Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
It had felt like her fault. “I led them right back to you. They followed me. Either from my place or Noelle’s. I didn’t see that I had a car following me. I didn’t even look.”
His head dropped down to hers. “Because you’re not a field operative, baby. You’re not trained for this, and there’s zero reason you should be.”
He’d gotten so affectionate since he’d taken a bullet.
The man had duct taped himself back together and come after her. The logical part of her brain told her he was simply doing his job, but when she’d seen him coming out of the shadows something had settled inside her. She’d known she would survive because Kyle was there and alive, and he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.
Further. He hadn’t been there to stop the beating she’d taken, the one that reminded her she was so fucking fragile. Through all the pain, her greatest regret had been that she’d never kissed Kyle Hawthorne. It was stupid. She should have been thinking about all the things she hadn’t done in her young life, and all that had been in her heart and soul had been him.
Nothing had changed. He still wasn’t going to stay. He’d told her who he was, and she believed him.
At the time, she’d known she had to choose herself. She wasn’t the woman who thought she could fix a man. A man was who he was. She’d known exactly what Kyle’s real problem was—another woman had done him wrong—and it wasn’t her job to make it right.
In that moment when she’d known she was going to die, it hadn’t mattered. The surety of heartache had been nothing in the face of having a single moment to look back on. One moment of joy with Kyle would have been worth the pain.
“Well, I don’t think Big Tag will be sending me out in the field again anytime soon since I got his nephew shot,” she said, stepping back.
She hadn’t taken his offer, and she would be shocked if he offered again.
“He doesn’t blame you for that. My uncle can be an asshole, but he’s fair, and he cares about you.” He stared at her for a moment, and then his jaw tightened as he seemed to come to some inner decision. “Mae, I think we should talk.”
He said the words with the gravity of a man on a mission. A potentially distasteful mission. She was confused since he was the one who’d insisted on pretending to be her boyfriend and then he’d been the one to take charge of her recovery.
Or had he? Had this been an idea of Big Tag’s? So she didn’t end up at his already full house? Big Tag would feel responsible for her. He was perfectly capable of feeling guilty, and she could see him trying to make sure she was okay. It hadn’t made sense to send her with Hutch since he was hurt, too. This might have been the easiest place to watch over her since she didn’t have family of her own and her friends were mostly single and worked a lot. Grace was already taking time off to watch over Kyle. Maybe she’d been pressed into double duty.
“I don’t think we have to talk. It’s cool. We ran an op and had a cover. I’m not misconstruing the way you’re acting. I know I didn’t prove myself out in the field, but I do know the difference between cover and reality. You don’t have to worry that I’m going to be clingy. And I think I can take care of myself. I’m going to call a friend and have him bring my car out so I can head home this afternoon. It’s sweet of your mom to offer to take care of me, but I’m not the one who got shot. You should have the bed and all of her attention.”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t think you understand the difference between cover and a desperate dude jumping at the first chance to stay close to you, and you definitely don’t understand reality if you think I’m letting you move an inch out of this house before I decide you’re healthy enough to take care of yourself. Even then I’ll probably stick close.”
She was confused. “Desperate dude?”
He sighed and his hand came out again, brushing down from her shoulder to her elbow. “Sit down and I’ll get you some coffee and we can talk.”
“I don’t want to talk, Kyle. Look, if we’re back to the not-so-friends-with-benefits thing, then I agree. Let’s throw down. Nothing else has worked for me and honestly, I think about you more than I should. Let’s give me some time to not look like an extra in a horror film and then we can scratch each other’s itches until you leave.”