Page 105 of When He Protects

“I don’t expect you to love me back. That would be asking too much.”

Why the hell would it be too much?

“Our worlds shouldn’t have collided, but they did. First in Paris, by chance. Then now. But this time, it wasn’t by chance. It was because I staged things. I’m good at that. Setting the stage. One of my specialties.”

“What have you done?” He whirled away. Finished dressing. Grabbed a gun. Checked it. Shoved it into the back waistband of his jeans.

Esme dropped the sheet. Completely nude, she walked across the room and also reached for fresh clothing. “I haven’tdoneanything. Not yet. No need to panic. But a new master plan must be created.” She put on a bra. Panties.

For a moment, he just stared at her. The faint line on her stomach haunted him. The scar that would always remind him of how close he’d come to losing Esme, before he’d gotten the chance to know her. “Esme.”

Esme tugged on a shirt and jeans. She slid sneakers on her small feet. A soft exhale escaped her as she stared at him. “There’s a hit on you,” Esme told him. “I have to protect you.”

“Sweetheart, my job is to protectyou.” How many times did he have to remind her of that important fact?

“Your side is bleeding.” Concern shadowed her face. “I think we tore your stitches.”

“Screw the stitches. Screw everything but?—”

A car door slammed outside.

Screw everything but you. You are what matters to me.

Automatically, though, he hurried toward the lone window at the front of their room. When he looked out, shock rolled through him. “Get a gun,” he ordered her.

“Finally!” He heard the rush of her feet as she hurried across the room. “I’ve been wanting one of my own for ages.”

His eyes were on the familiar figure outside. “You didn’t text anyone.”

“What? No, I didn’t get a chance before you came bursting in the bathroom.”

He watched the figure head toward the office. “Esme, we need to work on that new masterplan of yours. Now.”

“Tyler?”

He looked over his shoulder at her. “Thaddeus Caldwell just pulled up at our motel.”

She shook her head. “H-he can’t be here.” A stutter when Esme never stuttered. “Only Kane knows where we are.”

Kane who’d dropped them off so quickly and left in a flash.

Esme rushed toward Tyler. “He was there in Paris with you. He saved people, just like you did. He’s your friend.”

“I want you to listen carefully to my instructions.” No way would Thaddeus come alone.

She gripped the gun in her hand.

“Crawl out the bathroom window.”

“What?” Her voice cracked.

“You’re small enough to fit through the window. I want you to go out the bathroom window. You’re going to take a burner phone with you. You’re going to take the key to the motorcycle. You’ll get on the motorcycle, and you’ll haul ass away from here.” A sudden thought struck him. “You do know how to drive a motorcycle, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do. It’s me.” But she waved that point away. “I’m not leaving you, Tyler. There is no way I’m running away while you stay behind. You and I both thinkthe guy out there is dirty! Either he’s working with my father or he’s pulling some seriously shady business on his own.”

He hauled her close. Kissed her. “You promised that you’d follow my orders without question.” He let her go.

“If I did, I lied.” She grabbed his shirtfront and hauled him right back to her. She kissed him. Hard. “I do that. I’m a liar. Spoiler.”

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