Page 84 of The Art of You

Then what?Nope, he couldn’t finish that, and I knew why. “You won’t hurt him,” I whispered, emotion choking me up. “Alfie was your brother. A Teamguy. You won’t be able to pull the trigger if you have to, and you know it. Not even if he’s trying to draw you out and kill you.”

He didn’t answer, and he couldn’t. Because I was right.

“How do you know it’s really him who texted? Someone could’ve hacked his phone. Or used a burner. What if this is Clarke’s doing? Or that Seth Maverick guy?”

“Alfie didn’t text from his personal line. It was an encrypted message from an unknown number, but he referred to himself as something that’d let me know it’s really him. Triple A. Only those on our team called him that. No one else would know. And before you ask, no, that name wouldn’t have been in the after-action report Maverick or Clarke read.”

Unable to stop myself, I reached for his face. His jawline flexed beneath my touch as he went for my wrist, removing my hand, but keeping hold of me. “Maybe we didn’t die Friday night because Alfie couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger like he was supposed to.”

His thumb swept along the inside of my wrist as he kept hold of my arm between us.

“You don’t really believe he was working with the kidnappers or the terrorists, do you?” I could see the doubt in his eyes as clear as freaking day.

“I don’t want to, but fuck. It sure as hell looks like he’s guilty of something.”

He freed my wrist and sidestepped me, forcing me to turn toward him. To study his strong back as he walked to the bed. The corded muscles in his bruised arm tightened as he brought his hands to his hips.

“Alfie could have easily hacked the CCTV footage at the party, too. And it’s probably him screwing with me on social media, posting the video of us dancing online.”

Shit, that was a lot to take in. But then I remembered something Adelina had said yesterday. “If all signs point in one direction, it’s because we’re looking the wrong way.”

“Or, maybe, if it looks like a duck, it’s just a duck.” He swung around to face me, nostrils flaring. “Or in this case, a frogman.”

“Then why now? Why, after so long, is he doing this now? Answer that for me, and I’ll let you leave this room and won’t try to stop you.”

“Sleeping giant. Someone woke it up,” was all he gave me, and I was done with that analogy, especially since it’d been started by his father.

“Well, screw it. We’ll be Jack and climb the beanstalk and take out the giant, then. How about that?” I pushed back, losing my cool anytime I thought about the governor.

Hudson rotated his neck side to side, eyes shooting to the ceiling as if searching for words he’d never find there.

When he remained quiet, I went to the bedroom door and set my back to it, becoming a human barrier to his escape. “I’m right about you not leaving . . .”

“Those dots I can feel hanging in the air, are they for extra emphasis? As in you being a pain in my ass?”

Three long strides brought him over to stand before me. I held up my hand between us as if I could pulverize steel with my touch, knowing it really was the other way around. Thedark, hooded look from him could obliterate every one of my defensesifI let him. “I’m going to save you time here.”

“Oh, yeah? By helping me pack or by moving out of my way?” His left hand went to the door over my shoulder, and he leaned in like a challenge. “You know I can lift you, don’t you? A sore arm won’t stop me.”

I was very much aware this man could set me aside like a fragile doll inside a glass case. I also knew he would never treat me like some empty-minded porcelain doll, because he always treated me like his equal.

“I’m going with you. We all are. Wherever you go, we’ll have your back.” I finally unleashed the speech I’d struggled to scrape together beneath his heated stare. “End of story. Not up for discussion.”

“I disagree.” His words slid across my skin, his rejection caressing my lips like silk. “You may have me wrapped around your finger, but we both know when it comes to two things, I have the control.”

There it was again. That dark look in his eyes coupled with the rich depth to his tone that had me inhaling and wanting to whisper,Yes, sir, whatever you say, sir.

I was aware of the fact he was trying to distract me from my mission, knowing exactly how to twist me into a pretzel and make me forget the sky was blue and that I hated being told what to do. He was successful, too. The sky was now painted a seductive crimson, and I was ready to fall to my knees and obey the sailor’s orders.

“What are those two things?” My voice betrayed me, the stuttery hitch letting him know exactly who was in charge. And it wasn’t me.

He stood tall, backed two steps away and held two fingers out, folding back the others. Staring deep into myeyes, he slowly gestured for me to come to him in the sexiest way I’d ever witnessed anyone do in my life.

I followed his command, and a slow smirk crossed his lips before he spun me around, placing himself in front of the door instead of me. And just like that, he’d removed the obstacle in his way of leaving.

His hand flew around my body, and he hauled me against him, my hands landing on his chest. “I’ll be in control of your safety, for one, which means you won’t be coming with me.” With his other hand he brushed my hair behind my ear, only to drop his mouth over it and let his breath fan across my heated skin.

“And the second?” I waited for him to continue, knowing his distraction efforts were masterfully done and I was running on autopilot.

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