Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Steff poured herself a cup of coffee, needing the caffeine fix. After all that happened the previous evening, sleep had been elusive. She’d tossed and turned, aware that Dalton was in the other room. He stayed in her guest room this time instead of on the couch.
Part of her wanted to seek him out. Have his strong arms hold her tight for the rest of the night. Yet, she stayed where she was–in her bed amongst her tangled sheets, staring at the ceiling, willing sleep to come.
Sleepless nights weren’t unusual for her. She’d had plenty over the last couple of years. Whenever that had happened, she’d spent the next day lazing in bed, napping throughout the day.
Today she couldn’t do that, though. The days of spending time alone were gone—at least for the time being. No way would Dalton let her be alone in her place, and, if she was being truthful with herself, she didn’t want to be. Her apartment wasn’t as safe as it had once been.
Would she ever be free of this threat?
Hadn’t she gone through enough?
Why did she have to suffer through more?
Steff groaned, could she be anymore pathetic? Or self-serving? It wasn’t just her going through this now—Cynthia was part of it too. The fact that everything had been directed toward her didn’t mean squat. Having her friend back in her life put the spotlight back on Cynthia as well.
Steff would hate for anything to happen to Cynthia, as much as she would hate it happening to her.
Would it be best to cut contact with her friend again? That was the last thing Steff wanted to do. Perhaps it would be for the best though?
“Whatever you’re worried about, stop. You’re not alone.” Dalton’s voice startled her out of her thoughts.
“You can’t tell a person to stop worrying. It’s impossible not to worry, especially when someone is clearly after you again.” Steff took another sip of her coffee.
Dalton stepped into her personal space. Not long ago having someone that close to her would’ve freaked her out.
Now, though, she was getting used to his presence.
In fact, part of her craved his closeness.
It was the same part that she’d battled with during her sleepless night.
The part that wanted to creep into Dalton’s bed and have him hold her.
“I know.” He took her mug from her and placed it on the counter. He rested his hands loosely on her hips. “You’ve got me though. I’m going to keep you safe.”
“That’s another promise you shouldn’t be making, because you can’t be with me every moment of every day.
” She pulled away from him, grabbing her mug and emptying the contents down the sink.
“Are you going to give up your job to do that, Dalton? Because if that’s what you’re thinking, then you need to stop. I don’t want or need a keeper.”
Dalton leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms over his impressive chest—a bare one at that.
How had she not noticed he wasn’t wearing a shirt?
She’d been so lost in her head, even after he spoke to her, that she hadn’t taken in everything around her. Considering he’d rushed off the other morning to put a shirt on, she was surprised he hadn’t done the same thing this time.
It would be so easy to give in and rest her head on his chest. Have him do exactly what she said she didn’t want him to do—take care of her all the time.
A few days ago, she might have done that, but she’d started making headway into regaining her life, and she wasn’t going to take steps back.
“I don’t want to be your keeper, Steff. I want to be more, but I know that it’s not possible at the moment. I have to give you the time you need to become the person you want to be.”
She scoffed at that, while tucking away the knowledge that he wanted something more with her. “I don’t even know who that person is.”
Dalton moved closer again, back into her personal space. He didn’t touch her, and she wished that he would. “You’ll find who you are. It may not look like the person you were before all the stuff happened to you, but you will be a better version of yourself.”
“I’m glad someone has faith in me. But it still doesn’t deal with how you’re going to stay by my side while you’re working.
And before you even suggest it, I’m not going to go into the office with you and bother everyone else.
” She enjoyed spending the day with Cass and the others, but it couldn’t be an everyday occurrence.
“True, but you could wear these, and then I’ll know where you are.” He pulled a box out of his pocket, and Steff didn’t have to look inside to know what the contents were.
The earrings with the trackers.
With everything that had gone on the previous evening, she hadn’t let herself think about wearing them.
“I know they’re the last thing you want to wear, but I think you should.” Dalton closed his fingers around the small cube.
“What about you? Would you wear a tracker if I asked you to?” She fired back, still not sure what her hangup was when it came to wearing the earrings.
“Yes.” He responded without hesitation. “I don’t wear one all the time, but if you wanted me to, I would.”
“You would?” She found it incredulous that a man she’d only known for a short time, would do that for her.
“I would. When the guys and I go on a mission, we wear them. Cass won’t let us leave without them.”
There it was. The answer she’d been seeking and a reason for her to push back on wearing them. “So, you’re forced to wear them. You don’t do it of your own free will.”
He shook his head and touched her arm. “You’ve got it wrong. I wear them because I like knowing that Cass has our back. That if anything hit the fan, we could disappear into the depths of the jungle to be safe, and we would be found because of the trackers.”
“Don’t tell me someone like Irish or Ox wear trackers?” Those men were alpha all the way through. There’s no way they’d be comfortable with anything like being monitored. She doubted they were tracked that way while in the military.
“Ox doesn’t go on many missions now, but if he did, he would. And yes, Irish does when he joins us.”
“I bet he only does that because of Cass.”
Dalton shrugged. “Nope, both those guys are happy to do it, and were happy to do it before Cass and Irish got together. The bigger question is, why are you so against it?”
Steff pressed her lips together. Why was she being so difficult about it? That was a question she didn’t know the answer to. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I really don’t. It’s like I have this mental block about it, which makes no sense.”
She pulled away from him and walked over to her table and sat down, as if that would help get her jumbled thoughts into some sort of order.
