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He gaped at her. “Why would you do that?”
“Don’t you want to go?”
Goddamn right he did.
“For the record, I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for the new father who’s at the hospital sitting through his wife’s childbirth so they can have a Christmas baby.”
Declan hadn’t felt much camaraderie yet on the WEST team. So far, he felt as if he gained unwanted attention or stood on the outer edge of a brotherhood he didn’t belong in. Even not having a hat bugged the hell out of him.
In the span of a few short minutes, Madeline put him at ease and made him feel that warm friendship.
She jerked her thumb. “C’mon, Declan. Outta that chair before I miss some attack in the barn.”
He rushed out of the seat and stepped aside to allow her to occupy it. Once she sat, he braced a hand and leaned over the desk to catch her gaze. “Thank you.”
“Just make sure to bring your A game to my training. I won’t put up with lazy agents.”
“Not a chance of that.” He strode to the door and took off before Madeline could change her mind about sitting behind a dozen screens, getting a crick in her neck on Christmas Day.
The cold stung his nostrils as he rushed to his truck and leaped behind the wheel.
He had very few minutes before he’d enter that party and face his lover.
Belle.
What would he say to her? How would he explain that he was really undercover and protecting her from something she had never even voiced a fear of?
She fled that barn like a mouse chased by an owl.
How to make it up to her? He’d just have to tell her the truth, but doing so would break the rules. In turn, it would give him a less than favorable reputation.
Hell, the team had all seen his ass while he fucked Belle in the garden. Who gave a damn what they thought? She wasn’t under contract. He wasn’t her bodyguard. Besides, from what Boone said, most of the guys had hooked up in a forbidden manner so they had no room to throw stones.
When he slipped into the barn, he cast a look around the room. White twinkle lights crisscrossed the beams of the ceiling by the thousands, lighting up the space to a rich, warm yellow glow. The scent of cinnamon and pine filled his nostrils.
Since he stood at six feet two, he could easily scan the room. When he picked out Belle’s warm brown hair drawn off her neck in a sweep of curls, his heart clutched.
Would she speak to him? He had to find a way to make her listen.
Before he could take a step to cross the room to her, that asshole ex of hers got there first.
Her spine stiffened.
Ethan leaned in to say something to her.
Declan lengthened his strides, gaze dialed in on the couple rather than the people around him. His shoulder clipped a man’s, and he didn’t bother apologizing—he was locked on a goal.
Ethan’s lips moved.
Then Belle raised her arm, and with lightning speed, slapped him across the face.
Declan closed the gap in two more strides. Planting a hand on her back, he gently guided her behind him and faced down her ex.
“You have something to say to Belle, you can say it to me instead.”
Belle’s shocked gasp sounded behind him. From the corner of his eye, he saw one of the WEST team move in. Declan sliced a hand through the air to indicate he had it under control. His teammate stopped.
Declan took a menacing step toward Ethan. He held his ground.
