Page 13 of Diesel
He exhaled, voice rough.“You’re coming with me.”
She stiffened.“What?”
“For tonight.I’ll drive you home, make sure your place is secure.Then I’m staying nearby.”
Sophie hesitated, caught between wariness and trust.But in the end, she nodded.
Her place was a small upstairs apartment in an old Craftsman-style house tucked behind a diner.Quiet, charming, unassuming.Diesel checked every window, every lock, every shadow before he let her go inside.
She watched him do it, silent but not protesting.Once they were inside, he did another walk-through.Bathroom.Kitchen.Bedroom.Closet.
“Paranoid much?”she asked softly, arms wrapped around herself.
Diesel turned back to her.“Paranoid keeps you alive.”
She gave a tiny nod.“I guess I never thought I’d need someone like you looking out for me.”
He tilted his head.“Someone like me?”
“You know.”Her gaze flicked over him.“Big.Broody.Dangerous.”
Diesel’s mouth quirked.“You left out handsome.”
That earned a breathy laugh from her.It hit him like a punch to the sternum.
“I’ll stay out front,” he said, more gruffly than he intended.“Sleep in the truck.Call if you hear anything, even a whisper.”
“You really don’t have to—”
“I do.”His eyes met hers.“And I will.”
Sophie stared at him for a long moment.Then something in her shifted.Her shoulders relaxed just a little.She stepped closer.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
And before he could say anything else, she reached out and touched his hand, just for a second.Just a gentle press of her fingers against his, but it was enough to unravel him.
Diesel didn’t sleep much that night.He sat in his truck, windows cracked, arms folded across his chest, every instinct humming with alertness.His eyes never left her building.Not once.
The neighborhood was quiet, but that didn’t mean shit.Quiet could be the calm before a storm.Diesel had learned that lesson young, and too many damn times since.
The dashboard clock read 2:47 AM.A dog barked in the distance.A passing car hummed down the street.Still, Diesel didn’t budge.He’d promised to keep her safe, and that meant no rest until he was sure the threat was over.And it sure as hell wasn’t yet.
Around 3:04, there was a soft knock on his window.He went for the knife on his thigh before his brain even caught up.When he turned, his heart kicked once, not out of fear, but something sharper.Softer.Sophie.
Her hair was down, loose around her shoulders, her face barely lit by the porch light behind her.She wore an oversized sweatshirt that swallowed her frame, and her arms were crossed tight across her chest.
Diesel rolled down the window.“What are you doing out here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”Her voice was a whisper.“You haven’t moved all night.”
“I said I’d keep watch,” he told her.
“You also said you’re not invincible.”She glanced over her shoulder, then back at him.“Come inside.It’s freezing.You can crash on the couch.There’s no reason to stay out here all night.”
Diesel hesitated.Rules and instincts warred in his gut.Getting too close was dangerous.Still, she was standing there in the middle of the night, looking at him like he wasn’t a threat, like she trusted him.That part undid him.
“I’ll sleep light,” he said gruffly as he opened the truck door.
