Page 29 of Defending Love
Eli shook his head. “If they didn’t, they’ll want to open an investigation. I’d rather do my own investigation.” He hesitated. “Dani, I don’t want to frighten you any more than you already are.” His sunglass-covered gaze went to the rearview mirror. “It was good to hear your determination when speaking to Becky.”
“Well, she’s had it in for me ever since I went through that door. I sure as hell wasn’t going to let her stop me from making sure Mom was safe.”
His lips curled in a smile.
Even though I couldn’t see his green eyes beneath the sunglasses, I somehow felt them even through the mirror. Or maybe it was wishful thinking.
“I’m concerned about what we may find,” he said.
“What secrets did my dad have?”
Eli pulled the SUV onto the driveway. “We’re about to find out.”
Chapter
Eleven
Dani
* * *
The descending sun sent long shadows over my mother’s lush green lawn. After Eli did an obligatory sweep of the home, we entered together, immediately going to Dad’s office. The closed blinds gave an eerie feel, peppering my arms with goose bumps. Flipping the light switch did little to relieve the sensation.
The office flooded with light.
Neither of us spoke as Eli pulled the picture away from the safe door. Before I could enter the combination, Eli reached for my arm. “Maybe I should do this alone.”
I looked up at him. “Why?”
“Because we don’t know what we’ll find. What if there’s something that could sour your memories of your father.”
I inhaled. “Eli, you’re here to protect me from harm, not to protect my emotions. I want to know what Dad considered safe-worthy. Besides, my father was a great man. If he had secrets, maybe those will point us toward his killer.”
“We also could find nothing.”
“Are you suggesting that the people who took his journals also broke into his safe?” I asked.
“I just mean, that assuming there are objects or whatever inside there…it could be that none of what we find is significant.”
“Then we know.”
He reached for my shoulders. “I don’t want to see you disappointed.”
For a moment, I stared into his emerald-green eyes, searching for an answer to his sudden trepidation. His orbs filled with swirls of gold, keeping his thoughts as hidden as his recent answers. “Again, I want to do this.”
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he closed his eyes and opened them. “I need to know you’re safe.” He tilted his head forward and lowered his chin to my hair. “Dani, let me open it.”
I closed my eyes, feeling his warm breath on my hair and the strength in his hold. Without warning, I moved back and pushed up to my tiptoes, bringing my lips to his. Eli’s hands moved to my cheeks as the kiss deepened, taking away my anxiousness as well as my breath.
“Dani.”
My name resonated through the office like a low growl.
Pulling away, I pressed my tingling lips together and shook my head. “I did that. You said that you shouldn’t have kissed me—before. This time, I kissed you. Decide what you’re going to do. Either you’ll stay and see this through, or you’ll leave me like you did last time.” I turned toward the safe.
Eli spun me until we were face-to-face. “I’m not fucking leaving.”
“I know you want to protect me. I get that. What I need to know is that you’ll not run.”
