Page 116 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

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EVA

“Why won’tyou just tell me what the fuck is going on?” I shouted at Fox.

“Eva, when I know something, I’ll tell you.”

“Bullshit!” I spat, tears streaming down my face. “It’s been hours and I still don’t know anything. How did he even know someone was going to shoot?”

Fox shared a look with Rae. They were hiding things from me, and had been for hours. Ever since they brought me back to the safe house, I’d been ensconced in my bedroom, not allowed to leave for anything. Fox and Rae stayed with me while the rest of the teams were on high alert.

“Tell me what the hell happened!” I cried. I was losing it, still picturing Cash laying on the ground, his eyes staring at me as I was torn away from him. His blood still remained on my face. I refused to take a shower and wash it off until I knew he was going to be okay. Everything about this was wrong. He never should have stood in front of me like that. If anyone deserved that bullet, it was me.

“Fox, maybe you want to go get an update on our suspect,” Rae said, shooing him out of the room.

“Can I kill him?” he asked bluntly.

She sighed heavily. “You already know the answer to that.”

“You guys are no fun,” he muttered as he walked out of the room and closed the door.

I sank down on the ground, leaning against the bed as hiccuping sobs spewed from my throat. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t calm down. Every few minutes, I would gain some control, but then it started all over again.

“Look, you’re really going to have to stop this.”

I swiped at my face, knowing I looked just horrible. “Yeah, I’ll just stop,” I retorted.

“Seriously, I can’t stay in the room with you if you’re going to continue to cry. And then Cash is going to kick my ass because I left you alone.”

“So, he’s alive?” I asked hopefully.

“I don’t know, but if he is and he sees you like this…I’m just saying, it’s not really a good position for any of us to be in.”

“What do you want me to do? The man I love was just shot right in front of me! He took a bullet for me. It’s not supposed to be like that!”

She cocked her head at me, a grin forming on her lips. “You love him?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “That’s what you took out of this?”

“It’s a big deal!” She sat beside me, crossing her legs. “Have you told him?”

I swiped at my face, shaking my head. “No, I didn’t want to jinx anything.”

“Jinx or admit that something good is happening in your life?”

“That’s ridiculous,” I scoffed.

“Really? Because from where I’m sitting, he’s madly in love with you. And you’re running from power-hungry maniacs that want to kill you because of what you know. It’s not exactly leaving a lot of room for you to just have a normal life.”

She hit the nail on the head with that one. “It’s not just that,” I admitted. “It’s so much more.”

“Well, we’re just sitting here. Why don’t you tell me about it?”

“Because you’ll run off and tell your boss,” I retorted.

“Not true. First of all, he’s in the hospital. Second, I may not know much about having girlfriends, but I’m pretty sure it’s against some kind of pact to share those kinds of secrets.”

She bumped my shoulder when I didn’t immediately answer. Sighing, I gave in, knowing she wouldn’t leave me alone until I told her. “The problem isn’t whether or not I love him, it’s if I’m good enough for him.”

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