Page 51 of Hero's Heart

Callum walked close beside her, his solid presence both comforting and exhilarating. More than once, his hand came to rest lightly on her lower back as he guided her around clusters of people or across the street. Each casual touch sent a spark through her.

They were picking up groceries to make for dinner before heading to the internet café to contact Lincoln. Soon, they’d be back inside their little safe house.

Honestly, it was more like a safe haven for Sloane. Yesterday, despite how hard it had been to talk about everything—the pain, the memories—opening up had brought an unexpected sense of relief, leaving her feeling lighter than she had in a long time.

They’d spent the rest of the day just reading and giving their systems much-needed downtime. She’d shown him different things in the art history book, cross-referencing that info with stuff she’d already known. A man like Callum—rooted as he was in the gritty world of law enforcement and violence—didn’t seem like the type to care about color theory or the intricacies of visual weight in the composition of a painting. But if he wasn’t genuinely interested, he’d done an excellent job pretending otherwise.

She liked talking to him. Liked how he listened and asked questions. Liked how he told her things about himself and more about the people and places in Oak Creek.

And she definitely liked how he made her feel.

His hand once again touched her waist as they crossed to a stall of fresh produce. He kept her next to him as he blended in seamlessly, chatting with vendors and bartering for necessities in broken Romanian.

She found herself watching him, studying the lines of his profile, liking the way he moved through the world with an understated confidence. He was a protector by nature, a guardian. And even though she knew he was like this around everyone, not just her, it made her feel cared for in a way she never had before.

Staring at him here in the Moldovan market, it hit her.

She wanted Callum to be her first.

She didn’t deceive herself into any happily-ever-after delusions with him. Even if he was looking for a permanent relationship, her family was never going to let her go while she was still technically a criminal and owed them money.

Plus, Sloane was never going to be Amelia.

But still, she wanted him to be her first. Wanted to have something come out of all of this that was good. A memory shecould take with her and cherish when she was back home and things returned to normal.

And Sloane was once again completely alone.

“What?” he asked, studying her.

She couldn’t stop her flush. She definitely wasn’t going to mention her plans right now. “Just thinking that this is what I’d been hoping for when I came to Europe.”

“It’s not exactly the Louvre.”

She smiled, looking around. “No, but the shops and butchers and cafés… How everyone is outdoors… There’s an old-world charm to it that we just don’t have back home.”

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m certainly charmed.”

He was probably talking about the market, but she liked to believe maybe he meant charmed byher. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him and even stepped closer.

But then, ever the warrior he was, he returned his attention to operational security—op sec, as he called it—and the moment was broken. He gazed around to make sure they were still safe.

“I think we’ve got everything I need for dinner. Let’s get to an internet café so we can contact Lincoln.”

Sloane nodded, tamping down her disappointment. She cherished these small intimacies between them, as fleeting as they were. “Okay. Back to our internet café?”

His hand was at the small of her back as he led her out once more. It was all she could do not to lean into him.

“No. Going anywhere more than once increases our chances of being remembered and ultimately caught by the Kozaks. We’ll find a different one.”

Once they found the internet café he deemed acceptable, they circled it twice to make sure nothing made Callum feelhinky.

What?

“Excuse me, did you just sayhinky? Uh, is that Boomer talk for nervous?” She popped a hand over her mouth, not able to believe she’d just said that, even though she’d meant it as a joke. Oh God, he was going to be so offended. All the rapport that had been built between them gone.

But to her surprise and delight, Callum laughed.

Outright belly-laughed.

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