Page 79 of The Lieutenant

“Right. Whatever you say. Just don’t shut down your heart because of the lifestyle. We do normal things. Trips to the beach. Dinners out. Don’t tell anyone because Dimitrios would beat my butt, but we even hold hands while walking down the street doing nothing more than window shopping. He loves the same movies I do. He adores my terrible food.”

We both laughed. “That sounds wonderful. I don’t think Havros has a romantic or domestic bone in his body.”

“Really?”

“Well, the night snorkeling excursion was kind of fun.” I tapped my lip. “Okay, so the dinner he made was pretty romantic as well.”

“Girl. See?” We were both laughing as the door was opened and in walked Havros.

Willow opened her eyes wide. “I’ll catch you later. Just think about what I said.”

“I will. Thanks for the talk.”

She headed for the door, even patting Havros on the chest before walking out.

“We need to talk,” he stated.

I’d seen the man’s armor melt away the moment he’d thought I was unconscious. I’d been jarred from the fall, but I’d known everything he’d done. When he’d picked me up in his arms, I’d witnessed such careful actions, such concern in his eyes that I’d felt as if everything had just been a bad dream.

Now I was reminded it could be a nightmare. But without knowing exactly what was going on, I couldn’t be certain of anything.

“About?”

“What you’re hiding from me.”

I felt myself opening my mouth, but I had no clue what he was talking about. Because of my confusion, I said nothing.

He didn’t like that very much. His gaze was heated, his jaw clenched so tightly I would bet he was grinding his teeth. When he raked it down the length of my body, a series of vibrations jetted from one end to the other.

“I’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready.” With that he walked out. Where had the man who’d been so concerned gone?

I leaned against the window, unable to make sense of his change in demeanor. I padded toward the door, my high heels still inside his car from what I remembered. He’d carried me up the stairs, insisting that I was staying here tonight. His overt caution made me more nervous than before.

Maybe he was right and we needed to talk, really converse about truths and lies. Whatever he believed about me holding back from him, he was doing so himself. If he knew who and why, then putting me in danger was…

No, I wasn’t going to listen to the nagging inside my brain. It was already too muddled as it was. I smoothed down my dress, hating the small tear in the side from the fall. As soon as I reached the door, the rush of adrenaline I’d had before was crashing, my body shaking as a result.

When I walked out, I was surprised to find no one in the living room. I’d half expected his entire family would be waiting to grill me on my secret. I only had one, but what did it matter to the Nomikos regime? No one was in sight.

Including Havros.

I walked through the house, finding him in the kitchen. He had a drink in front of him, both his hands placed on the kitchen island, his head down.

He sensed the moment I walked in, lifting his head slowly. There was such pain laced in his expression I was certain he was hurt or had heard bad news.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, merely taking a single step into the room.

“Why don’t you have a seat?”

I started to, but remembered seeing ice cream in his freezer. It sounded nuts even to me, but I suddenly had an intense craving for some. I always did when I was nervous. He seemed perplexed as he watched me open the freezer door, finding the carton I’d seen the night before.

“Don’t look at me that way. This entire night has made me anxious. I’m having some ice cream. Would you like some?”

He laughed halfheartedly. “Not really in the mood.”

“What are you in the mood for?” I pulled out two drawers before remembering where I’d seen the silverware. “Oh, I know. Interrogating me.”

“That’s not what we’re doing here.”

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