Page 12 of Back the Blue

“I want to,” he says firmly. “With every fiber of my being I want to take you right now.”

“Then do it,” I challenge.

“I can’t compromise your safety,” he breathes. “I need to move you. Now.”

“What?” I gasp again. “Why?”

“Your patient is alive and well,” he says. “Diamond has already put the hit out on you.”

“Isn’t that why I’m here? So you can keep me away from him?”

“It is,” he grits out. “But we have a problem and I’m not going to trust anyone else right now, so I need you to get dressed and come with me.”

“But why?” I press.

His eyes close again and he shakes his head.

“I swear to God, if your stubbornness gets us killed, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Ashley,” I growl.

“There’s a goddamn leak at the Bureau so Diamond knows where we are,” he shouts. “Get dressed now!”

Eight

As soon as my words register, Lorna sets herself into motion. And dear God it’s causing me even more of a problem behind the zipper of my jeans. With no thought of modesty whatsoever, she drops her towel and pulls the clothing I brought for her out of the bag. The sight of her as she pulls on the jeans sans underwear causes another low growl to leave me. She makes no comment about it, so either she didn’t hear me because she’s focused on her task or she’s ignoring it for the same reason.

My eyes slam shut at that, and I take a few calming breaths. I need her dressed and ready to move as soon as possible so I can get her to safety. I can’t do that properly if my dick keeps taking over my brain. When I feel somewhat in control of my raging hormones, I open my eyes and put the rest of the clothing I brought for her in my duffle bag as she slips on some shoes.

“Okay,” she nods. “I’m ready.”

“Let’s go.”

We reach for each other’s hand at the same time. But I pull her behind me when I open the door so I can survey the area. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I pull her along behind me at a light jog until we reach a spare truck from the local FBI office. Once I open the passenger door, she hops in. Then I rush around to the driver’s side to join her, tossing my duffle in the back seat in the process.

“Where are we going?”

Her voice betrays her. As confident as she is, this situation still has her rattled. I’d be worried if it didn’t. But I don’t answer her right away. I’m too busy scanning the area for any sign of Diamond or his associates. Of course, as soon as we hit the highway, she pushes.

“Ashley,” she almost growls. “Tell me where we’re going.”

My smirk happens on its own before I glance over at her. She’s crossed her arms over her chest, effectively drawing my attention to her sinfully sexy tits before I turn back to the road.

“I’ve got a small apartment on the outskirts of the city.”

“What?” she snaps. “What kind of protective custody is your personal apartment going to be?”

“Temporary.”

“Why?”

Her persistence is understandable, but part of me worries that she’d be better off the less she knew. But my non-response is not sitting well with her.

“Well?”

“Are you always like this?” I ask her. “Determined to get the answers you want.”

“Yes.”

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