Page 111 of Master of My Heart

They’d been here an hour now, eating, drinking wine, chatting. He intentionally steered the conversation away from anything that might dim the light in her eyes. He wanted her to have a good time, not dwell on her past. So far, it had worked tremendously well. Her eyes sparkled with happiness, and he’d never had a better date in his life. Whenever a topic got too close to her pain, he guided it back to safer ground, and he could see the relief on her face. It was challenging and kept him on his toes, but her happy expression made it all worth it.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” she asked as the dessert was set before them.

“Connor, Bryce, and Joel,” he responded with a smile. “My younger brothers.”

“No sisters?”

“No, but Connor and Bryce are both married, so I have two sisters-in-law. Joel’s determined to stay single until he finishes college, but I think he’s got a pretty serious girlfriend.”

“Are you close to them?”

“Not as much as we were when we were kids. Joel is at Boston College, studying engineering and playing football. Connor is an architect and lives in New York. Bryce just graduated from UMass and moved to Georgia to be a graphic designer.” Chase shrugged. “They come home for holidays, and Joel comes home when he’s broke, which is every month or so.”

Sabrina laughed when he rolled his eyes. “And what do you do now that you’re out of the army?”

Chase hesitated. His mind worked rapidly to figure out how to explain what he did without telling her too much. “I started my own business a few months back,” he said quickly.

She nodded. “Liz said it was some sort of security firm?”

“More or less, yeah. That’s the easiest way to explain it.”

“What do you do?”

He hesitated again, wondering how much he should say. “I use the skills I learned in the army to help people.”

“Oh.” She looked down. He knew she could tell he was holding back.

He reached for her hand. “Sabrina, it’s... complicated. I don’t want to upset you.”

“Why would what you do upset me?”

Why was that question so hard to answer? He normally had no problem telling people, especially women, what he did. They became enamored at the spy-like, enigmatic answers he gave them. But with Sabrina? He wanted to be honest with her, but at the same time, he didn’t want to admit that he assassinated people as part of his job. Not that killing was all he did. Maybe he could leave that part out. For now.

“I have a team of guys I work with and we do a bunch of stuff.”

“Okay.”

She was emotionally pulling away from him. Answer her, you dumbass. Just leave out the killing part.

“I have a computer guy who can write the meanest computer virus this side of the Atlantic. I’m in the process of watching over a business merger to make sure all parties’ interests are protected throughout the process. A few months back, a client’s ten-year-old daughter was kidnapped. We found her and returned her to her parents.”

Sabrina looked up at the last statement, eyes wide. “You did?” she asked, her voice full of wonder. Chase nodded. Her face broke out into a smile. “That’s a wonderful thing to do.” She paused, looking thoughtful. “Was she okay when you found her?”

“Yeah, she was.” He chewed his lip, wondering if he should go where his mind wanted him to go. “I really did look for you,” he blurted out.

Sabrina blinked, but didn’t say anything. He wondered if she was wondering why he hadn’t found her when she’d been kidnapped.

“Once we figured out you’d been taken, I looked everywhere for you. I scoured the police reports. I had friends looking. People who are smarter than me. And I couldn’t—we couldn’t—find you anywhere.” He reached for her other hand and held them both in his. “I’m so sorry, Sabrina,” he said, his voice growing hoarse. “I feel like I failed you.”

She was still for a long moment, then squeezed his hands and shook her head. “I think I was just someplace you couldn’t find me.”

*****

Sabrina stared at the earnestness in Chase’s face. He was completely sincere. She didn’t even have to read him. His eyes told her everything she needed to know. She honestly believed he had searched everywhere for her.

A memory seeped into the forefront of her mind from when she was first taken. It was faint, but she was certain it was real. Ramon’s voice filled her mind...

“You’re sure no one will find her? Can’t they be traced?”

---