Page 106 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

“Isn’t that too many men I’ll be around?”

“I don’t have to worry about you with him, do I?” he asked, though it wasn’t really a question. “I talked with Evan. He says you’re ready.”

I nodded, still lost in his tongue trailing along my skin. I would agree to pretty much anything right now.

“We need to be prepared.”

That snapped me out of my lustful haze and I pulled back. “Prepared for what?”

“For anything,” he said, trying to pull me back against him.

I refused to be drawn in, though. “What do you mean? Do you think someone will come after me? I thought we were safe here.”

“You are safe here, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take some lessons in self-defense.”

I couldn’t agree more, but the way he was saying it had me on edge. Suddenly, the safety bubble I had been wrapped in for weeks felt like it popped right before me.

“Eva, you’re safe. I promise you.”

“Then why do you suddenly want me to train with Fox?”

“There’s nothing sudden about it. We’ve talked about this for a while now,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

I knew that. Logically, this was always the plan, but hearing that it was time set me on edge. It was a reminder that I really was in danger and needed to prepare for that. It also signaled that my time with him was coming to an end…if I chose to walk away when this was over. I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I wanted to believe that I had taken care of myself for years, but the truth was, I was surviving. I needed to live, and the only way I would know for sure that I could do it on my own was if I went out into the world and tried.

Without Cash.

It hurt to even think about it. The thought of leaving him behind hurt too damn much. But always wondering if I needed to rely on him was a bitter pill to swallow. He stepped back into my space and ran his hand over my cheek.

“We’ll be fine,” he whispered. “No matter what, I’ve got you.”

34

CASH

“How’s Eva’straining coming along?” I asked Fox as we walked the perimeter before the shift change. The darkness of being in the country made it difficult to see threats, but with our sensors along the property line, we were covered.

Three months had passed since she started working with him. Three horrible, terrifying months where I worried that she was going to become so good at defending herself that she would walk away from me. But she needed this just as much as me. If she chose to stay, I needed her to be strong. I would always worry about her, but I needed to know that if anything happened and I wasn’t there, she could protect herself.

“Her hand to hand combat skills could use some work. Her shoulder’s still bothering her, so that’s putting a damper on things. But her knife throwing skills…damn,” he grinned. “I’ve got a hard-on just thinking about it.”

I grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him up against the door without even thinking. “You donotthink of Eva while you’re getting a hard-on. Are we clear?”

He grinned at me in that way he did, shaking his head. “Man, you’re so lost. I’m happy for you. I really am. She’s amazing.”

“And she’s off limits.”

He snorted. “Trust me, I’m aware. And that’s not what I meant exactly—the whole hard-on thing. I just like seeing a knife in action. It’s a beautiful thing.”

A shiver raced down my spine. The man fucking creeped me out with his obsession with knives. “Just keep it that way.”

“Boss, we’ve got a situation,” Eli said over comms.

“What is it?”

“The sensors on the south side of the property are going off like crazy.”

I turned and pulled my gun, quickly making my way across the massive piece of land, ducking for cover where I could. “What do you see?”

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