Page 58 of Shielding Aubree

She smoothed her hand over his forearm and felt the way his skin pebbled under her hand. "I'm sure everything is going to be okay."

Ruben turned to stone behind her and Aubree turned around in his arms.

"It's going to be fine."

His eyes looked like flint in the near darkness of her studio. "You said that twice."

She drew back at the dull edge of his tone. "I just wanted to make sure that you heard it."

She saw a muscle tick in his jaw and knew that she was treading through some murky waters.

"What," Ruben narrowed his eyes at her, "makes the agent think that you're... that you're-"

"The target?"

His hand grasped at her hip, his fingers biting into her skin through her nightshirt.

"Agent Aparicio took the photos from my file that my father took of me at the hospital and added filters to the image. She found what she thinks are finger marks on my neck."

Her breath caught in her lungs as he pulled her into his tight embrace, pushing much of the air from her lungs.

The sudden movement took her by surprise, and she found her hands trapped between them.

Ruben's hands moved over her back and down to her thighs, touching everything in between.

"I... I'm okay."

His fingers dug into her as if he needed to keep her still. To hold her close.

He pressed a kiss on her temple, and she felt the rough scratch of his stubble scrape against her cheek.

It settled her somehow.

Being held in his arms felt safe.

Felt secure.

"He strangled you."

It wasn't a question. And the tone of his voice was rough.

Aubree swallowed. "That's what Alara believes."

She heard his silent question.

"Alara Aparicio. She's the agent who put the pieces together. She thinks that my accident was connected to one of his kills."

"And how many bo- How many victims does she think are connected to... the killer?"

"Half a dozen."

She felt him tremble and that's when something inside of her shifted.

The fear that she'd been trying to stuff down inside of her came roaring up and she felt herself shaking with fear.

"Aubree, damn it."

He pulled her tighter against him and she leaned into his embrace.

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