Page 41 of Crash and Burn

“Of course not.” His jaw was still clenched. He was having this conversation with her but still thinking about the other thing he didn’t want to tell her. Had he learned something about the silver sedan? Was he afraid of worrying her? Or was it something else entirely?

Not knowing was painful. Maggie stayed on topic though and asked wryly, “Is anybody missing any jewelry?”

Wouldn't it just be perfect if a serial killer, serial rapist, and serial arsonist all had ties to her home?

“At least it wasn’t that,” he said and offered a half smile, but he still hadn't budged from his position.

Changing the subject hadn’t worked. He wasn’t in any better of a mood and she still wanted to know. She went back to the direct route. “What aren't you telling me?”

“Nothing bad,” was all he offered, but he didn’t look at her.

“Then tell me.”

He shook his head and shrugged as he sighed, clearly untangling something for himself, before he finally spoke. “I just don't want to burden you with something else.”

Maggie almost threw her head back and laughed out loud at the idea. “Sebastian, you'veunburdened so much already. Whatever it is, I can handle it. And I think I should know if it pertains to my safety.”

He shook his head. “It doesn't.” But again, he looked away and she saw his fingers curl, clenching into fists.

“Tell me,” she pushed again, but he shook his head.

“If you don't agree, it'll ruin everything.”

“Then I'll probably agree,” she offered easily. They got along great, maybe too well. And she was beyond curious now what was going on.

“But that's just it, I don't want you to agree just so that I'll stay here.”

Well, hell. There wasn’t much he could have said that would make her more determined that that. “So, if I don't agree, you'll leave?”

“I won’t leave. You'llwantme to leave.” Even as he said the words, she could see he was trying to swallow them back, as though he thought he’d already said too much.

But Maggie was still very much in the dark. She put her hands on her hips, going for intimidation. Not that it would work as he towered over her, but she tried. “Now you have to tell me.”

He didn’t have to tell her. He didn’t owe her anything.She owed him. But she wanted to know what he was holding back and she was willing to force him to tell, if she could just figure out how …

“You've been through too much already,” he said, still not spilling whatever he was holding.

“I've had very threatening things,” she corrected. “But aside from walking down my hallway with a baseball bat, I haven't actually been through that much.”

“You broke up with your boyfriend recently.”

“It was hardly traumatic. We should have broken up well before that,” she said. “Trust me. I liked the guy, I really did—oh God, please don't repeat this to anyone—but that was all it ever was. In the end, he wasn’t around, and I didn’t miss him that much.” She shrugged as she tried to explain a relationship that had been fun, then not, and never anything more. “I haven’t been sitting here heartbroken, if that's what you're wondering.”

Even as she said the words, she began to wonder what Sebastian might be suggesting.Was his concern that she was still hung up on Rex?

“Tell me,” she pushed again, her heart pounding in her chest. Could he want what she wanted? Could she maybe fix the error of saying yes to the first man who asked her out? She should have waited for a better offer, for someone she really wanted to be with … someone like Sebastian.

Still he shook his head.

“If you don't want to stay here, I can find someone else—”

“No! It’s not that,” he interrupted.

Well, that sounded good,she thought. It didn't really mean anything, though. This was so frustrating. She wanted him to kiss her and he was probably going to tell her he’d found more footprints or he knew the man in the silver sedan.

“Tell me.”

He shook his head.

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