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It takes me a minute to remember what I’d said. Right. Helping her.
“So why don’t you stop acting like you’re all pissed off and tell me why you look like we kicked your puppy and took your ice cream?”
Instead of loosening those pillowy-soft lips with the smile I was going for, she tightens them into a firm line.
I see the shadows on her pretty face deepen with sorrow. Nervousness. A little fear.
I’m a grown man in my thirties and have seen war, guarded everyone including preppy teens with rich daddies to foreign royalty, but this is the first time in my life I’ve ever felt my undoing in the making.
That’s not entirely true. That night three years ago when she dropped her dress in the middle of the floor. That was the first real test of my willpower. Right this second is my second test and I’m about to fail just as royally as I did the first time.
Come what may.
Landry and Boone are on our heels as I take the lead and point our little parade in the direction we came. I didn’t realize we’d chased her so far into the woods, but I can make a good guess that adrenaline and the fear of getting a bullet in the back blocks a lot of information from registering.
“I see you still remember what we taught you.”
“I have half a mind to dish out a little more kick-ass with how bad you scared me. Since when do you bust into a house in the dark unannounced?”
Damn crazy woman was running through the woods barefoot and still nearly bested all of us, and I’m pretty sure Boone’s nose is still throbbing. A little more force and she would have broken it, I’d wager.
We reach the cabin. Thank God. I can feel warm liquid trailing down my arm and I know the blood isn’t mine. I need to see where Honor is hurt. Once I know she’s safe we can talk.
Landry swings the door wide, and Boone hits the lights. It took all of ten minutes to fill in the owners of what was going on, but they finally agreed to help. Three Marines with a very pregnant wife answering the door shocked me as much as a stranger on their porch did them. Seeing a man with two guns put them all on high alert, but after dropping the senator’s name and my credentials, we hit it off just fine. Sometime while we chased Honor down, they’d turned on the lights and hopefully the water.
I settle Honor into one of four kitchen chairs that are about as comfortable as a plank of wood.
As soon as he shut the door behind them, Boone laid into her.
“Why the hell did you run? You could have hurt yourself. Worse, run right off a damn cliff.”
Boone rasps out his frustration, and instead of helping her relax, forces her back straighter than the chair she’s sitting in. In the kitchen light we all get the full force of her amber-colored scowl.
Landry pulls up a chair beside her and helps with the zipper of her dress. I don’t know how, but the man has her relaxing into his touch without a damn word.
It doesn’t last long though.
Her voice is sharp and strung out like she needs a nap in the worst way. “I was waiting for a call from my dad. I must have fallen asleep after the drive here. A noise startled me awake, didn’t know what to expect. All I saw were two men in my doorway with similar body builds to the men I saw tonight or rather last night.” She grows quiet a moment, and I can see her play back that moment.
I make a show of picking a few twigs from her hair to give her time to regroup.
She lets out a huff of frustration. “I freaked and ran. Not the noblest but two to one odds didn’t scream doable to me at the time. I can’t exactly fit an arsenal in this dress like you guys carry in those holsters around your shoulders.” She nods at the two 9mm snugged tightly against my sides.
I drag over a chair and straddle it, a medical kit from the truck in one hand and a towel I found in the kitchen in the other.
I hold my hand out and wait for her to give me hers. With reluctance she does, and I set out to clean the fresh scrapes along her bare arms.
I look down to see the pink tip of her tongue wet her lips. “But I have a better question. What areyoudoing here?”
I feel like I’ve waited a lifetime to be in this position. Her all ears waiting to hear what we have to say. I’ve dreamed about putting everything on the table about why we left and being close enough to kiss those perfect lips again. In my mind, she sees our actions as noble and understandable. No surprise she’s been left in the dark on what really went down and why we left. No reason for dear old daddy to tip his hand on how he likes to control everyone and everything around him. Power plays annoy the fuck out me.
But I can’t bring myself to open my mouth and tell her the truth about her father. He was only doing what any man would do to protect his blood. If not his political career. When it comes down to it, maybe I’d do the same if put in a similar situation. I don’t know. But the final nail in this particular coffin and what keeps us all tight-lipped is that it would ruin her view of the man who singlehandedly raised her. You can’t go back once you open that can of worms.
I can’t do that. None of us can.
I grab a Band-Aid and peel it open, considering my words. Boone opted for the silent route. I wonder how long that will last. He’ll break before Landry, that’s for damn sure. “Your father called us in. Asked a favor.”
She brushes a long, thick swath of hair over her shoulder, and I’m treated to the scent of her shampoo.
