Page 22 of Being Bold
Afghanistan maybe?
He’d said he’d deployed there. She flinched when the dryer buzzed again as if warning her to stop snooping. Not wanting toinvade his privacy any more than she already had, Selene closed the box and resecured the latch.
The only other place she hadn’t checked for a weapon was under the bed. Sweeping her hands beneath the mattress, she felt the handle of a knife. A determined huff left her lips. With a grunt, she tugged it out, managing to lose her balance in the process and face-plant into Bo’s sheets.
Sputtering as she got a mouthful of his scent, she pushed herself up fast enough to ram her injured head on the ceiling.
“Oww!”
Gasping at the shooting pain that followed, she closed her eyes and focused on breathing through it. Except that only brought the fresh smell of sea mist and minerals further into her nose. If stone had a scent, Bo embodied it. Dark and salty. She liked it, probably more than she should.
When the pain dulled, she sat back on her haunches and pulled the knife she’d found into her lap. It wasn’t a pocket or a kitchen knife. The handle weighed down her palm. The blade was sheathed in a black leather cover but had to be at least six inches long. She left it encased as she tucked the weapon into the pocket of her hoodie. Backing until she felt the ladder with her foot, she started to climb down from the loft. She really hoped she didn’t need to use the knife. It seemed like it could do a lot of damage.
Her feet had just touched the floor when there was a knock on the door. Her heart leapt into her throat, and she pulled the blade from her pocket. Unsheathing it, she crept toward the cabin’s door.
“Selene, it’s Bo. Open up.”
Relief crashed into her at his voice, and she fumbled at the lock with unsteady fingers. He’d become her lifeline in the short time they’d spent together. She didn’t know what she’d do without him. Not with the way things were going. Flinging thedoor wide, she stepped back even though she suddenly wanted to launch herself into his arms.
But it wasn’t Bo who entered the cabin.
“Yumi!” The knife slipped from Selene’s fingers to hit the floorboards with a thud as she launched herself at her friend. “You’re okay!”
Despite nearly tackling the shorter woman, Yumi only laughed and squeezed back. “Of course, I’m okay! But what happened to you?”
About that . . .
Selene glanced at Bo, where he hovered by the door, his gaze trained on something behind her. Turning her head to see what he looked at, she hid a wince. “Um, sorry. I just . . . I, um—”
“It’s okay.” When his dark gaze met hers, she relaxed. The understanding she glimpsed washed the awkwardness from her tongue, as if he sensed her reason for needing the weapon now lying on his floor.
“Nice outfit,” Yumi murmured with a smirk as she disengaged from Selene’s crushing hug.
When heat tingled in her cheeks, she cleared her throat. “Oh, yeah, my clothes were drying.”
Yumi arched a perfectly groomed brow, glancing between her and Bo, the look suggesting something more had happened between them than the reality.
The implication kept the color in Selene’s cheeks as she tried to brush past the subject. “How did you find me?”
“I tracked the number you called from.”
“Oh.” She knew Yumi was way techier than she could ever hope to be, so the fact that she’d been able to track it didn’t surprise Selene. “Well, I’m glad you did. But what happened with Mr. Dao? How did you get away?”
Her friend’s bangs swished as she shook her head. “I was going to ask the same thing. What happened to you?”
Bo cleared his throat, grabbing their attention. “I have questions, too. Why don’t we—” Cutting off, he waved a hand toward the couch.
Since they were still standing at the door and a knife lay in the walkway, moving their conversation to a more comfortable spot seemed like a good idea. She started in that direction, but Yumi wasn’t so quick to follow.
She sized Bo up in an obvious way that almost made Selene snort. “Oh, I’ve got questions for you, too, big guy.”
While she and Yumi settled on the sofa, Bo grabbed the knife from the floor with a grunt. They all stared at each other after he sat on the coffee table. For some reason, the tension crackling in the air made Selene laugh.
Shaking her head, she offered, “Okay, I’ll start.” Then, she filled Yumi in on what Mr. Dao had tried to do to her and how she ended up at Bo’s cabin.
Her friend seemed paler than usual after Selene finished recounting yesterday’s events. “God, Selene. I’m so sorry. I should’ve . . .” she trailed off instead of saying whatever she’d intended.
Worrying her lip, Selene asked the question nagging at her, “How didyouget away?”
