Page 209 of Forbidden Heroes

More static. “You need to come in. There’s been an accident up on the main highway. Three cars.”

“On my way.”

Long legs eat up the distance between me and the back door. He takes my chin in hand and forces me to meet his gaze.

“I can tell what you’re thinking. Don’t you dare leave this house, Bela Andrews. Or I will chase you down and bring you back to me. When I get back, we’ll deal with this.”

Holy hell, I believe him. What does it say about me that I’m tempted to put him to the test?

He walks past me and heads for the door. I take a step toward him but I pull back. Letting him go hurts, but he has people depending on him, too.

So I stand there, not knowing how to act, what to do. Did I do something wrong? Overstep my boundaries? Fierce, cold chills raise my skin. Before Miles, dating never hit my radar with all the hours I put in at school. And now seeing him walk away from me, I don’t think I ever want to again.

“Wait for me.”

With those last words, he’s gone, in his truck and speeding off to save someone else’s day while mine falls apart. What the fuck just happened?

“Well, that didn’t go as planned.”

Ten

Miles

That took way too long. A three-car pile-up turned into five cars by the time we got there. A total mess that might have cost me. The sun is coming up and I am just now getting back to the station. There’s a lot of work to do, rigs to put back in order, equipment, and a fucking mountain of paperwork before I can get back to Bela. What kind of leader would I be if I were to leave the crew to handle all the work themselves?

Fuck, she gutted me last night. Hit me with a sledgehammer and shattered everything I thought I knew about women. Bela is different from everyone. More caring, open, and honest than I think I can be. Emotions come easy for her but for me, it’s like getting on a runaway train with no breaks, failsafe, or destination. My gut instinct is to hide who I am. Ten years of undercover work does that to a man. But if I want her, I’ll need to change.

Duke walks in looking as tired as I feel and drops his weight into the chair opposite mine and kicks his feet up on the edge of my desk.

“How did dinner go last night?”

I grunt.

“That good?”

“I fucked up.”

“As usual.”

Duke’s voice is somber. “Tell me you didn’t scare off the best baker we’ve had in town since forever.” He holds his hands up. “No offense. Your mom and dad’s place was great, but she has a flair about her doughnuts I can’t get enough of.”

“Scare off.” I hook onto those words and push to my feet.

I never had anyone who cared enough to find out details of my past. To have someone who cares enough to ask?

“What’s up? You heading out?”

“I reacted badly to something Bela did for me. How many times do you think I can apologize before I’m given a kick in the ass?”

Duke shakes his head. “Wrong person to ask. I think you know who you need to talk to, though.”

He’s right.

She deserves more, deserves a man who would never steal away her smile, but I can’t let her slip away. Can’t even fathom another man touching her much less loving her.

“Hold down the fort?”

“Go do what you gotta do.”

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