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“Sounds like we have a plan.” Connor picked up his cell. “Then let’s get to work.”
Chapter Fifteen
Exhaustion threatened to drop her by the time she got back to her town house that night. Her father insisted he see her before she headed home. Then his connection got delayed and they settled for looking at each other through a computer screen while he sat in an airport lounge somewhere. He ended the conversation by vowing to never travel halfway around the world and hours from an airport again.
She hadn’t even found time to unpack from the campground. Her duffel bags and bow case, along with the arrows inside, sat on the floor right next to the front door. She needed to move them or she was sure to trip. If only she had the arm strength to lift more than a bottle of water at this point.
Before she could get from the foyer to the kitchen to get one, Joel wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body tight against his. “You okay?”
“A little shaky.” Not that she needed to tell him. He must feel her shivering.
Ever since learning about Mark and seeing the evidence for murder pile up, her head had been spinning. So much danger and pain. The idea that money caused it all made her switch between wanting to double over and needing to hit something.
Not that she’d never experienced heartache or loss, but she’d been luckier than most in life when it came to the essentials. She got that. Her father had money and never withheld it or affection. She never worried about having food or shelter or being loved.
Joel missed all of those things and still she didn’t know a better man. He didn’t think the world owed him. He didn’t try to gather all the “things” or believe only money mattered.
Now if she could just get him to understand loving her meant being there for her. Always.
He kissed the side of her neck. “You’re tensing up.”
“It’s been a rough day.”
“Hey.” He turned her around until his lips hovered over hers and her body slid against his. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get Tony and Charlie, if they’re the ones behind this.”
The poor guy thought the camp and all the horror there caused her reaction. It surely contributed to where her mind had gone. Confronted with so much death, she wanted to grab on to life and not let go.
But the sadness stealing over her came from him. From not knowing if there would ever be a “them” again.
She played with the second button from the top of his long-sleeve shirt, opening it and slipping it back through the small hole again. “We need to talk.”
“No good conversation ever started that way.” His smile faded as fast as it came. “Wait, you’re serious?”
She couldn’t be this close and hold her ground. She needed space for this conversation. Heck, she hadn’t even planned to have this discussion now. But coming back and having all of her emotions back up on her drove her.
She pulled away and stepped back a few feet. “What are we doing?”
He frowned and his gaze traveled up and down her body, as if he couldn’t understand what was happening. Maybe that was part of the problem.
“I think we should get some sleep.” He paused after each word.
She recognized the tone. He knew something was coming and mentally prepared for the hit. Usually at this point, he shut down. He suggested sex or talked about needing a walk. Dodged and ran, his well-practiced M.O.
Suddenly she had to know the answer to the question that had plagued her from the moment he stepped off that helicopter—would this time be different?
Having him pull away wasn’t a game she could keep playing. He left and she’d waited for him to come to her. Now he was here, likely because her father begged him or, worse, paid him.
“Joel, come on.” She was surprised at the strength in her voice.
“Please don’t do this.” All the color left his face. “Not now.”
“When then? Two months from now when you come back for the third time? Next year when you stroll back in for the fourth?” The words sliced through her. She could see the cycle repeated forever. Didn’t even have to close her eyes to envision it because she’s already lived through the first round.
He wiped a hand through his hair as he spun around and headed for the family room. He started to sit on the couch but stopped and paced instead.
His movements wild and his usual control fading, he turned to her. “Can’t we just let this be it for now?”
The question pounded her. She didn’t even know how her heart kept beating. “I don’t even know what ‘this’ is.”
His hands clenched at his sides. “I missed you.”
