Chapter Twenty-Nine
RHYS
FUCK ME.
As I step off the front porch of the cabin, I slide my fingers through my hair and stop. I can’t walk into the big house yet, my cock is hard as a rock.
Setting my hands on my hips, I look across the sea of green trees for miles and smile to myself. No woman has ever been able to turn my self-control into putty like she does. It took everything in me to tell her no and walk away.
As much as I wanted to pull my clothes off her and fuck her on that damn couch, she’s hurt. She may now be my proverbial weakness in every sense of the word, but I’m not a fucking Neanderthal. No matter how many times she bats her eyes and smiles at me.
In just a few weeks, that woman has managed to grab my life, my heart, and my resolve to wrap it all around her safety and happiness. The part that makes her even more irresistible is that she isn’t even trying. There’s no manipulation there, what you see is what you get.
Regardless of her feelings for me or mine for her, Kinley won’t tolerate less than what she deserves. She’ll fucking walk away and not look back. I respect the fuck out of that.
Many women I’ve dated only saw the badge and said whatever they thought I wanted to hear. It eventually became easy to tell from the first date just how shallow a woman is, but in all honesty, it wouldn’t have mattered, I was never looking for anything more than casual.
My job has always come first, but now, the structure in my life has been knocked down and rearranged like bowling pins. Out of the fucking blue. When I wasn’t looking.
But it’s more than that. Every time she lets her walls down and I see her soft side, she becomes even more beautiful to me. Her veracious strength hides her sensitive heart, and each time I see it and feel it, each time it shines on me, I want to keep that warmth for myself.
Since my fucking hard-on is gone, I step off the porch to walk to the big house. I walk slow so I can get a feel of the area around the cabin.
About ten yards behind the cabin is wild woods, not just trees, but untamed woods full of bushes and plenty of hiding places.
To the south are the garden, stables, barn and the big house.
The stream that cuts through the property runs northwest across the other two sides, and on the other side of that is just trees for miles.
The sound of arguing can be heard as soon as I walk in the back door.
“She’s not a child, Mason, she needs your support. You know as well as I do that the more you try to control her, the harder she’s going to push back.”
“I’m not trying to control her, Marley! I’m trying to keep her safe. Look what happened! I never should have let her go to that agent’s house. She could have got killed today.”
“But she didn’t. You heard her, when he knew she was in trouble, he handled it. He wouldn’t knowingly put her in danger.”
The mudroom is almost as big as my bedroom at my house, and when I walk around the corner, I see Kinley’s brothers, dad, and Marley standing around the kitchen island.
Reminding myself that these people are her family and that she loves them, I take a deep breath and try to push my anger down. “No, I wouldn’t.”
All heads swivel in my direction. The guilt I’ve felt since I watched her walk out of that bathroom covered in sweat and bleeding has been wrapped around my fucking neck like a goddamn noose all day. Hearing her brother allude that I am the reason she’s hurt pulls it tighter.
Mason and I lock eyes, his anger palpable in the room. Mr. Harlow tips his head forward and pinches the bridge of his nose.
Stepping toward Mason, he squares up, and Gray stands at his back.
With my jaw locked from trying not to say anything that will make things worse, I take a deep breath before I speak.
Keeping everything above board is the best way to do this, normally I wouldn’t give civilians details, but this is Kinley’s family, and she’s most important.
“I found out last weekend that I have a mole on my team. I can’t prove it right now, but I think he works for the same outfit as the two guys Kinley saw. He was actually here on Saturday and tried to get Kinley to go with him.”
Marley’s fingertips go to her lips. “Oh my God, was that him? When Hallie told her there was an agent at the door for her, she thought it was you. She doesn’t like him, so she told him to leave.”
Mason, Gray and her dad swing their heads in her direction and Gray says, “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Marley looks at him and tilts her head, and her face softens. “Because it was the FBI. Because all of this is happening. Why would we be suspicious? There was no reason to think the FBI is the enemy.”
Gray scrubs his hands over his face and sucks in a deep frustrated breath as he looks toward the big window over the kitchen nook.
Looking back to Mason, I continue. “He shot my colleague and tried to get to Kinley in. my. home.” I tap the island with my finger to punctuate my words.
That fact pisses me off more than anything - that bastard walked right up to my front door.
Rolling my head from one shoulder to the other, I stretch the muscles in my neck that feel like they are tied in knots.
“She knew all the security feeds would go to me, and she did what she could to let me know something was wrong.” I take another step toward him.
“As soon as I saw what was happening, I dropped what I was doing and got to her as fast as I fucking could. Just the thought of something happening to her was worse than taking a fucking bullet.”
His eyebrows twitch and his eyes narrow. Good. He heard me.
