Page 75 of Whiskey Run Heroes

She looks even more fragile now, and I find that I’m furious all over again at the idea that anyone would scare her like the asshole following her is.

Your ass is mine, bastard.

7

KNOX

She sleeps the whole way to my house. When we pull off the highway, she starts to moan in her sleep, and the next thing I know, she’s wrapped one hand around my forearm, and her head is resting on my shoulder. I don’t breathe. I don’t make a sound or move at all for at least ten seconds. She settles back into her sleep but seems to grip on to me even tighter.

I do my best to avoid bumps in the road and even take the long way around to avoid the gravel back road. When I finally pull into my driveway, me unarming the alarm at the gate startles her awake.

She raises her head, but she doesn’t let go of my arm. I don’t move; all I can do is stare at her. There’s a connection between us. I can feel it all the way to my bones, and I know she feels it too. She’s so close, all I have to do is dip my head and I can taste her lips. The urge to do that is strong. “You okay?” I ask her softly.

She nods and lets go of my arm before retreating back to her side of the truck with an apology. I don’t have the time to examine the feeling of loss I have when she’s no longer plastered to my side.

I don’t trust my voice, so I don’t say anything. My body has reacted to having her pressed against me, and I take a few deep breaths before I pull into the opening garage doors. When the door closes behind us, I turn off the engine and climb out of the truck. I go to help her, but she’s already out and meets me in the front.

“Come on, I’ll take you for a tour.” I grab the tote bag from her hand, and surprisingly, she gives it to me.

I take her through the ranch-style house with the open floor plan, pointing out the living room, bedrooms, bathrooms. I take into account that we just met, and she may be freaking out at this point when she’s realizing that she’s going to be staying here with me... alone. “This will be where you sleep. My room is on the other side of the house.”

She sets her purse down, and I put the tote bag I carried in for her next to it. “C’mon, I’ll show you the rest.”

She follows behind me, and she’s quiet as we walk through the rooms. I try to look at it through fresh eyes, trying to see what she sees, but the way she doesn’t say anything, I can see there’s something on her mind. I point out all the security features, programming her own codes into the system so I know she’ll remember them.

“I won’t be here long enough for that.”

“Kali, I’d like you to stay until we know you’re safe.”

She looks like she may argue. She opens her mouth but then closes it again with a faint nod.

I put my hands in the front pockets of my jeans. “That’s about it,” I tell her as we’re standing back in the kitchen.

She nods with her hand to her head. “Can I step outside for a minute?”

It’s a weird request, but I nod instantly and open the back door. She steps out, and I watch as she takes deep breaths, filling her lungs. I should give her a second—no doubt she needsto process things—but the thought of leaving her right now just doesn’t sit well with me.

“Are you okay?”

She nods and looks in the back yard from one end of the house to the next. There’s a wooded area to the left and open field to the right. “You don’t have any neighbors?”

I take a step toward her. Her back is to me, and I want to reach out to her and pull her into my arms and reassure her it’s going to be okay, but I don’t. I fist my hands at my sides instead. “No neighbors. But I promise you’ll be safe here.”

I haven’t felt a physical sexual pull like this ever before. If it was under different circumstances, I would want to see where this goes. She’s attracted to me. I can see it with every look she gives me and the way her eyes follow me. It makes it that much harder because I can’t act on it. Not now, not while she’s so vulnerable. I won’t take advantage of her. I have to step away from her and put a little space between us. “I’m going to go in and call Nico. I know he and your sister are both worried.”

She’s shaking her head, following me inside. “You promised you wouldn’t tell him.”

I nod, understanding that she wants to keep her family safe. “I know, but I have to let him know you’re safe.”

“You won’t tell him what’s happening?”

I nod. “I won’t, but Kali, you have to know that Nico is going to find out. He works with some of the best intel in the country. He’s going to know. But I’m going to be the one to keep you safe. I’ll tell him.”

There are so many questions, I can see them forming on her face. I wait to see if she’s going to say anything, but when she doesn’t, I point to my room. “We’re going to have to get you some clothes. Until then, grab anything out of my closet or my drawers. I know you want to get out of those bloody clothes.”

She looks down at her shirt and oversized sweatshirt, and without another glance at me, she walks toward my room. I want to follow her in there. I want to make sure she’s okay, but I don’t. Instead, I lean against the kitchen counter and pull out my phone to call Nico.

“Is she okay?” he asks as soon as he answers. I can hear the worry in his voice.

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