He slipped his knuckle beneath her chin and lifted her stare to his. “Summer. Just say it.”
She issued a puff of air. “I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
His stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing’s happened.” Her fingers twisted lightly in the sheet. “I mean…nobody’s threatened me again. Nobody’s come after me.”
Pope waited for more, unsure where this was headed.
“And part of me keeps thinking…here it comes.” She swallowed before finally looking up at him again. “I’m afraid the security team is going to decide the danger’s over and reassign you. Send you somewhere else.”
Christ.
Her words struck him hard because she wasn’t talking about security anymore.
She was talking about losing him.
He turned toward her fully and cupped her face gently until she looked at him.
“When I’m not working,” he said quietly, “I’ll still be here with you.”
Emotion flickered across her face.
“I mean that, Summer.”
Her eyes searched his carefully. “What if the team decides somebody else should take over?”
Pope looked away briefly before answering because honesty suddenly mattered too much to screw up.
“I was afraid they wouldn’t let me protect you in the first place.”
Her brows pulled together. “Why?”
Rhae’s voice drifted through his head, drilled into him from countless therapy sessions.
Talk it out.
Get things in the open.
If you really want this woman, stop making her guess where she stands.
Pope exhaled slowly and stared toward the ceiling for one long second before looking back at Summer.
“When your mom said I don’t believe I’m a good guy, it hit me hard. Because I was trained not to fail. But I did.”
She remained silent, watching him and waiting for more.
“I was guarding someone,” he said quietly. “A diplomat overseas.”
Summer didn’t interrupt.
“I didn’t save him.” The admission still scraped on the way out. “I failed.”
He stared at a spot over her shoulder. “The worst part wasn’t losing him. It was what came after.”
Summer’s expression softened.
