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A deep roll of laughter started things off, and pretty soon August was laughing along with Ross, and even the ranch hand chuckled around his bloody lip.
Jaren spun on his heels and stalked out of the barn. She rushed along at his side, barely keeping pace with those tree trunks he called legs.
“Jaren, wait! What is wrong with you?”
He blasted through the bunkhouse door. She was a step behind him and saw the ranch hand who just got fired zipping up a duffel. Without glancing their direction, he slung it over his shoulder and walked out.
Jaren waited several beats before he walked to the sink and flipped on the faucet. Water ran over his knuckles.
Trinny edged close to him. “Talk to me. Why are you upset? Are you angry that I followed you to the barn?”
His jaw flexed. The tendon stretched so tight it seemed about to snap.
When he swallowed, she noticed the angry flush creeping up his throat again.
“Talk to me, Jaren!”
“It’s not you. I’m angry at myself. I never should have walked away from you. I fucked up and I don’t deserve to be your bodyguard. In fact”—he shut off the water and swiped his wet knuckles over his thigh—“I’m going to tell Ross to assign you a new one.”
Her brows shot up. “You—What? No.”
He met her stare. “I’m hotheaded. Impulsive. Everybody says it. Now look what happened. My distraction could have gotten you killed. But my action cost meyou. At least there’s that.”
* * * * *
Jaren and his brothers were shouting. And he wasalltoo aware that Trinny was sitting on the other side of that thin office wall, listening to every single word they said.
“I can’t believe you walked away from her, Jaren. You know what happened last time we let a ward out of our sight. JesusChrist!” Judd dug his thumb and forefinger into each temple as if Jaren made his head throb.
Hell, he made his own head throb. None of them could afford to fuck up again.
“I know,” he ground out. “We lost our company because of a mistake just like this. The congressman’s daughter might still be alive if I hadn’t gone off to play hero and break up that fight in the lobby that night.”
Jaren sank into the fog of events. Hell, even now he could barely make out what had been real and what he perceived as his fault—what they each perceived to be theirownfault.
The man who took credit for that death called himself The Broker. Only the WEST team had been chasing guys calling themselves that for months now. Just when they thought they had him, another one popped up. Now they knew more than one person was involved. When the next would show his face was anyone’s guess, but they were all on high alert.
Like he should have been today on the ranch with Trinny. His error could have been a disaster.
Jaren forced his tone to remain even. “I know, Judd. You don’t have to remind me what happened with the congressman’s daughter. Everyone remembers. You think I’m not fucking furious with myself for walking away from Trinny? As soon as I turned my back on her, somebody could have jumped out and grabbed her and I wouldn’t have any damn idea what happened until that fight was finished and I came up for air!”
He whirled, fists clamped.
Suddenly, a big body leaped in front of him. Lexis slammed a palm off his chest, redirecting his attention—and anger—to his teammate. “Calm the fuck down, Abel!”
The red haze dissipated from his vision, and the fight went out of him. He let his fist swing at his side, still balled. He lifted the other hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Someone else take over Trinny’s case. It’s the right thing to do. She’ll understand.”
Dead silence hung in the air like a storm cloud.
“Uhh…I don’t think she’s going to understand.” Judd’s statement made him look up.
Everyone in the room was staring at the door. When he pivoted, he spotted Trinny standing there with a thunderous expression twisting her beautiful features.
Their gazes locked and she spoke to him and him alone. “I don’t understand a word you said about a congressman’s daughter or what happened to her. But I do understand that you want to leave me alone and unprotected.”
Jaren’s gut bottomed out. “No,” he croaked. “Not alone or unprotected. You’ll have one of the other guys on the team on your case. Someone who isn’t so easily distracted.”
Her eyes narrowed in a blaze as she crossed Ross’s private office in measured steps. “I want you. I trustyou. Isn’t that what you asked me to do just a few short hours ago?”
