Page 69 of Lethal Pursuit

He shook his head, the movement tight. Maya didn’t have anyone in her life except Ace, and she wasn’t going to ask her friend to stay with her even if Ace had volunteered. Because ever since Pilar died, Maya had fought her battles alone and still wouldn’t accept that she no longer had to live like that anymore. She had him, and some partof her had to recognize that. But he couldn’t be there for her if she wasn’t willing to lean on him. He knew it wasn’t personal, since she obviously trusted and cared about him a lot. Didn’t make the distance hurt any less.

He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Boys all tucked in?”

“They’re already asleep because you wore them both out today.” She rubbed his upper arm gently. “You love her, don’t you?”

“Yes.” And it was more painful than the bullet wound he’d just recovered from.

Ang made a sympathetic sound. “She must really be something.”

“She is.”

“And she must really care about you if you guys talk so often. She’s keeping in touch, at least.”

He was silent for a long moment before answering. “I feel like I’m losing her somehow, Ang.” Saying it aloud made the fear sharper, more vivid, but he knew his sister would understand.

Ang slid both her arms around his waist and leaned against him, both of them staring out the darkened window. “You want to rescue her.”

He couldn’t deny it. On a primal level, yeah, he wanted to rescue her. She’d been through more shit than anyone should have to deal with in an entire lifetime. He wanted to be there to support her. They’d both come through hell together and they could help each other heal.

Ang hugged him tighter. “I know that’s how you’re wired, but based on what you’ve told me about her, she doesn’t seem like the kind of woman who would appreciate anyone thinking she needs to be rescued. She’s dealt with everything else on her own, and I’ll bet to her this is no different. She wants to come through this on her terms, prove she’s strong enough to handle it. It’s not that she doesn’t trust you. It’s that she doesn’t trust herself enough to be vulnerable again. She’s still afraid.”

She said the words gently, but they still made him wince because they were dead-on. Mayawouldhate leaning on anyone through this, even him. She’d hate it even more that he wanted to pull the whole whiteknight routine. In her mind she always had to be the tough Security Forces lieutenant, take care of herself.

He understood why, but it was killing him not to take action, not be there to protect and comfort her. Getting through this hadn’t been easy for him, and he’d had the constant support of his family and friends. He couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Maya, going home to her empty apartment day after day through all the grueling counseling sessions.

In the quiet of the tidy kitchen, he shook his head and expelled a loud breath. “You’re right, as usual. How the hell did you get to be so smart, anyway?”

“Because I’m your big sister and older and wiser than you.” She gave him another squeeze, her unyielding love and support taking the edge off the ache inside him. “Give her time to heal more. She’ll let you in when she’s ready.”

God, he hoped so. Because the alternative was too fucking painful to contemplate and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could wait for her to come to him.

* * *

WHEN SHE PULLEDher bike up to the curb beside the white ranch-style house the next afternoon and shut off the engine, Maya’s stomach was twisted into knots. Jackson wasn’t expecting her. She had no idea what his reaction would be.

The tidy house sat in the middle of its well-manicured yard in suburban San Antonio, and she felt completely out of place. In her earbuds, instead of her usual hip-hop, Keith Urban’s “For You” played, the infamous track number three Haversham had told her about.

She probably shouldn’t have listened to this particular playlist on the way over, because she was already emotional enough. The song had such meaning for her, especially since it was about one teammate sacrificing himself for another. Along with it, Jackson had loaded up his iPod with tracks selected just for her. Formerly a hip-hop lover, she was now an appreciator of country music and had learned to love 50s blues because of him as well. The transformation was all his fault.

His sister sure lived in a nice neighborhood. Way nicer than Mayahad grown up in back in L.A. But now she was starting to question her decision to spring this on him as a surprise. She’d almost caved and told him she was in town last night when they’d talked. Something in his voice had stopped her. After imagining this moment so many times over the past two months, it was hard to believe it was actually happening. Still, she couldn’t quite force herself to walk up the path to the front door. Not yet.

Part of her was still worried that she’d built up her “relationship” with Jackson to be more than it actually was. While it seemed to her that they were in a relationship, she was about to find out whether it was true.

Whatever happened once she knocked on that door would change her life forever. She just hoped it would be the start of all her dreams coming true, rather than a continuation of her nightmares.

Pushing out a calming breath, she set her helmet on the back of the bike and took those first fateful steps toward the front door. On the welcome mat laid out on the wooden front porch, she paused to smooth back her hair and braced herself. The doorbell chimed inside the house when she pressed the button. A moment later approaching footsteps ramped her anxiety level to a whole new high.

The door swung open. Her heart skipped a beat and seemed to stop altogether when Jackson appeared in the opening, wearing jeans and a T-shirt and his three-year-old nephew perched atop his broad shoulders. His deep brown eyes widened and his lips parted in shock, as though she was the last person he’d ever expected to find on his sister’s doorstep. “Hey,” he breathed.

Having the kid watching them from Jackson’s shoulders threw her for a moment. “Hi.”So,um,I was in the neighborhood because I wanted to see you so badly I hopped on my bike three days ago and drove here.

Because yeah, that didn’t sound desperate or anything.

Jackson slid the boy from his shoulders, the motion emphasizing the bulge of his biceps and shoulder muscles beneath that snug white T-shirt. “Hey, buddy, go on inside and keep your brother outta trouble, will you? I’ll be inside in a minute.”

“Who’s she?” the little guy demanded.

“This is my friend Maya I told you about. Go on, now.”

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