“Was that so hard?”
His softened tone and big body called to her as few things had. She was fucking weary and scared, and simply wanted to melt into his arms and beg him to make things better. Which he couldn’t. One man who worked security didn’t have that power. Damn, getting involved in her problems might get him killed, too. “You shouldn’t have stopped to help.”
“Why not?”
“Because you can’t.” The tears she’d held back for weeks poured out, turning into hitching sobs. “You’ll get hurt.”
“Hey, hey.” He gathered her to him in a protective caress. “Nothing’s that bad. No one’s that powerful. If your current or ex, or whatever, is after you, I can get you to a safe place and—”
“You can’t stop the entire government.” She pushed away. “You can’t stop an assassin.”
His features slackened. “What?”
She put out her hand, warning him to keep his distance. “Go back to your cabin. Pretend you never saw me. Forget my damn name.” A new sob caught in her throat. “You can’t help.”
“Calm down, please.” He lifted his hands but didn’t touch her. “I’m not going anywhere. I sure as hell don’t intend to leave you out here alone to face whatever—”
“You. Have. To.” She edged back. “There’s no choice. If you think you can call 9-1-1 and fix this, it isn’t possible. The federal government is involved. They’ll bury you.”
Alarm sparked in his eyes then faded, resolve replacing it. “Involved in what? What are you talking about? Who are you?”
For once, she got in his face. “I’m a toxic truth to the feds and others. They don’t want me around. That’s why they’ve put a hit out on me.”