Chapter 9 #3
“I don’t know—ransom? Revenge? Global war? Who cares? And I nearly lost the fight with three guys—it’s hubris for me to think you can be safe with just me. So yeah, this”—he gestured between them—“is over.”
And shoot, his own words scraped through him, hollowed him out.
He did not love her.
But he could have. In another world.
“I’m the guy who’s making the choice to keep you alive. Even if you hate me for it.”
“I don’t hate you.” Britta’s voice broke. “I hate that you gave up on me.”
“I didn’t—” West stopped. Swallowed. “York was right. One man can’t protect you against what’s coming.
I should have brought you in immediately.
Should have handed you to the Secret Service the moment we hit shore.
I kept you with me because I was arrogant.
Because I thought I could do it alone. Because I—”
Because he wanted to keep her. Because handing her over meant losing her. Because ever since he’d met her, she’d consumed his thoughts.
His heart.
Somewhere between the airport and that kiss on the boat deck, she’d stopped being an assignment and become…important.
Yes, complicated. But worth it…
Thankfully, he’d caught himself just in time. Before he’d let his heart completely off the leash. Before he’d made a mistake that cost her everything, including her life.
West’s throat closed. He looked away. Stared at the dark ocean.
“I told my dad that I wasn’t going to go with anyone but you.”
West stilled. “What?”
“When I called him. Before I hung up.” Britta wrapped her arms around herself.
The borrowed hoodie’s sleeves covered her hands.
“He knew you. He said you were rejected from the Secret Service for insubordination. That you were unstable. Unpredictable.” Her voice dropped.
“I defended you. I told him you’d saved my life. ”
West’s pulse hammered. His breathing came too fast. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I trusted you.” She drew in a breath. “I still want to trust you.” She shook her head. “Call me crazy, but having you around makes me…” She looked out at the darkness. “Brave.”
She looked up. Met his gaze.
And his heart just…dropped like a stone.
“You are brave, Britta. And amazing and beautiful and worth protecting.”
She swallowed. “I didn’t ask to be the president’s daughter. I didn’t ask for any of this. The protection. The control. The people making decisions about my life without consulting me. I just wanted—” She stopped. Looked away.
What? What did she want? West wanted to ask so badly it hurt. Wanted to pull her close and promise he’d give her whatever she needed.
He softened his voice. “Don’t you get it? You look at your security all wrong. They would all give their lives for you. Because you’re worth that much. Not just to your dad but to all of us. Not because of what you do but because of who you are.”
“A problem. Trouble.”
“No,” he said quietly. “Priceless. You are of great worth—not because of your father or any of us. Because the God who made you says so.” He didn’t add anything beyond that, despite everything else he wanted to say.
“Does your dad know—” West cut his voice low, a little raw. “Does he know you’re here? With Fraser and Pippa?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t called him back.” Britta’s hands twisted in the hoodie sleeves. “But I told him I’d see him Saturday. At Melbourne Beach. After the wedding.”
“And he accepted that?”
“I hung up before he could argue.” Something crossed her face. Not quite a smile. Something sadder. “But he didn’t send the Secret Service. He could have. I’m sure he traced the call—it’s protocol. So he had to know we were on a boat off the coast. But he didn’t send them.”
“Or he hadn’t had time to trace the call.”
She drew in a breath. “Right. But here’s the truth.
I want to go to the wedding. And contrary to popular belief, I don’t want to die or be kidnapped or anything in between.
And you’re right—I’ve been selfish about how I see all this, so…
how about this? I know you think you can’t protect me, but I saw your cadre of guys on the boat.
My guess is that they can. And along with my detail, I’m sure I’ll be safe.
So, you promise to get me to the wedding venue, and I promise to…
not cause any drama.” Her mouth tipped at the sides.
Right. He looked out into the darkness. Oh, this woman was stubborn.
“Fine.” The word came out rough. West’s hands flexed at his sides. “I’ll get you to the wedding. But there are rules.”
Britta’s chin lifted. “Rules?”
“You don’t go anywhere without me. I’m your protection detail until I deliver you to your father on Saturday. That means I stay close. You follow my security protocols. No arguments.”
“And?”
This next part was going to hurt. But it had to be done.
West took a breath. Let it out slowly. “No kissing.”
She quirked an eyebrow.
The waves crashed below. The wind picked up, sharp against his bare arms. The stars burned overhead, distant and indifferent.
“You heard me.” West’s voice came out harder than he intended. “No kissing. No”—he gestured vaguely between them—“whatever that was on the boat. It can’t happen again.”
“Why?” The word was barely more than a whisper.
“Because I can’t protect you if I’m compromised.” West’s jaw flexed. His hands fisted. “And that kiss—it compromised me. Made me care too much. Made me stupid. So from now until Saturday, this is professional. Nothing more.”
She sighed. “And then?”
“And then you go back to your life. Write your books. Be a lawyer. Be the president’s daughter. Forget the last three days ever happened.”
Britta flinched as if he’d slapped her. But she nodded and extended her hand. “Agreed. You protect me. I follow your rules. No kissing.”
West stared at her hand. At her face. At the hurt she was trying to hide behind anger and pride.
He took her hand. Her palm was warm against his. Small. Her fingers strong. He remembered the way she’d touched his chest during the kiss. The way her hands had framed his face. The way she’d gasped when he’d deepened his touch.
“Deal.”
Just five more days until the wedding, and then he’d deliver her to her father. Alive. Safe. Whole.
And then he’d walk away.
Back to his lonely apartment. Back to his solitary, uncomplicated life.
It was the right choice.
The smart choice.
The choice that would keep them both alive.
So why did it feel like the worst mistake of his life?