE
The nightmare came again, and Kendall woke with a jolt. And she immediately groaned.
The sharp movement caused the stitches in her arm to pull, and she got an instant reminder of the pain. It wasn’t as bad as it had been, but coupled with the images from the nightmare, it was more than she could take.
She looked down at the floor, expecting to see Aiden, knowing that just a glimpse of him would steady her nerves.
But he wasn’t there.
Instead of steadied nerves, Kendall got another jolt of fear and adrenaline before she heard the water running in the adjoining bathroom. Aiden was apparently in the shower. Probably for the best. It would give her a moment to regain her composure and try to come to grips with the nightmare.
About her sister.
In the dream, Jewell hadn’t made it out of that jail alive. The bald guard had succeeded in killing her. But it was just a nightmare. Jewell was very much alive and temporarily in the jail over in Silver Creek, a town not too far from Sweetwater Springs. Even though the warden had wanted Jewell returned within hours after regaining control of the county jail, Aiden had refused, citing his concern for her sister’s safety.
Kendall was thankful beyond words for that.
Yes, Jewell was still in a cell, but Kendall figured she’d be a lot safer there than at the county jail. She knew the Ryland brothers, who were the lawmen in Silver Creek, and they’d protect her sister until other arrangements could be made. Of course, the Silver Creek Jail didn’t have the right security level for the county to agree to keep Jewell there for long, but it was better than turning Jewell right back over to the warden before a thorough investigation of the security breach could be carried out.
She hadn’t had a chance to talk to Jewell about the baby. Soon, though, Jewell would have to know exactly what had gone on between Aiden and her, and Kendall wanted to be the one to tell her.
When she heard Aiden turn off the shower, she got out of bed and put on her robe. She was wearing her pj’s again, but with Aiden around, the more clothes, the better.
Aiden, however, didn’t play by the rule of the wearing more clothes.
He came out of the bathroom, toweling his hair. No shirt. No boots. He had on his jeans, but they were only partially zipped. And goodness, he smelled like soap and sex. Her soap at that, but it smelled a heck of a lot better on him than her.
Since she was certain she was just standing there ogling him again, Kendall darted past him and went into the bathroom.
The room smelled like him, too.
She didn’t shower. Didn’t want to strip down and step into the shower where he’d just been. It might cause her to go running to him and beg him to join her. Instead Kendall washed up, brushed her teeth and forced herself not to put on makeup. Like her more-clothes rule, no makeup might make him take one look at her and decide their lustful past was over.
Or not.
That was certainly not a chaste look she got from him when she went back into the room. He was sitting on the foot of her bed again, still only partially dressed, and now he had his phone sandwiched against his shoulder and appeared to be talking to Leland. However, when he looked up, their gazes met.
And just like that, she was lost.
Good grief.
Since it wasn’t a smart idea for her to stay there and risk another kiss, Kendall headed downstairs to the kitchen to take her prenatal vitamin and have a glass of milk. Since she’d gotten pregnant, the taste of coffee made her queasy, but she started a pot for Aiden.
She heard him coming down the stairs, his footsteps echoing in the empty
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