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I’d known Rogue wouldn’t seriously hurt me. Even if he sent me away and refused to ever speak to me again, he wouldn’t actually run me down. And yet, just for a second as he came charging toward me, I wondered if I’d read him wrong. My body had screamed for me to run. I’d faced down people I knew wanted me dead, so I held my ground with the man I thought might possibly love me. I’d gambled correctly, but if I’d won, why wasn’t I happy? Why wasn’t I jumping for joy that he was coming back?
Because you’re not sure he really is.
If I had to chase him down at the house and make him come out and talk, then I would do that, but he was coming back. He’d said he would, and he could be trusted. I was good at reading him, and he was good at reading me too.
I thought about how he’d known I was watching him, even though I should have been concealed. I’d made only the slightest movement, and he was instantly attuned to me. I’d always been damn good at hiding, but what if I couldn’t hide from Rogue?
That was a truly terrifying thought. Worse than most things I’d faced in the marines and as a fed.
You could run.
After I came here and begged him to listen to me?
If you’re scared…
No. I didn’t run from things. I hadn’t since I was a little kid with no other choice.
Another thing I didn’t do was dream about the future. I focused on completing each mission, but that was all. I made a plan and brought the target in—or eliminated them, depending on the nature of the job, then I took the next assignment.
Whenever I started to think about there being more than hunting people, I pushed those thoughts away. The hunt was what I was good at. Anything else was too dangerous or painful or both… but now the thoughts of a future with Rogue wouldn’t go away.
20
ROGUE
I slipped into the barn, but luck wasn’t with me like it had been earlier. TJ was there, but at least my brother wasn’t with him, and I did get a good laugh after seeing the big city mafia assassin mucking out stalls. That was what love had done to him. What would it do to me?
TJ looked up when I entered. “I thought you had the day off.”
“I do. I just decided I wanted to ride, so I took Mischief out.”
He raised his brows. “Uh-huh.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“I thought you were spending the day with your new man.”
Of course he knew I was seeing someone. “Rhys told you I was seeing somebody?”
“We have no secrets.”
I snorted as I settled Mischief into the crossties so I could untack and groom her.
“Are you saying he’s holding back on me?”
I laughed. “What if I was?”
“Then I’d have to bribe you to tell me.”
“Nope. Twins don’t betray secrets. Not ever.”
“I’d find a way.”
I laughed as I hung up Mischief’s bridle. “Lucky for you, I don’t know anything he’s keeping from you, so there’s no need for scheming now.”
“All right, then tell me about this man you’re seeing.”
“Why does everyone want to check up on me?”
“I want to make sure he’s worthy of you. Not just any man is going to go out with Rhys’s brother.”
“I’m not some fragile maiden that needs to be protected. I’m a bull rider, remember? I’ve had my share of men and women and survived on my own for years.”
“I’ve seen the RV you were living in. Was that really survival?”
“It would have been stupid to buy a house when I was on the road all the time.”
“Look. If you get hurt, Rhys will be upset and angry, and that’s no good for me.”
“Oh, so this is about you?”
He grinned. “Of course.”
I rolled my eyes as I worked the curry comb over Mischief’s back. “You don’t need to worry.”
“That didn’t sound convincing.”
He was right, though. It hadn’t. “He’s a hot guy. I’m having fun with him. That’s all.”
TJ looked at me, then laughed. “That was even less convincing. There’s a lot more going on than you just having some fun.”
I was glad to have my brothers back in my life, and I was glad Grant and Rhys had found people who made them happy, but did they have to constantly be in my business? The last thing I needed was for them to start poking around and find out who I was seeing.
“I’m telling you that’s all this is. I didn’t expect to be checked up on constantly. I guess I should have. Getting anyone around here to actually admit I’m an adult takes a hell of a lot of work.”
TJ smiled. “I’ve been the family assassin for years, and my dad still doesn’t think I’m a grown up. He trusts me to kill but not to do anything else.”