“So now I’ve got a rogue agent, another agent in the ICU, and the woman I would do anything for is in danger. What I need right now is someone I can trust to help me protect her while I eliminate the fucking threat, because by any means necessary, I am going to ensure her safety.”
The room is quiet as I let the information sink in. I just told her family, in not so many words, that I love her. There’s not a fucking chance I will say those words out loud to anyone else before I say them to her, so they’re going to have to figure it out on their own.
The first person to speak up is Jax. “What do you need from us?”
Keeping my eyes locked on Mason’s, we have a silent stare-off. As I wait for him to accept what I just said, I can see the questions and distrust on his face. He is wondering if he can trust me with his little sister, and what my intentions are.
Being an only child, I don’t know what it feels like to feel tethered to another person’s well-being and safety, a person who is not a spouse or parent.
My only frame of reference is my love for my parents, maybe it would be something like that.
It’s something I wished I had when I was a kid, I always wanted a sibling to play with.
Grabbing his chin, he looks out the big picture window and winces like he’s not sure about what to do. When he looks back at me, his features are still guarded, but he nods and asks, “What do you need?”
Fucking finally.
I nod back. “I’m not sure what spurred Sanders to out himself like he did today, unless he somehow knew I was onto him, but I’m certain he’s not done.
He knows I’d bring her back here, so he’ll be around.
” I stop and look at my watch, it’s getting late.
“I told Kinley I was grabbing my stuff and I would be right back, the pain pill she took is making her loopy, and I don’t want to leave her alone for too long. ”
On the refrigerator are a notepad and pen for grocery items, so I grab them and write my number on one of the pieces of paper. “Everyone send me your number so I can call if there is any issue tonight. Tomorrow we can regroup when I can bring Kinley here with me.”
When I get back to the cabin, I half expect her to be stubbornly doing something I asked her not to do, or just sitting on the couch waiting for me, but when I close the front door, she’s sleeping. She looks like she just fell over with her feet still on the floor, like a drunk person.
Setting my stuff next to the couch as quietly as I can, I go to the bedroom to get the bed ready for her and then go back to the living room. She hasn’t moved, but I smile to myself because I can hear the softest little kitten snore coming from her nose.
Slipping my arms behind her back and legs, I lift her up. Her eyes flutter open, and she smiles. “You came back.” Her voice is soft, and a little slurred from sleep and the medication.
When she lets her head rest on my shoulder, I kiss her temple. “I told you, I’ll always come back for you, baby.”
She presses her nose to my neck and sighs. “I could smell you in the house when I came back without you. I missed you.”
I turn us sideways to walk down the hall and wonder if she’ll ever open up to me without being under the influence. “I missed you too, baby.” But if not, I’ll take it.
Lowering her onto the bed, I push her hair off her forehead and give her a kiss. “Try to get some rest, okay?”
As I’m about to stand up, she grabs my wrist to hold me in place. Her pupils are tiny from the medication and surrounded by gorgeous green. “Wait.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I take her hand in mine. “What can I get you?”
She wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. “I don’t like the pills, I can’t hold my eyes open.”
“I’ll call the doctor tomorrow and see if we can’t get something else.”
Her chin lifts a little and comes back down, like a slow drunken nod. “Hey.”
She seems about to say something, and her eyes drift closed again. When I try to put her hand down, she opens them again. “Remember what happened last time you left me hangin’?” She smiles wickedly. “I’ve got more than one vibrator, Special Agent.”
With a chuckle, I lean over and kiss her cheek before I whisper in her ear. “I’ll be the only one making you come, babydoll.”
She chuckle-hums like a drunk person, and her eyes slip closed again. This time I let go of her hand, and they stay closed. As I’m standing up, she rolls onto her side.
“Rhys?”
Squatting next to the bed, I push her hair away from her face with my palm. “Yeah, baby?”
With her eyes still closed, she sighs and mumbles, “I love you.”
My heart somersaults in my chest, and all I can do is stare at her face. I’m waiting to see if she really is asleep, or if she’s even aware of what she just said, but her face is slack and peaceful and her breaths are even like she’s sleeping.
Does she mean it, or is she just talking in her drug-induced high?
Even if she is, don’t people say what they normally wouldn’t when under the influence?
Cupping my mouth with my hand, I look over her beautiful face. A few women in my past have told me they love me, something I’ve never said back, but this is the first time hearing it has made me feel ten feet tall and bulletproof.
Even if she doesn’t remember saying it, I can’t even describe the joy at hearing it. Even if she doesn’t remember, it’s something she feels.
Pulling the covers over her, I kiss her temple again and go get my bag so I can get ready for a long night.