Page 48 of Off-Limits Protector Daddy

Something about this man makes me weak. Tyson is my one soft spot. I’m vulnerable with him and I know it’s what will hurt me in the end. He is going to get me hurt and I’m going to let it happen.

I know I am.

“No.” He glances at me and shrugs. “I don’t trust anyone.”

“You would think that you would start to trust me after this long. Hell, Tyson, I’m on the run with you. I left my family for you.”

He sighs and grabs the remote, turning off the television. “Aria, it has very little to do with you. Right now, there is nobody that we can trust. Honestly, I don’t know if you would turn against me either.”

“I think we’re kind of linked together forever now,” I say, pointing at my stomach. “This baby means that you and I are tied together whether you like it or not.”

“Idon’tlike it.”

His words cut deeper than I care to admit. I should know by now that I need to have a wall around my heart when it comes to Tyson. My feelings for him are starting to grow, but he keeps sending me mixed signals.

“Well, neither do I. In fact, I hate that this is what my life is now.” My chest tightens. “If I could choose to live another way, I would. I’ve turned my back on my family for you.”

“I don’t want this for you either but there is nothing I can do about it now.” His hands move up my legs, massaging the muscles in my calves. “I didn’t ask you to give up your family for me.”

“Oh, but you did,” I say, pulling my legs away from him. His touch throws me off balance. It makes it hard to think. “Hell, you fucking blackmailed me.”

“You’re a criminal, Aria.”

“You don’t seem to have a problem with that when you’re fucking me.”

I get up and start pacing from the cockpit to the bedroom at the back. Tyson watches me, his gaze fixed on my body as I move. Anger is flowing through me.

“You make what you think I am to fit your narrative. When you’re fucking me, you care about me. When you want to piss me off – to put distance between us – you call me a criminal.”

“Aria, we are not talking about this right now.”

“Then whenarewe going to talk about it?” I ask, turning to face him as I cross my arms. “Because we’re on a deadline. Probably less than eight months, if my math is right.”

Tyson pinches the bridge of his nose and tilts his head back. His other hand is clenching into a fist on his thigh.

“Aria.”

“Tyson,” I say in a cool tone that matches his. “Stop being a child and talk to me about this.”

“I’m not going to talk to you about it right now. I don’t trust you. We can leave it at that for now, and then, when I’m ready, we can talk about it more.”

I roll my eyes and turn, heading to the bedroom. It’s a long flight and I don’t want to sit there with him. If I do, I might lunge across the plane and wring his neck.

After this long, he should trust me.

I shot at men I had been raised with to keep him safe. I distracted my father. I lied to everyone that I’ve ever cared about. There are plans in place to send my father to prison with the information I could give the FBI.

And he still doesn’t trust me.

It shouldn’t matter to me as much as it does.

As I shut the door behind me, I try to banish all thoughts of Tyson from my mind. He isn’t worth the heartache.

* * *

I wakeup just before the plane lands. Tyson is quiet as the plane touches down. When we stop moving, I get up and head to the door. The moment the flight attendant opens it, I rush down the stairs and across the tarmac.

Tyson hurries after me, calling my name, but I tune him out. I’m not in the mood to talk to him and play nice right now. My nap only pissed me off more.

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