“Hey,” the alarmed voice of the man that was behind her,stopped Reid in his tracks, but he didn’t turn around. With his grip securelyon her arm keeping her pinned close to his side, Reid’s body stiffened likesteel. Alarmed, Everly looked up to watch Reid’s profile harden and his eyesnarrow as he stared out unseeingly ahead of him—waiting.
“Are you okay?” The man was talking directly to her now. Shecould feel Reid’s body tense all over—like a coil ready to snap.
Dear God, the man thought Reid was harassing her.
Quickly she looked to the worried stranger and stammered outa hurried assurance. “Yes of course, thank you.”
The man didn’t look convinced.
Reid didn’t wait for the man to say anything else. Neverturning to acknowledge the man, Reid continued walking away with her in tow. Itwasn’t until they were hidden around the corner, near the entrance, did hestop.
“I turn around, and you were gone,” Reid’s voice was so deepand soft she could barely understand it.
Taking her now badly wrinkled coat from his tight grip, Reidforced it up and over her arms with a few jerks.
“I was just getting a sandwich,” Everly tried to make eyecontact with him, but Reid refused to meet her gaze. Instead, he kept hishard-blue eyes trained on the task of buttoning her jacket.
“My mind went crazy when I couldn’t find you. I thought youhad tried to run from me.”
Everly didn’t get to respond, Reid was already leading herout the building’s entrance into their large black truck. The ride was silentand awkward, Everly wasn’t sure what to say. The anger and pain on Reid’s facewhen he admitted he thought she ran was apparent. The guilt she felt howeverwarred with her pride, she didn’t do anything wrong. She was the pregnant one,she was technically the hostage, and she was hungry darn it.
“This is ridiculous, you cannot be angry at me because Iwent to get a sandwich,” turning in her seat, Everly glared at his silentprofile, daring him to argue with her about this, challenging him even.
Sparing her a glance as he merged onto the city’s mainstreet, Reid sat back stiffly in his seat.
“I’m not angry with you,” he finally replied, his bodyrelaxing slightly. “When I couldn’t find you…”
She waited, but he didn’t reply.
Looking up in the rearview mirror Reid’s normally stoic eyeswent wide. Furrowing her brow, she turned in her seat prepared to attempt tosee what he was seeing out the back window. The hard pressure of his grip bitinto her knee. Pulling the truck over, Reid gave her a desperate look.
She had never seen him with such an anxious expression, itmade her stomach knot with anxiety.
“Reid…” She began worriedly.
“Everly you can’t leave me, we need you,” the grip on herknee was bruising, and his voice was hoarse and desperate. “You know that welove you.”
The hard knock on the driver side window made her jump.Standing outside the truck was a grim face police officer.
Reid never moved his grip from her knee as he rolled downthe window. “Officer,” he acknowledged curtly.
“I got a report over a possible domestic abuse situationthat happened at the Medical Plaza office tower down the street,” the officerlooked from Reid directly at her, his eyes traveling over her until they landedon Reid’s hand still gripping her knee. Pointedly the officer looked back atReid with a narrowing gaze. “The person that called it in said a man fittingyour description was seen roughly handling his female companion. The personalso provided your vehicle description.”
“Well as you can see officer…” Reid’s eyes flicked to theman’s metal nametag before landing caustically back on the officer’s gaze.“…Daniels…that individual was grossly mistaken.”
The invisible but palpable tension between the two only increased.
Stepping slightly back from the driver’s door, the officerlooked at her now. “I know it’s cold ma’am, however, could you please step outof the vehicle so that I may come around and speak to you privately.”
Reid tensed in his seat, the anger on his face was lethal.
“She is pregnant, she does not…”
The tension between the two men was escalating to adangerous level, the officer’s expression was starting to match Reid’s. Makingher decision, Everly pulled the door handle with a loud audible click.
Already turning her legs outward to step out, her knees slidout from under his grip. “It’s fine Reid, we just need to clear up themisunderstanding.”
“Everly,” there was so much pain and meaning underlinedunder that simple word. A need, a warning, a plea: and she heard all of it.