“Steff?” Dalton didn’t move from where he stood, as though he understood she needed some space to think.
“You’d think I’d be okay with it because it will keep me safe. I should be grabbing them and putting them in.”
“It’s okay to be a little concerned. Until a couple of weeks ago, we were complete strangers to you. Then all this shit happens, and we ask you to trust us so we can keep track of you.”
Everything he was saying made perfect sense; the only thing wrong with his assumption was she did know him. She trusted Dalton and everyone at Alliez Security. Teresa was married to one of the men who worked there. She worked there on a part-time basis now.
Teresa wore trackers, happily it seemed. If there was anything untoward about them, Steff believed her former colleague wouldn’t even consider wearing them.
“Is it because you’re taking back control, and by wearing them you feel like you’re handing that control over to us?” Dalton suggested.
“I’m not sure, but maybe.” Was that really why? If so, then it was a reasonable assumption, one that was a bit flimsy at the same time.
Stop making this out to be a mountain when it isn’t.
Her inner voice was right. There were benefits to wearing the earrings. It would be as though she had an invisible bodyguard always by her side.
She could do this. She could wear them and, as Dalton said, still take her life back. Decision made, she held out her hand. “I’ll wear them.”
Steff expected Dalton to give them to her, but he hesitated. Was he now changing his mind about giving them to her because she’d taken so long to make her decision?
“Are you sure you want them? You’re not saying yes to make me happy?”
Now he was arguing with her.
“Are you saying you don’t want me to wear them, because if you are, I’m going to scream.”
“Not at all, I’m glad you’re going to take them. I want you to be safe. I asked to make sure that you are one hundred percent happy with your decision.”
“I wouldn’t have said yes if I wasn’t.”
A slow smile spread across Dalton’s face, warming her, and sending shots of desire through her. “Good.”
He slid the box across the table. She picked it up and opened it. Medium sized stones that glinted like diamonds rested in the black velvet. They were larger than she remembered from the brief look she got when they were first shown to her.
They were elegant, and she couldn’t believe that inside them lay a chip that would be able to give a person looking at a screen her location.
“There aren’t a lot of options if you wanted a different style. Cass decided that studs were less likely to cause suspicion than some dangly ones.” Dalton explained, his fingers touching the side of the box.
“They are beautiful, and do look a lot like diamonds.”
“They’re manufactured diamonds.”
Did that mean…no she wasn’t going to go there. She’d made the decision to wear them. Of course they had to be made somewhere, and for some company to know about the chips. It didn’t mean that company was going to track her.
“I can see your mind turning over that last piece of information.”
“Really? You think you know my mind? Tell me, what was I thinking?”
“You were wondering if the company that manufactured the diamonds would have the ability to track you.”
Steff wanted to slap the smug grin off his face. How he knew what her thoughts were was beyond her, but considering how she dithered about taking them, she supposed his assumption was a reasonable one. “Smart ass.”
Dalton laughed, and she couldn’t help joining in.
“It’s going to be fine, Steff. Cass won’t watch your every move.”
She put the studs in, her ears burning a little, as she hadn’t worn earrings for a while. “I know.”
Dalton looked at the time on the microwave over her shoulder and swore. “Damn, I need to get to the office.”
“I’m sorry for making you late.” It was her reluctance to wear the earrings that had prevented Dalton from getting ready for work.
“Not your fault.” He gave her a sweet smile, one that warmed her toes and had her wishing that he didn’t have to go at all.
“It kind of is, but thank you for being gracious.” She reached up and touched his cheek, the bristles from his stubble prickling her palm. She liked the sensation. His hand covered hers. A second later, she felt the warm press of his lips against her skin. The gesture sweet and gentle.
Everything about how Dalton treated her was the opposite of what she expected him to be.
He was a former Navy SEAL. He worked in a job that required him to be cold and unemotional. He should be overbearing and demanding. He could’ve demanded that she wear the earrings, yet he hadn’t. He’d talked her through her fears and doubts, and the decision had been her own.
Dalton was special, and for reasons unknown to her, he appeared to like her and want to be with her.
She was broken.
Battered and bruised permanently.
Emotionally scarred.
Dalton accepted everything about her. Saw beneath her brokenness.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“For seeing me. For being you. I’m not sure how I deserve to be the object of your attention, but I’m not going to take it for granted.”
Steff was laying herself bare in front of this strong man, but she had no doubts doing it, because Dalton wouldn’t ridicule her or make her feel small for stating what she was feeling.
“Steff, you deserve to have everything you want. I’m happy to be part of giving you that.” He pressed his lips against hers, in a sweet kiss.
She sighed against his mouth. Being close to Dalton wasn’t hard. Didn’t have her flinching with his closeness.
Would she be this way if it was anyone other than Dalton?
She would never know, because he was the first man she’d let close enough. Dalton stepped away, and she almost hauled him back, the urge shocking her.
“I need to go. What are you going to do today?” The longing in his voice wasn’t hard to miss.
“Not sure. Maybe I’ll give Cynthia a call, see if she’s free.” It hadn’t been what she’d initially thought she’d do, but she liked the idea.
“I’m sure she’d like that. And remember,”–he touched her ear–“you’ll be safe if you do decide to go out.”
She nodded. “I know.”
It wouldn’t be good to get too reliant on thinking she was safe because of the earrings. She would still be careful, because nothing was ever guaranteed.