Defiance (The Protectors 9)

I shook my head. “No, I didn’t.” I thought back to his first question. “No, it’s probably not Beck’s uncle. There’s another guy out there who does some security consulting work,” I hedged.

Nathan eyed me. “Security consulting,” he said skeptically, his eyebrows raised. “Is that what they call it?”

I smiled at that. “Anyway, Ronan – that’s the guy’s name – I suspect he did it as a favor to Everett…to keep an eye on the kid.”

“You think Reese knows what Everett did for him?” Nathan asked.

I shook my head. “Probably not. He’d shoot himself in the foot to spite his father. If he found out Everett was involved, he’d likely disappear again like he did after his mother’s death.”

“How did Everett and this Ronan guy meet?”

“I actually don’t know,” I admitted. “Everett’s never told me the details about that.”

I finished the first omelet and slid it onto a plate and handed it to Nathan. “Thanks,” he said as he took it and went to the table. He paused before sitting down and letting his finger gloss over the table.

Right where I’d held him down as I’d fucked him the day before.

When he looked at me, color flooded his cheeks, and he smiled knowingly. I laughed and shook my head. Yeah, I’d never be able to look at that damn table the same way, either.

I finished getting my own food ready and went to sit down across from him. The second I did, his foot pressed against mine beneath the table. It was subtle, but it rocked me to my core. Knowing that he needed that physical connection with me, despite the fact that I was literally two feet away, made something tear open inside of me.

Something I’d buried along with David’s body years earlier.

I knew my feelings for Nathan were growing exponentially with every minute I spent in his presence, but I was helpless to stop it.

“So the plan is to head to Charleston tomorrow?” Nathan asked as he finished up his food. My own mouth felt dry, like it had been stuffed full of cotton.

“Uh-huh,” I managed to get out as I reached for my coffee and took a healthy swallow. When it felt like I could breathe again, I said, “I’m going to have you send some emails today confirming your appearance at the rally. I’ll make it look like the emails are coming from an internet café in Charleston. We want it to look like you’re still being careful, but that you’re starting to feel more comfortable with coming out of hiding.”

“And we’ll stay in a motel the night of the rally?”

I shook my head. “No, I’ve decided we’re going to go back to your house.”

“Won’t that be harder to secure? I mean, there are so many ways for him to get into the house.”

“Ronan’s got some men in the Metro D.C. area. I’ll have them help me secure both the rally and the house.”

Nathan nodded and turned his attention back to his food.

A wave of uncertainty went through me. It was an unfamiliar and hated sensation, and I could feel the edges of another episode of panic creeping in.

“Nathan,” I said, and waited until he was looking at me.

“When we’re there, you do everything I say. Without question.”

He must have sensed something in my expression, because he quickly nodded and then he reached his hand out to cover mine where it was resting next to my plate.

“I will, Vincent. I promise.”

It wasn’t until he began stroking his thumb over my skin that I felt any measure of relief.

Fuck, I’d always been so confident about my decisions, but knowing what was at stake - that it wasn’t just my own life on the line – had me on edge. And on edge people made stupid mistakes.

I forced myself to finish the omelet, even though it tasted like sandpaper going down. When I was finished, I reached for my plate, but Nathan waved me away. “Go do your thing. I’ll take care of this,” he said as Mickey appeared and then jumped on his lap. I automatically searched out Minnie and was surprised to see she was sitting on the floor next to Nathan’s leg, rubbing up against it.

The strangest sensation of rightness came over me as I watched him sitting there at my kitchen table, eating my food, playing with my cats.

God, what I wouldn’t give to go back in time and tell Dominic Barretti I would take him up on his job offer. I had to believe that even if things had been different all those years ago, my life still would have led me to this moment…to this man. I knew it was unfaithful to David to not be thinking about him as part of that life after I’d chosen what Dom had been offering, but in my gut, I knew I would have lost David to his demons no matter what. I’d lost him the moment the military had rejected us.