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She was killing him here.
“I’m going to run you a bath,” he told her. “Then I’ll get the luggage in and find us some food. All right?”
“I don’t want to go out to eat.” She looked so frightened that it hurt him.
“I know, Sweet Pea,” he replied.
“I rather like that one.”
“That what?” he asked.
“Nickname.”
“Do you? Sweet Pea is cute. Although I think I might test a few more. Make sure to find the perfect one.”
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. But at least it was a start. Moving into the bathroom, he turned on the taps. The hotel provided some bath salts, so he poured those in.
Maybe she was starting to come out of that numb state. He couldn’t blame her for trying to escape reality for a while. When he returned, though, she was standing in the same spot.
“Hey, baby.” He cupped her face between his hands. “You’re starting to worry me.”
“Sorry.”
He ran his thumbs over her cheeks. “No reason to be sorry. You feel how you feel. And you shouldn’t let anyone dictate your feelings to you. But I really wish you’d tell me what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours.”
She frowned slightly.
“Are you worried because that guy is still out there? Is it playing over in your head? What’s going on, Ladybug? Ooh, now, see, that could be my favorite.”
She smiled faintly. Again, it didn’t reach her eyes.
Christ. His poor girl.
If only he could turn back time.
“I’m sorry I got you involved in an armed robbery,” he told her.
Her eyes widened and then narrowed. “This wasn’t your fault.”
“I should have taken you somewhere else. Should have protected you better.”
“You couldn’t have known what would happen. And how could you have protected me better? You literally stood in front of me to hide me. You kept his attention on you. I was never in danger . . . but you . . . you could have been shot.”
Her voice broke and he took her into his arms, holding her tight. “Shh, Ladybug. Shh. You’re okay. I’m all right. We’re both going to be fine.”
He made sure to hold her as tight as he could without hurting her. He knew she needed the pressure.
“You could have died. What would I have done?” she asked.
“Hey. I wasn’t going to die. Nothing was going to happen to me.”
“I was s-so scared you were going to try and be a hero and like wrestle h-him for the gun or something.”
Fuck. The idea had occurred to him, he couldn’t lie. It had been itching at him like claws on his skin to get the jump on that asshole.
But he’d known what his number-one job was.
Looking after her.
