Page 58 of Taking Care of the Target

One day trusting the wrong person was going to get her in trouble.

The realizationhemight be that wrong person hit him like a punch to the gut.

By the time he pulled up to her place, it was just after midnight, and she’d fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. “Baby?”

She straightened, blinked, and covered a yawn with her hand. “I guess I’ll see you boys later?”

“I’ll walk you up,” Vince said.

“It’s okay.”

“You’re right. Itisokay. Thank you for agreeing with me for once today.” He took the keys, because while he loved his brother and hoped he wouldn’t take off with his Jeep, trust was still tricky. “I’ll be back in a few.”

“After the last place I slept, the backseat of the Jeep is practically a suite at a luxury hotel. Little cold, though, so don’t be so long I turn blue, ‘kay?”

Vince tossed his jacket at Bobby and then walked Cassie inside her complex. When she turned to tell him goodbye in the lobby, he put his hand on her back and guided her into the elevator. He stepped inside her apartment for a quick check around; she looked at him like he was crazy, but he’d rather be crazy and sure the place was secure.

Once he cleared every room, he walked back into the living room where she stood, obviously tired but as beautiful as ever. He brushed her hair off her face and cupped her neck. “How bad did I scare you today?”

“Pretty bad,” she said, and his heart snagged, afraid to take another beat. She smacked his arm. “Don’tevergo deal with shady drug dealers in the back of a club and take so long again.” The cute dirty look she added totally undid him, sending every one of the walls he’d built crashing to the floor.

“I meant how bad didIscare you?”

She tilted her head, and he could tell her thoughts were spinning but had no clue as to the direction. “After my accident, I had this goal to be bolder, to live life fuller. To have more adventures. But maybe I’d like just asmidgenless adventure in the future. I’m thinking more like… try that Thai place down the street that looks interesting. Skiing. Rollercoasters. That kind of thing.”

He didn’t know whether to laugh or yell at her for not kicking his ass to the curb the second they left the club. But how could he be upset at someone who used the word “smidgen?”It made him want to scoop her into his arms and never let go.

“So, yes, I was a little scared, and I’d rather never do that again. But you? You don’t scare me.” She tipped onto her toes and kissed his jaw, leaving her lips there when she added, “I know I’m safe with you.”

He needed to contradict that. Needed to come clean. Needed to run. Hell, he didn’t know anymore.

“I know you’ll be busy getting Bobby settled, but give me a call when you can, okay? And I’ll drive him to meetings—you tell him I meant that and I’m ridiculously stubborn when I want to be.”

“Whenyou want to be? So all the time?”

She grinned. “Po-tay-toe, pa-tah-toh.”

Vince peered into her pretty face, catching a glimpse of his love-struck reflection in her lenses. He barely recognized himself, and it awed him that after everything he’d done today, she could still bring out that side of him.

Without her, he’d drift.

Stay with her, and he’d drag her down.

In three more days, the supposed doctor’s appointment would happen. He’d call Carlo, report that the doc said she was never getting her memories back, and then he’d have no excuse to watch her anymore. In fact, being around her would endanger her even more than his actions today had.

Three more days.

Tipping her chin up with his thumb, he softly kissed her lips. “Whatever happens, just remember the time I told you I loved you and know that I meant it.”

“What do you mean whatever happens?” She got an adorable crinkle between her eyebrows. “And is this the time you’re telling me? I’d hate to miss it.”

His insides turned to mush, and he smiled down at her. “Yes, this is it. I love you.” He brushed his lips against hers. “I’m sorry if I screw it up down the road.”

She wrapped her hand around his wrist. “Sometimes you talk like you can see the future, and you only ever see bad things.”

“I wish I could see the future. It would make things a lot easier.”

“Just tell me I’m in it.”

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