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"You know, you're going to break her heart," Deirdre said as she moved behind Nik.
Nik turned and faced the redhead, seeing the concern in her eyes for her friend. Deirdre Maple and Mikayla Martin had been friends since childhood. The report he'd put together on Mikayla showed an endearing friendship between the two. Deirdre was the sister Mikayla's parents hadn't been able to give their daughter. And at the moment Deirdre was playing the big sister, just as she always had. And Nik didn't have an answer or an assurance for her.
She shook her head at his lack of response. "I know that look. She won't be the 117
only one left with scars, will she, Mr. Steele?"
"No," he finally answered her softly. "She won't be alone, Miss Maple." He moved away from her and left the shop to check the work the boys had done. As he moved out, they went in, eyeing him suspiciously as they did so. They were men; they knew he wouldn't be questioned where their sister was concerned, just as they knew that he was an entity to be wary of. He'd never harm Mikayla, but if her brothers got in the way of his protecting her, then God help them.
God help another living soul that dared to hurt her again.
He was sick and damn tired of people picking on his fairy.
118
Chapter 12
People saw her as a pushover, and Mikayla knew it.
As she stepped from the shower that night, dried, and dressed in a long cotton nightgown and robe, she admitted she might well be too damned nice. Even Nik treated her with kid gloves. There was a difference between needing to be protected from a killer and needing to be protected from life. She had no desire to be protected from life. She wanted to live life, experience it. She wanted to laugh and she wanted to love, and if that meant getting her heart broken, then she wanted that, too.
She'd had plans, she admitted. Plans to be a virgin on her wedding night, plans to wear her white dress, but those plans had changed. She had a very bad feeling there was every chance Nik wouldn't be sticking around for a white wedding. Not because he was a heartbreaker. Not because he had any desire to hurt her, any desire to spoil the plans she had made. Because the darkness inside him might not allow him to love with the same need, the same intensity, as Mikayla could allow herself to love with.
Moving through the house, she was aware of Nik in the living room sitting on the edge of the couch as he cleaned his gun at the coffee table.
He had done that the night before when they left the bed for a snack. While Mikayla made sandwiches, he had cleaned his gun. He took exceptional care of his weapon.
"I ordered pizza," he called out as she moved for the fridge. "It arrived a few minutes ago."
She had to admit, she hadn't been looking forward to cooking at midnight.
"It's a good thing I'm not on a diet," she muttered as she poured herself a glass of sweet tea and moved into the living room.
Sure enough, a pizza box sat on the end table next to the recliner, along with several paper plates.
Mikayla made short work of a slice, sipped at her tea, and watched Nik finish cleaning the gun.
He'd showered as well.
His hair was nearly dry, fanning around his face as he bent his head to his task and carefully put the weapon back together.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" she asked as he laid the weapon aside.
"I'm heading to the job site to talk to the new foreman and a few of Eddie Foreman's friends. There has to be a reason someone wanted him dead; I just have to figure out what that reason is."
"What have you learned so far?" She knew what he had learned, the same thing she had. Not a damned thing.
"Just a few rumors." He sat back on the couch and stared at her thoughtfully.
"Foreman wasn't well liked by a lot of people. I called your friend. He gave me the same 119
information he gave you, but I haven't been able to verify it, or find Steve Gainard."
"Steve's out of town," Mikayla stated before breathing in deeply. "For a man so unliked, no one wants to discuss Eddie."
"We'll see." Nik shrugged. "I have a few more leads to follow."
"I'm going with you." She straightened her shoulders and stared back at him in determination. "Deirdre has dared me to come back to the store until this is taken care of."
