Eric had never been as scared in his life, or as impotent as when he'd hung from that bird's landing gear, useless as a side of beef. The climb up had been torture, the sight of that gun to Zoe's temple worse than death.

Right now, sitting beside Zoe, both of them safely strapped into the passenger seats while Leo brought them back in, all he could do was hold her hand—too tightly, he guessed, but he couldn't bring himself to let go—and breathe.

They settled on the helipad, the door flew open, and Von was there.

Behind him, Ans was on the phone with someone— probably not a simple 911 call, knowing him. The guy had contacts in law enforcement all the hell over the place. He'd call someone high up, cut through the red tape, and get this shit cleared up, fast. Coast Guard, maybe?

Eric couldn't hear what Ans was saying, and frankly, he didn't give a shit. His eyes were glued to the woman beside him.

He couldn't move. Didn't want to. All he wanted was to hold her.

Her hand on his chest made the world stop spinning.

His focus narrowed.

"You okay?" he asked, ready to kill every asshole on this rig.

"I'm good." That hand moved up to cup the side of his face, and he couldn't help but lean into it. It was cool while he burned up. On fire. Dying from it. "I'm good, Eric."

"Jesus, Zoe, you could have—"

"What about you?" She pounded him once on the chest. "Huh? How'd you even—"

"Explosive ordnance disposal team's on its way." Ans stuck his head in, his expression wild the way it always got after a good fight. He leaned close, a huge grin on his face. "Some Evel Knievel shit right there, bro. Better warn Tom Cruise. His stunt double just stole the whole goddamn sho—"

Leo climbed down, shoved past Ans, and slammed the door shut, cutting him off. She dragged him away, leaving Eric and Zoe alone in the relative quiet of the helo's interior.

"Come here." He couldn't help the groan in his voice or the needy way he pulled her to him. But nothing in the world could stop him from putting his lips to hers. And this kiss wasn't soft or sweet or slow. It was hungry, possessive. A life-or-death kiss. A kiss full of promise. A forever kiss.

When he could finally bring himself to pull back, he left just an inch between them. No way was he letting her get farther than that. "In forty-one years," he rasped, "I've never been closer to losing my mind."

"Yeah?" She kissed him again, humming with pleasure or happiness or maybe just the thrill of being alive. "I assume we're not all about to blow up?"

"No." He pulled a phone from his pocket. "Apparently, this is the trigger mechanism."

Her eyes searched his, and she looked worried for a few seconds. "You sure?"

"As I can be." He turned to look out at his team, who'd taken care of the newcomers. Shot. Both of them. "But I trust these guys to take care of it."

She pushed through the fear and horror and found a smile. "Me too." He shook his head, marveling at this incredible woman.

"Will you come home with me?"

"Don't you think we're moving a little fast here?" He heard the smile in her voice.

"I wanted to kiss you for two years."

"Same."

"I should never have waited. My timing is terrible."

"No it's not, Eric." She leaned in, put her lips to his, and put him back together again before pulling away briefly. "Your timing is impeccable."

***

AN: I don't know about you loves, but I could certainly use an Eric in my life! I hope you're enjoying this story!!! Please vote, if you are! ❤️