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forward for them both, she would push him away, do whatever it took to make him hate her enough to excise her from his life and his heart… even if it meant she would spend the rest of her existence mourning his loss. And if Jay had possessed a soul, and believed in an afterlife, right now she would have prayed to every deity humankind believed in for that day to never come.
    “God, Caro.” Tyler puffed out a breath, all the while keeping his eyelids firmly shuttered. “Can’t you see I’m working? What does a guy have to do to get some alone time around here?”
    “It’s me.”
    His eyelids shot open. He rolled off the mattress, scattering manuscript leaves as he launched himself at her.
    As much as Jay wanted—needed—to have his arms around her, she fended him off with the palm of her hand. “Careful.”
    He halted, the hurt in his expression swiftly morphing to concern. “What the fuck did Robot-Boy do to y—? Oh.” His tension visibly eased as he gazed at the sleeping pup.
    “He’s exhausted. Do you have a box, or somewhere I can put him?”
    Tyler glanced around his room. “Here.” He strode to the battered dresser beside the bed and yanked open the top right-hand drawer. “There’s a bunch of my old t-shirts in there—should make a pretty comfortable bed for the little guy.”
    Jay carefully decanted the pup into the makeshift bed. Before she could turn, Tyler’s arms crept around her waist and he tucked her in close to his body, resting his chin atop her head. He inhaled, and when he exhaled, she felt the shudder that coursed through him.
    He remained silent for fifty-three seconds—a span that Jay knew humans considered to be a significantly long moment.
    “God. Jay. You’re finally here.” He murmured the words into her hair. “I should never have left you with him. If anything had happened to you, I swear I would have hunted Sixer down and—”
    “Gotten yourself killed,” Jay said briskly. “It would be the height of stupidity for a human to pit himself against Sixer. Never make the mistake of thinking he’s anything like me, Tyler.”
    She felt his flinch at her blunt words, and turned in his arms to meet his deep, chocolate-brown gaze. “You made the right choice, Tyler. There wasn’t anything you could have done to assist me. It was your baby brother or me. There wasn’t any other choice you could have made.”
    Tyler swallowed, his gaze searching hers. Yet another significantly long moment passed before he nodded. “I know. Doesn’t make my decision easier to bear, though. I had to trust you could save yourself but it almost killed me, Jay. He shot you multiple times with whatever the fuck that weapon was, and God, you looked real bad. I thought….”
    He closed his eyes and learned his forehead against hers. His hand crept to her nape, cupping it, infusing her cool skin with his human warmth. “I believed he was gonna destroy you. I thought I’d never see you again.”
    There were a number of assurances Jay might have given but she doubted any of them would benefit Tyler. His emotions were too raw for platitudes.
    Nor would detailing exactly what had happened between Sixer and herself alleviate Tyler’s obvious anguish. Such facts would only serve to highlight how helpless she had truly been. So Jay opted for humor—a well documented distraction technique that served humans well during stressful or unhappy situations. “Apparently, Sixer was programmed to be what is commonly referred to as an ‘ass man’, as well as a ‘chest man’.”
    Tyler’s chin lifted and he stared at her through slitted eyelids. His fingers clamped around her nape. “What. The. Fuck?”
    Apparently dark brown eyes could turn molten and fiery with repressed rage. Fascinating.
    “As you witnessed,” she said, “he shot me in the chest.”
    Tyler’s lips compressed. “Three times.”
    “That is correct. He woke me to assist him, however when it came time to facilitate his escape, he