Page 17 of Being Bold
She had to go to the police, right? Calling them probably should’ve been her first thought. Shaking her head, she went to retrieve his phone from the living room.
Back in the kitchen, she approached Bo as he stirred something on the stove. The scent of tomato hit her nose, and she could’ve moaned. She didn’t care what he made. She would eat every last bite. “That smells good.”
He visibly stiffened, so she paused a couple of feet away. “Tomato soup. And I’ll make grilled cheese.”
A genuine smile tilted her lips up. “That’s one of my favorite combos.”
When he grunted again, she focused on the reason she’d walked over here. “Do you know the local police number? I didn’t want to dial 9-1-1 when it’s not an emergency, but I have to report what happened.”
His muscular shoulders moved with a sigh before he turned around. His face was set in stoical lines, and he scrubbed at the back of his neck. “You probably don’t want to hear this, but I don’t think they’ll be much help. Unless you have some sort of proof, it’s your word against his.”
Annoyed, she pointed at the bandage on her head. “Isn’t this proof enough?”
“That someone shot at you, yes. But they’ll need more than that to hold your boss.” His eyes were regretful as he added, “If they haul him in for questioning based on your report, he’ll be out in twenty-four to seventy-two hours. Then, he’ll know you’re still alive and could try to finish the job.”
She actually felt her face blanch. All the blood in her body seemed determined to flow elsewhere, leaving her head a little woozy. She must’ve looked like she would faint because Bo stepped toward her and caught both of her arms.
“Whoa there, ocean-eyes.”
Selene blinked and shook off a wave of dizziness. “What did you call me?”
She might not have noticed the slight pink hue that filled his cheeks if she hadn’t been standing so close.
Is he blushing?
He cleared his throat and mumbled, “Ocean-eyes. Because, you know, the color of your eyes looks like the sea.”
She frowned at him. No one had ever made that comparison, and she wasn’t sure it fit. Her eyes were green. She didn’t know what ocean he was used to, but the Pacific didn’t match her eye color.
Shaking off the useless thought, she focused on what he’d said about the police. “You’re right. I can’t let Mr. Dao know I’m alive until we find Yumi.”
“We?” His thumbs brushed the inside of her forearms as his low voice rumbled between them on the question. The heat from his large hands seared through the bunched hoodie fabric. If she’d had any blood left in her face, she would have blushed.
“Oh, I meant ‘I’.” Why was he still holding onto her? “I think I need to sit down.”
Instead of releasing her like she’d thought he would, he guided her back to the chair. “Thanks.”
His gaze thundered at the word, and he gave a sharp nod before returning to the stove.
Bo’s changes in demeanor gave her whiplash. She wasn’t sure if he was pissed that he’d helped her or if he wanted to. Blowing out a breath, she dropped her head in her hands, wincing when she made contact with the bandage on her left side. If she couldn’t go to the police, whocouldhelp her?
Chapter 6
Bo
While the soup heated up, Bo set Selene’s clothes to refresh since he’d left them in the dryer all day and were probably wrinkled as fuck. His sweats drowned her, but he remembered what the curves underneath looked like. He’d been tryingnotto think about them. The baggy clothing didn’t stop him, though. Not that he particularly wanted her out of his clothes. Something about seeing her in them filled him with a sense of possession . . . like she washis.
But she’s not.
And he didn’t deserve her anyway.
With that fact cooling his blood, he glanced at her frustrated posture, slumped forward with her head in her hands. He leaned back against the cabinet by the stove and said, “I’m not the police, but I can help you. I work for a private security firm. Tactical Operations & Protection?”
He watched her for any sign of recognition, but she just gazed at him with those luminescent eyes.
Luminescent?
What the actual fuck? What was happening to him? He didn’t use words like ‘luminescent.’ Maybe he’d finally snapped, and this was all some elaborate hallucination.
