Page 83 of Cruel Expectations

At last, she relaxed enough to let some words pass through her tight throat. “Thank you.”

His already straight back stiffened. “You never have to thank me for doing my job.”

“You saved me.”

“Like I said…my job.”

Lifting her head, she searched his gaze, falling headfirst into the depth of his love for her. He didn’t need to say the words—she knew this man. Those few words…spoken in a low voice that sent goose bumps dancing over her skin…said so much more.

Hunter wrapped his arms around her. Dropping his lips to her hair, he drew a deep breath. “I hate that you got mixed up in this. You have no idea how much I want to go find your father’s room right now and give him a piece of my mind.”

She clasped his shirt front, holding him in place. “You can’t do that, Hunter. Promise me you won’t. I need to speak with him, and I will—when he gets settled.”

“I would never involve someone I love in a mess I made.”

“I know that. But please don’t think my father is a bad man—he just made poor choices. From my research on the finances, it looks like this all began after Forest died. He was probably trying to distract himself from his pain.”

“Not an excuse.”

She studied his hardened features. “I know you would never let anything happen to me.” She pitched her voice low. “You killed for me.”

The tendon in his jaw fluttered as he clamped off any response to her words. But she saw what it cost him not to speak his mind on the matter.

When he didn’t speak, she drew back to stare into his eyes. Her voice came out in a soft rasp of shock. “You think I’m afraid of you.”

“If I were a better man, I wouldn’t have snapped his neck. I could have incapacitated him in other ways and handed him over to the cops.”

She searched his gaze, as tumultuous as the sea beating the cliffs of Cornwall during a storm.

His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “But I am not a better man.”

Careful of her wrist, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “You are the man I love.”

* * * * *

Colton glanced in the rearview mirror—that made twice now.

As on edge as ever, Hunter directed his attention from the beautiful but bruised and battered woman in his lap to the side mirror.

“Who the fuck is that?” His harsh tone made Ivy twist in his lap to see.

“I’m not sure. But we’re about to find out.” Colton turned into the lane leading to the Gracey Ranch.

The truck trailing them pulled in right behind.

Hunter shifted Ivy in his lap, prepared to jump out and defend her to the death. “Ivy, keep your head down. Don’t move until we know if this is a threat.”

Colton opened the console and reached inside. When he pulled out a weapon, Ivy issued a low cry. He popped the door handle and stepped out.

Hunter followed, ready to back him up if he needed to take down an enemy. But when he spotted the familiar man climbing out of the brand-new truck, he stopped in his tracks.

At the same moment, Colton saw who it was too. “Jesus. It’s Wolfe.”

Carver Wolfe, aka Wolfman, pulled off his sunglasses and stared them down. Then his face transformed from the stern look that was so uncharacteristic of him into the grin he was so well known for among his fellow SEALs. More than a few ladies, too.

He spotted the gun Colton held and he cocked a brow. “Who you gunning for?”

Colton tucked the weapon in the waist of his jeans. “Long story.”

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