Page 41 of A Rogue Cowboy's Kiss

His face became impassive. “You were there that night?”

“Yes. We were all there!” She threw up her hands. “Why do you not let yourself connect with me? Where is that emotion I saw for a second?”

He ground his jaw. “My focus is to keep you safe?—”

“Do you remember the night we met?”

He blinked. “Of course.”

“Because I do. I had just been chased fourteen blocks by a group of boys. I thought I was going to die that night. A teenage girl living on the streets is going to get attacked by a guy at some point. It’s just a matter of time.”

He stared at her.

“I thought my time had come. I got to our encampment, and no one was there. I couldn’t run anymore, and the boys were right behind me. I collapsed to my knees, crawled into one of the sleeping bags, and hoped they wouldn’t see I was in there. I didn’t pray, because I didn’t believe anymore.” Her chest started to ache as she remembered that night. “They’d thrown bottles at me, and I was cut and bleeding. I’d fallen twice and my hands were bleeding.”

He swore under his breath, but he was watching her intently now.

“I crawled into that sleeping bag and tried to hold my breath, but I was panting. I couldn’t be quiet. I heard them come in, and one of them said I was in the sleeping bag. I hadn’t let myself cry in years, but when I heard him say that, I started crying. I wished I had died instead of having to endure what was coming.”

He swore under his breath. “Bella, you don’t need to relive that?—”

She lifted her chin. “I felt one of them grab the sleeping bag, but before he could pull it, he screamed. I heard the thud of his body hitting the side of the bridge. I thought Brody had come back, so I scrambled out of the sleeping bag in time to see this guy I’d never met taking down this entire group of boys. He scared them so badly I could hear them screaming for blocks as they ran away. I knew they’d never come back, and they’d never come near me again, because this dangerous, terrifying man had told them that I was under his protection and if anything ever happened to me, he would find them and hurt them in ways that would make them wish for the death that would never come.”

A small smile quirked the corner of his mouth. “If they lived in terror for the rest of their lives, I feel like that’s fair.”

She looked at him. “And then this guy turned to me, and said, ‘You must be Bella. I’m a friend of Brody’s. My name’s Falcon, and I’ll protect you.’” Tears filled her eyes as she recalled that moment. “It was the first time in a decade that I felt safe,” she whispered. “You got the medical kit, and you told me stories as you fixed me up. You made me laugh, when I thought I’d never laugh again. You made me believe in heroes, in good people, and in hope.”

Emotion flickered over Falcon’s face. “I did?”

“You did. For the rest of my life, that has been the defining moment that has kept my heart open.”

He ran his hand through his hair. “I—I didn’t know. I was just trying to do the right thing.”

“Because that’s what you do. You are light. You are love. Even when you live in darkness. Do you remember how you taught me self-defense every time you saw me? Making me strong. Teaching me so that I’d never be scared again.”

He nodded. “I remember. You were hungry to learn.”

“I wanted to be the one to protect others like you did for me.” She lifted her chin. “And instead, I’ve been hiding on a ranch for years.”

He walked over to her. “No. You’re not hiding. You’ve been healing.”

She lifted her chin as he approached. “You were kind to me, Falcon. On the outside, you were huge, strong, and dirty. But you had this amazing gentleness that made me feel like there was kindness in the world. Like a badass teddy bear.”

He slid his hand behind her neck, his touch warm, soothing, safe. God, she loved it when he touched her. “That night, I was leaving camp when I saw you run up. I’d told Brody I wasn’t sticking around, and I didn’t want to get entangled with a makeshift family of homeless kids. I had no intention of getting involved, until I saw you running for your life, torn jeans, no shoes, your face absolutely rocked with terror.”

She lifted her chin, intentionally separating herself from the shadows of the emotions she’d felt that night. “I thought I was going to die. And I might have.”

“The minute I saw you, my world as I knew it came to a screaming halt. I was already on the move to protect you when you dove into that sleeping bag. I threw that kid like he was nothing, and I thought I killed him when he hit the bridge.” He placed his other hand on the other side of her face, cupping her in his grasp. “I had never killed anyone before, but when he hit, I hoped he was dead, and that scared the crap out of me. I would have run at that point, but I was afraid they’d come back.”

She smiled. “My protector.”

“I followed you for a month. Everywhere you went, I followed you.”

She blinked. “You did?”

“Yeah. I had to make sure I’d scared them. A couple times, you passed one of them, and I made sure they saw me. Eventually, when you walked by, they just took off and ran the other way. I knew they’d never bother you again.” He let out his breath, his voice soft and rough. “You were the only light I’d ever had in my life, Bella. I would do anything to keep you safe.”

“Including walk away from me.”

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