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He hated himself for it. He shouldn’t ask those things of her when she needed to be comforted and held, but it was the only choice he had. Marx was already barreling his way through the crowd, his broad face dark and contorted with anger.
“What the hell happened here?” the director snapped.
Rounding on them both, he jostled past Taylor, the edge of his hefty shoulder catching hers and knocking her off balance. She stumbled in her efforts to veer out of the way. Wincing, Sebastian reached for her elbow and steadied her.
“I’m sure you had surveillance on us. You tell me,” he retorted.
Marx exhaled sharply through his nose. “I know as much as you do at this point which, apparently, isn’t much.”
“Maybe that’s why someone popped off a couple of rounds at me. Perhaps they thought my intelligence was lacking as well,” Sebastian snapped. “Either way it was a bad call to make. Now if you’ll excuse me, I would appreciate it if this could wait until tomorrow. I’ve had a shit night, I’m hungry, and I want to go home.”
Marx’s eyes narrowed. Not getting the response he wanted, he shook his head with a reproachful laugh. “Stop sulking, Sebastian. I will see that you are fed and properly cared for. Agent Lane will take your sister and your…lover home. You and your partner come with me.”
“Like hell he will,” Sebastian bit back. “If you want me to come in, fine, but no one is taking Taylor anywhere but me.”
Deep lines settled across the commander’s forehead. Folding his powerful arms, he arched a heavy brow. “You seem to have forgotten one thing. I’m in the one in charge here, Sebastian. Not you. Send the girl home or she will ride to headquarters with me. Those are the only choices you’re going to get. I suggest you pick fast.”
There were no words for the resentment fulminating in his chest. Thick, black, and smothering, it was too much. It spread like caustic acid, eroding his insides and sanity. His hand twitched and he reached for the wide grip of his gun.
“Seb.”
Taylor’s fingers curled around his wrist, bringing him up short. He peered down at her, taken aback by the mixture of empathy and pleading mirrored in her eyes.
“It’s okay,” she said softly. “I’ll be okay.”
“Smart girl,” Marx stated. “You would do well to listen to her.”
His upper lip curled around a sneer. Stalking forward, Sebastian planted his body between them and aimed a finger at the big man’s chest. “If you hurt her—if they so much as breathe on her, I swear to God, I will burn you and your entire fucking empire to the ground. There will be nothing left but ashes. Do you understand me?”
“Indeed,” Marx said, flashing an uncharacteristically wide smile. “I do.”
~*~*~*~
Taylor stared out the window, seeking distraction and distance from the man seated beside her. Jackson glanced her way, but said nothing. He did, however, switch the temperature to a low heat that helped to ease the biting chill that had settled into her bones. The ride had been quiet and uncomfortable, even with Monique and Aiden in the backseat. Now that they were gone, it was damn near excruciating. Clenching her fists, she bit the inside of her cheeks and tried to focus. Twenty more minutes and she would be home. A long, hot soak and something to eat sounded like heaven.
“I’m not going to hurt you, you know,” the young man said, glancing at her again out of the corner of his eye.
She shifted in her seat, her expression questioning. “Were you supposed to?”
“No,” he admitted with a quiet laugh. “But even if I was, I doubt I could. I respect Agent Baas too much to do anything to jeopardize my position. Not to mention the fact that I have no desire whatsoever to be on that man’s bad side.”
“Understandable.” She hesitated. “What about Marx?”
“What about him?” The young man asked, aiming another peek her way.
Taylor shrugged. “You said you have a lot of respect for Sebastian. What about Marx?” she asked.
His reluctant sigh drifted between them. He flexed his fingers around the steering wheel as he kept his gaze trained straight ahead.
“I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. “I don’t know the man that well. Most of my involvement has been limited to Sebastian and his partner so far. I’ll be perfectly honest, though. I’d prefer to keep it that way.”
She offered a doleful nod. “I can’t blame you there.”
He steered the car to the left and shrugged the comment off. “Since we’re playing twenty questions here, let me ask you something. How did you and Agent Baas meet?”
“I sort of stumbled across him and Josh one day in the woods. I’d wandered too far playing paintball with my cousin and somehow ended up on private property. I also ended up running right into one of their operations. When I heard gunshots, I thought Bryce might have been hit by a hunter or something. I was just trying to check on him, but Josh was convinced I was a threat that needed put down. Sebastian wasn’t so sure. He ended up saving my life that day.”
“Did he?” Jackson asked, aiming a curious look her way.
Some of the easiness and humor faded between them as she gave his question weight. Sinking lower in her seat, she turned her attention back to the darkened scenery as it rolled by. “I like to think so,” she admitted quietly, “but on nights like this, it’s hard to be sure.”
“Doesn’t seem like any of it would be easy if you ask me,” he muttered.
Sitting up straight, she cocked her head. “What does that mean?” she asked, unable to keep her voice from taking on a defensive edge.
His rich caramel skin darkened in the shadowy confines of the car. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. It’s just that Sebastian is…well…Sebastian.”
Her eyebrows gathered above her tense frown. “You don’t know him, okay? You don’t know anything about him. All you know is the side he lets you see. You have no idea what his life is like or the choices he’s had to make to protect all of us, including you.”
“Alright, alright!” Jackson exclaimed. “Calm down and relax.”
“It’s not alright,” Taylor snapped. “He could have died tonight. We all could have, and he got hurt using his body to protect me. He shouldn’t have to make split-second decisions like that. No one should, but you guys all run around acting like people’s lives mean nothing.”
Jackson leveled her with a look of disbelief. “Okay. I get it, alright?”
“No you don’t and I’ve had enough. Just pull the car over.”
“What?”
“You heard me! Pull the car over and let me out. I’ll walk the rest of the way.”
&nbs
p; “Like hell you will!” Jackson argued.
Taylor jerked her arm away as he double-checked the locks. Her chin jutted and her glare became narrowed and accusing.
“Look. I’m sorry, but there is no way in hell I am doing anything but dropping you off at your door and making sure you enter that house safe and in one piece. You might not understand this, but it is my ass on the line. He risked his life to save you and if you aren’t there waiting for him when he gets there, I have no doubts whatsoever that Sebastian will end mine. Sorry, lady, but screw that.”
Taylor bit back a hostile retort and stared out the side window when the young man beside her tromped on the gas. She considered telling him speeding with her in the car wouldn’t earn him any favors either, but decided to let it go. The poor guy was trying. As much as she hated to admit it, Jackson was right. Sebastian would kill him if he let her out of that car, and if she was stupid enough to get out and walk, there was no telling what he might do. One thing was certain. Her protective lover would be madder than a pissed off hornet doused in gasoline, and she’d have no one but herself to blame.
She shivered. Her nerves were still rattled and her body wound excruciatingly tight. She was tired and hungry and, more than anything, she just wanted the comfort of a man who wasn’t there.
Jackson maneuvered the car onto her street a few minutes later, and the familiar uphill slope leading home loomed in the distance. The soft, glowing solar lights and stately brick structure had never looked more beautiful and inviting. Unhooking her seatbelt, she turned to Sebastian’s teammate with an apologetic wince.
“I’m sorry,” she offered. “I don’t know what my problem is. You were just trying to make small talk and follow your orders. You didn’t deserve that kind of backlash.”
