Chapter Six Alejandro
Chapter Six
Alejandro
“It was bad enough you could’ve gotten hurt during that snowball fight, but like hell are you going back to your home after—”
“After what? What is it you’re keeping from me?” Audrey asked Trevor, standing her ground. “Don’t keep me in the dark.”
Nope, not interested in third-wheeling an argument about to take place, either.
“Ryder and Reed will be here tomorrow. Let’s wait and talk then, okay?” he requested, then looked over at me for an assist.
Shit, was he serious? “Er, uh, maybe he’s right. Let’s wait until we have more coverage before any of us go back to your place.”
“Coverage for what?” She pointed her angry glare at me now.
“Tomorrow. Just wait until then.” Trevor strode over and shockingly parked his ass right alongside me to face her.
Audrey groaned but thankfully didn’t put up a fight. “Fine. Answers tomorrow, along with my things.” She shook her head. “Things I want to pick out myself. So when my brother is here, and there’s all this ‘coverage’ you need for some reason, I’m going over.”
He scoffed and approached her. “What kind of things?”
I worked my way backward a few steps, trying to make a clean exfil without their notice.
“You packed my stuff, and I don’t like some of what you packed.”
“You’re not moving in,” he grunted back in the same tone. “So why does that matter right now, especially considering—”
“Considering what, exactly?”
The man had walked right into that one.
“Just tell me what you need. I’ll get it tomorrow,” Trevor deflected.
“I’d prefer not to say it in front of our guest.” Her voice softened that time as her eyes darted to me.
“Just say it.” Trevor gestured at her to continue.
Her shoulders dropped. “You packed my oversized that time underwear, ya know? There. You happy? As embarrassed as I am now?” She did this adorable wrist twirl, distracting me from what she’d said, but she also had me forgetting my mission to leave without drawing their eyes.
“I know I’m moody, but it’s for a different reason—just FYI—and I know that’s why you grabbed those. ”
Trevor barked out a low laugh. “You’re always moody, woman. And I have no damn clue what ‘that time’ underwear means. I just threw shit in a bag without thinking about it.”
Yeah, I really don’t belong here.
Trevor tossed a look over his shoulder at me as if remembering I was there and they were discussing his ex-wife’s underwear.
“Doing a perimeter sweep,” I mumbled on my way out, shutting the door behind me.
I barely made it three steps outside the lodge before Audrey called my name and tossed out a quick “I am so, so sorry about that.”
“Nothing to apologize for.” I kept on walking, hoping she wouldn’t follow.
“I don’t know what’s worse: the secrets Trevor’s keeping from me, you walking in on me naked, or hearing that conversation,” she said in a small voice, and now I had no choice but to turn around and face her.
“No clue what you’re talking about.” I forced the side of my lip up into a semi-smile, hoping we were about done so I could check the property. If I was lucky, maybe I’d find someone or something to shoot.
She reached for my arm, doing her best to get a grip through my heavy jacket. “That was wildly inappropriate. Seriously, I’m so sorry.”
I slanted my gaze to where she was touching me. “The naked thing, or discussing your underwear in front of me?” I casually tipped my head toward the woods, letting her know I had places to be. People to possibly kill and all.
“Can I walk with you? I need air.”
I suppressed the groan of frustration trying to escape. She’d misread it as being jackass-like, when in reality, I just couldn’t breathe around her for some reason, and it drove me nuts. “You sure you want that air? It’s frigid.”
“Will it numb my brain so I forget what happened today? Forget the fact there’s clearly more to this break-in story no one wants to share with me?”
“Air won’t help, no.” I frowned. “But you can come anyway.”
She nodded her thanks, then tucked her bare hands in her jacket pockets. We were seconds away from starting that walk we shouldn’t take together when the door flung open.
Of course.
“Wait.” Trevor cut straight over to me, avoiding eye contact with Audrey, and discreetly tried to hand me a 9mm, checking over his shoulder to ensure no guests were around in the process. “Can’t sweep the property unarmed.”
“I have a Glock at my back. I’m always armed, don’t worry.” There were ways to fly commercially with weapons. Though my 9mm was all I’d brought for this trip. Left my M4 with the guys back in Wyoming.
“Good.” He hid the Glock before anyone could notice, then disappeared as fast as he’d come, probably not realizing Audrey planned to do that sweep with me.
“I really am sorry about him,” she said, breaking the silence once we were alone again.
