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“I know,” he said, rubbing a thumb over her bottom lip. “I know, but you have to trust me. There is more than you think between us, and we need to discover what that is. I kept my distance because I didn’t want to scare you, and I knew that there were still some issues we needed to deal with. But I’m here now.”
“Nate, we, or you, are being stalked. Someone tried to kill you and is most likely tracking you. That’s what your family said. Does this seem like the right time to start a relationship?” Pushing himself off the floor, he wrapped the quilt around him and sat back on the sofa, patting the seat beside him.
“Listen to me,” he said, wiping the sweat from his brow. She handed him three ibuprofen and some water, and he smiled, downing them. “Listen to me. I’ll explain everything soon about my family, but we’re a unique bunch of people.”
“So I’ve gathered. Your father looks like he could be your brother. Your mother is so gorgeous she could be on a runway, and those men, Tanner and Cruz, look as if they stepped off of GQ.” Nate raised a brow, smirking at her.
“Well, beyond good looks, they’re unique in other ways. All of them. We’re not men and women who believe you have to date someone for five years before you know you’re in love. You either are, or you are not.”
She frowned at him, then turned, looking out at the blackness of the storm. Staring up at the clock, she realized it had been hours since she’d found him.
“Have you ever been in love, Harlow?”
Nibbling on her lip, she shook her head. “I thought I was once. I was dating him when you found me. I left that party like you told me, went to my apartment to pack a few things, and he was there. Stealing my jewelry.”
“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry.”
“The stupid thing is, if he needed the money for something important, I would have given it to him. Instead, he was stealing the Rolex my parents gave me for my eighteenth birthday. I never wore it again after realizing how they got the money. He took some pearls and some diamond earrings. Honestly, I didn’t care.
“I thought I’d cry and cry over that, but I didn’t. I was pissed and kicked him out, then gathered my things. But I didn’t cry once for his sorry sack of shit. I guess that meant that I didn’t really love him at all, right?”
“Maybe,” said Nate. “When you’re really in love, Harlow, you’ll feel it. Inside of you. You’ll feel the burn, the excitement, the rapid heartbeat. The other person will be the only thing you can think of.”
“I already feel that,” she whispered. “I felt it every time I thought about you. You never left my thoughts. I felt it when I saw you in that library. I was scared, obviously, at first. I was feeling things I shouldn’t feel for someone that I thought was going to rape me.”
“You knew I wasn’t going to rape you,” he grinned. “That’s why you felt those things. You knew I was a good man.”
“Who are you, Nate? Who are you, really?” she whispered, touching his arm.
“I am Nathan Luke Redhawk. Born to Nathan and Katrina Redhawk. I am Diné and Tepehuán. I am a deadly warrior. I am a United States Delta soldier. My family owns the most elite security and weapons development company in the world.”
“Oh, wow,” she whispered. “I thought you were going to say you were a cop or something.” Nate laughed, pulling her closer, at great discomfort to himself. He kissed her sweetly.
“No, precious Harlow. I am not a cop. I’m much, much more dangerous than that. Now, tell me all about you.”
“You already know too much. My father is an attorney for the Justice Department.” The look on Nate’s face told Harlow all she needed to know. This was not good. “My mother has always been a stay-at-home mom. We lived in New York, and Dad commuted back and forth to D.C.
“When I was fourteen, I overheard him talking about this really big case. They were collecting evidence, and they were going to put this man, Quinn, away forever. Then, the next thing I knew, he and my mother were attending a party at his home. My father came home, but my mother didn’t.”
“Harlow.”
“I know. I know why she didn’t come home,” said Harlow, shaking her head. “I asked him to explain, but he got angry and slapped me. I tried to ignore it, Nate. Really, I did, but when they told me I had to go to that first party, I was terrified.
“At first, I didn’t understand how I’d been lucky enough to not be chosen by the younger, more aggressive men. Then I realized it was the man in the uniform. Admiral Garvin. He wassavingme for himself.
“I was disgusted by him. I just wanted to run, Nate, but my parents said if I did, he’d kill me. I don’t have any brothers or sisters, no aunts or uncles. No one to run to. I should have run anyway, Nate. I wanted to, but I kept thinking if I could just finish my degree, I’d be able to find a good job somewhere and then really go after them. All of them.”
“Honey, he would have found you. He had endless resources, and it sounds like he had some men in his pocket that knew me or knew my family.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said those Mexican men said they were waiting on the reaper man.” She nodded, staring at him. “Our company was formerly called REAPER-Patriots. Originally, REAPER.”
“Oh, God.”
“I think they were waiting on me or one of our other men.”
CHAPTER SIX
