Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
I thought about it for the whole plane ride, and I knew that I just needed to be up front about it all. Under different circumstances, I could protect her without even talking to her. But that’s not an option. I watch her closely, wondering if she will make the connection. I’ve known her brother for years. How the hell I haven’t met her before now is beyond me.
Her forehead creases, and she blinks. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”
Yes. I’m your future husband. That’s what my head says, anyway, but I know I can’t say it out loud. I clear my throat and decide to just put it out there. “Yeah, well, sort of. I work with your brother.”
Her face crumples right in front of me. In place of the soft smile, her expression is filled with terror, and the pitcher of water in her hand falls from her grasp. I barely catch it before it hits the floor. “Is he okay? Oh my God, did something happen to my brother?”
Already there are tears forming in her eyes, and I regret the nonchalant way I mentioned her brother. He said she always worried about him, but I didn’t expect this. There are so many things going through my mind right now, but the most important is fixing what I just did to her. I set the pitcher on the table and grab Jenna by the shoulders. “He’s fine, Jenna. I’ve been talking back and forth with him all morning. He’s on a mission in Brazil.” I shake my head. All the years of training and experience go right out the door when it comes to Jenna. I’m not supposed to disclose locations. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. He’s on a mission, but he’s safe.”
She wipes at her eyes, searching my face to see if I’m lying to her. “I promise. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
She pulls back from my hold. “How do I know that? I don’t even know you.”
I point to the chair across from where I’ve been sitting. “Please, sit down.” She shakes her head. “Please. I’ll prove to you that you can trust me. Just give me a few minutes.”
She has so much mistrust on her face it kills me. She’s obviously been hurt, and there is real fear in her eyes. I hold my hands up, my palms facing toward her. “Please,” I plead with her again.
She nods, still frowning, and pulls the chair out across from me. I slowly take my seat and put my hands on the table in front of me. The ear device I have on is still live in case they need me, but it’s been quiet for around an hour. No doubt the guys are making their way to the target.
“Has your brother ever mentioned me?”
She shrugs. “I think so.” She obviously doesn’t want to answer any questions. She wants to be the one asking them. “What’s my brother’s nickname?”
I nod in understanding. So this is how this is going to go? I don’t care; I’ll sit here all evening if it means I get to talk to her. “Knuckles. But I refuse to call him that. I call him John.”
“How did he get that nickname?”
I try to hold my smirk in. She wants to know if I am who I say I am, but obviously she’s never been told how her brother got the nickname. Oh well, I’ll tell her, it’s not state secrets. “He likes to fight. He may carry knifes, guns, whatever... but the man likes to bare knuckle fight.”
She looks horrified for just a minute before clearing the expression from her face. “Okay, how many tattoos does he have?”
I laugh. “Too many to count.”
She’s staring back at me, searching for a question, so I decide to help her out. “He’s been with the team since he left the army five years ago. You’re his only family, and he would do anything for you.”
She shrugs, like duh, all this is obvious.
“He has a scar on his arm that he covered up with a tattoo. He tells everyone he was in a knife fight but actually he fell out of a tree when he was kid.”
She leans forward. “He told you that?”
I nod, grabbing for the glass of water to keep from grabbing for her. I knew it was going to be hard to keep my hands off her, but I didn’t realize it would be this hard. She’s even more beautiful up close. “Yeah, one night after a mission. We, uh, had both been drinking.”
She’s starting to believe me. As a matter of fact, I’m sure she already does, but if this is a game she wants to keep playing, I’m in. It doesn’t matter to me. I have nowhere to be but right here.