He regrets losing you and wants you back. “He cares about you,” I said instead of speaking my thoughts as I started to walk, already forgetting I’d just changed my mind about her coming along with me.
“We’re friends. That’s all.” Those words hit me harder than I’d expected, for some reason. “He just knows me well, and—”
“Still knows a lot about your underwear. Makes sense.”
“Apparently he doesn’t, based on what he packed and that conversation back there. And I still can’t believe I said all that in front of you.”
“Because I don’t know you well?” Shit, that came out . . . well, not sounding all that great.
“Well, yeah. Or no?” She paused and let a hmm fall from her lips that I could hear even with my back to her. “Somewhere in between?”
I kept on moving, not able to dissect her words.
“You said you were married before. So you understand what it’s like to have those conversations, right?”
I had no clue what she was talking about.
What was I supposed to understand? I had no plans to talk to Beth ever again.
Even if we were the last two people on the planet and the fate of humankind relied on us having a five-minute fireside chat, I wouldn’t.
The world had had a good run. Rest in peace.
“Sure, I’d absolutely be discussing her underwear with her. I totally get it,” I grumbled under my breath, accidentally slipping into jackass mode.
“Ouch.” One quick breath before she tacked on, with a touch of sass, “Well, that answers the question I had, though.”
“Oh, does it?” I whirled around to face her, remembering now she shouldn’t be out here if the break-in wasn’t random.
She ate up the distance between us. “Now I know I’d rather you see me naked than to have heard that conversation with my ex.”
And there she went, distracting me again with that comment. Fuck, I was in trouble.
“Well, I both saw you naked and heard your talk. Both happened. No takebacks.” I winked, trying my hand at being funny, but dammit, it came out asshole-like again.
What was wrong with me? “Sorry,” I muttered, my gaze sweeping over her as she made the unwise decision to close that last bit of space between us.
We were at the edge of the woods.
Just us, nature, and God.
She worked her eyes up my body before making things slightly worse by removing her hands from her pockets like she might reach for me next.
Please don’t.
“You’re in an awkward situation.” She tipped up one shoulder. “Babysitting your best friend’s sister alongside her son’s father.”
I arched my brow, deciding to abandon ever using the word underwear again around this woman, given that I’d already seen her without any on. “So no more talk of your preferred drawers?”
“Drawers?” She smiled, and there went her eyes. Lighting up like lights on Christmas morning. “Um, yeah, let’s not talk about those.” She pursed her lips briefly. “Good idea. Best idea I’ve heard all day, in fact.”
I couldn’t believe we were talking about her underwear after her home had been broken into and she could’ve been raped or killed. Maybe she was looking for a distraction, though, so she wouldn’t get lost in the what-could’ve-been’s instead?
I could hear my mother’s voice in my head, proud of that psych degree she made me get before joining the army. I had to admit, it did help me better understand people sometimes.
When Audrey reached out and set her hand on the front of my jacket, over my heart, I dropped my gaze there and gently took hold of her wrist with every intention of breaking free of this situation I’d somehow found myself in.
Only I couldn’t let go. I just held her. Hand to my heart, with all those layers in between not mattering. We quietly stared at one another, locked in the moment the way we had been when I caught her from falling during the snowball fight.
You’ve been through hell, walked through fire and all the damn things, and so have I. I’m not doing it again.
No going back to ever using that heart of mine for anything other than an organ to keep me alive.
Take her back inside. Head on a swivel and focus up. None of the reminders landed like they needed to. What kind of operator was I? “Audrey.”
She blinked and pulled her hand away, resting her palm on her cheek as if doing a quick temperature check.
“I’m so sorry. I think it’s . . .” She brought her hand to her temple, working her fingers beneath her white fleece beanie.
“I was hit in the head. That has to explain why I’m acting so out of character today.
Not locking my door while showering.” She stepped back.
“Talking about drawers.” Another step away from me.
“And this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach . . . Ummm.”
That next step was about to send her falling over an exposed tree root.
I moved as fast as I could. Leaned in and swooped my arm behind her back, catching her.
“No falling for me.” Shit.
She stared up at me, eyes going wide.
“No more knocks to the head, I mean.” I did my best to backtrack out of that mess as fast as possible, knowing damn well I’d meant what I’d actually said.
There’d be no falling of any kind.
On the ground.
Or over any cliffs now nicknamed Where Old Souls Go to Die.
And sure as hell no falling in love.