Page 64 of Edge of Danger

He held back a little, eventually pulling his head away and taking her by the shoulders, holding her in place. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t owe me anything.”

She ran her hands over his arms, his shoulders. “I know that.”

“It’s just that I don’t want you to feel like you don’t have a choice.”

Her hands moved to his face, one on either side. She stroked his scruffy cheeks with her thumbs and wondered what she’d ever done to deserve a man like him in her life. Before meeting Brax, she’d had no idea men like him existed.

There was so much concern in his eyes. It was almost enough to break her heart, the way he cared about her.

“I know I have a choice,” she whispered, and she meant it with all her heart. “And I choose you.”

A soft smile touched the corners of his mouth before he pulled her in, and this time there was no hesitation as his mouth crushed against hers and his arms held her tight against his unyielding chest.

His heart pounded there—she felt it when her hand slid over his chest, then up under his shirt as she worked it over his head.

Her heart pounded too. But for once, it wasn’t fear. Fear was the last thing on her mind as Brax lowered her to the couch and stretched out on top of her, wiping away all thoughts of anything but him. And her. Together.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Time had never moved so slowly. Brax was certain of it.

“One hour.” As if Chance needed to announce it. Like Brax hadn’t looked at the time every few minutes since they’d arrived at the office.

“And Robert knows where you’re supposed to be meeting him?” Tessa asked, standing at Brax’s side. They had been joined at the hip the past two days.

Not that he would’ve complained for anything, since it had been the happiest two days he’d ever spent. There hadn’t been anything in the world but her and Walker.

Mostly her. They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other since that first night together, which had resulted in two days of jumping in and out of bed.

And the couch. And once on the kitchen counter, but that had been completely spontaneous.

Now, she was more precious to him than ever. He would’ve done anything for this woman who’d become his world. The fact that this would involve putting his useless half brother behind bars was gravy at that point.

He clasped her hand, squeezing once to reassure her. “He does. He said he’s familiar with the area. An old warehouse just outside of town.”

“Why would he be familiar with that?”

“Who knows?” Chance shrugged. “There could’ve been any number of illegal activities going on out there. Gambling, drugs, you name it. Robert isn’t exactly discriminating when it comes to how he gets his fix.”

“What bothered me was how glad he sounded when I told him where to meet,” Brax admitted. “Once he knew it would be an empty place, he seemed relieved.”

“What could that mean?” Tessa looked around the room.

Chance pursed his lips, his brow furrowing. “He’s suspicious, maybe? Then again, somebody who’s left nothing but havoc in his wake for so long is bound to be suspicious by nature.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do whatever it takes to calm him and get him talking.” He squeezed Tessa’s hand again, and the smile she offered went a long way toward easing his concerns for her.

She was handling this like a champ. He should’ve known she would. The pride he felt when he looked at her knew no bounds.

“You ready to make the call?” Chance asked.

She responded with a firm nod, her jaw tight. “Absolutely.”

Her hand didn’t so much as tremble as she punched in Jakob’s number. The phone’s speaker was turned on so they could all hear what he had to say and could coach Tessa through any sudden changes in the script.

Brax caught her eye as the phone rang.You can do this, he mouthed, giving her a thumbs up. She stood a little straighter, nodding once.

“Yeah?” The voice rang out in the conference room.

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