“I can say here and now that I can, but if it comes down to your safety, and I feel I have no choice but to keep the truth from you, that’s what I’ll do.”
“What about the other thing I said?”
That was more difficult for him to talk about. In his heart, he hoped she didn’t mean it. But if she wanted honesty, he’d give it to her.
“I want you to listen to me, Avarie.”
She nodded.
“I’m crazy about you. There are times I feel like I want you more than I want to breathe. The truth is, I hope you change your mind. In the meantime, though, I want you to stay with me, not in Gunner’s side of the house, in mine. That doesn’t mean we have to share a bed; it just means that now that you know the true nature of what is happening, having you that close will make it a lot easier for me to do my job.”
“Anything else?” she asked.
“Yeah. I don’t want you to call me Razor. My name is Tabon.”
“That’s your father’s name.”
“True, but just like you are insisting on my being honest, I am insisting you call me Tabon.”
“Okay,” she said softly.
“Ready to go back to the house?” he asked.
“I checked my bag.”
Razor shook his head. “Gunner intercepted it.”
“He’s here?”
“Yep.”
“Is the woman here?”
“She is, Ava. She’s helping to protect you.”
“I don’t want her to.”
Razor scrubbed his hand over his face. “Can I ask why not?”
“Because I don’t.”
“We can talk about it, okay?”
“It’s a deal breaker, Tabon.”
“If you feel that strongly, I can have her reassigned.”
“I do.”
9
If Tabon had asked again why she was insisting the woman, whatever her name was, not be part of the group of people protecting her, Ava wasn’t sure she could be as honest as she was asking him to be with her.
Plain and simple, she was jealous. The woman she’d seen this morning was ridiculously beautiful, and certainly, if they were colleagues, far better suited for him than she was.
Thankfully, he hadn’t asked, so she didn’t have to lie.
“I’m in short-term parking,” he said as they walked out of the airport.