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The pain she was experiencing wasn’t something she wantedhimtrying to fix. She knew all too well just how masterful those longer fingers were, not to mention his hard lips.
“I think I need to get up and walk around a little,” she said.
“Let me help you.”
Before she could protest, he drew the blanket off her and held out a hand for her to take.
When she slipped her palm against his, a shiver rolled down her spine. No, no, no. This was not the time to want any man, let alonethis man.
Fat chance getting him to leave so she could regain what wits she had left when it came to him.
He guided her to a standing position, and she shook her head. “I don’t like feeling so weak.”
“You lost blood. You had surgery. Just take it slow.”
She walked through the living room, dodging balloons as she went. One long red string on a red balloon got tangled around her ponytail, and a carefree, unexpected laugh burst from her. She pulled the string free and continued on.
When she reached the end of the room, she turned back to find AJ smiling at her, love shining in his eyes.
Her heart didn’t get the memo that he was out of her life for good.
But when did people ever get second chances? A million people in the world were out there now, longing for another opportunity to be with the person they loved and had lost.
Why couldn’t she just grab on to AJ and revel in their happiness?
Because she couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t vanish again. Bottom line—he had picked his job over her once before.
In the time he was gone, she’d gotten close to some of the women in relationships with men in Blackout. She’d helped Anastasy, who was with Lachlan on the Blackout team. And she and Kit had bonded over falling for—and losing—their men.
Only Kit got her happily ever after quickly, while Indika still wondered if that wouldeverbe the case for her.
Point was that she didn’t think a single one of those guys would leave the women they loved hanging the way AJ had with her.
In the end, relationships were built on trust.
And he’d wiped out any semblance of that word from her vocabulary…andher heart.
EIGHT
Apollo peeked through the crack of Indika’s bedroom door. From this vantage point, he had a view of her head on the pillow. Her eyes were closed, and she hadn’t moved since last time he checked on her.
Her long dark hair trailed over the beige linen. The only time he’d appreciate the bland changes she’d made to her life was seeing that rich contrast.
Now that he was certain she would sleep for a while, he could get a few things done. First, he needed to clean up the dinner dishes. The soup he made was just as good as promised, and she’d eaten almost an entire bowl plus a little fresh fruit salad.
Caring for Indika gave him some purpose again. It might not involve a sniper rifle or coordinates, but taking care of the woman he loved was saving the world in another way.
Her job was important, and she was damn good at it. From what her partner told him, they were saving illegal immigrants from terrible conditions, including being made to work off the debt of coming to the US and for the food and shelter necessary to stay alive.
Above anything else, Indika was a humanitarian. Everything she did was to make the world a better place.
He could say the same.
After a quick cleanup, he could get down to other business. He’d been edgy for days, just holding his breath waiting for one of the terrorists fighting for power to make a move.
Blackoutneededwhat he could give them. He knew all the underground networks to hear names, locations and more. He collected contacts like his grandpa had collected shot glasses.Andhe knew all the backdoors.
Even if his team wouldn’t come right out and say it, Apollo knew that he’d done more than anyone else when it came to fighting this cell.
