He slammed his hands down on the table, and I jumped. He was acting unhinged, and I hushed him as he began to speak, but he ignored me. “I… I’ve come to care for you. Watching you this past year. I know you better than they ever will. And now I have to stand by while you spread your legs for some bikers?”
I brought my hands back to the table, clenching the silverware so hard my knuckles were white. “Excuse me? You’re my boss, but you don’t own me.”
“Oh, buttheydo?” He wouldn’t look at me. Finally, his eyes met mine, and he lifted his chin. “I’m just trying to keep you safe, detective.”
I blinked and then blinked again. He couldn’t be serious. Did he actually think this was justified? Maybe I was a hypocrite, but this crossed a line.
“I want a new handler.”
“You don’t mean that.”
It took everything in me not to stand up and shout. I leaned forward and enunciated every word. “You think I’m kidding? You’ve been going off about how I’m too close, how I’m too attached. It’s you! You’re the problem! And yeah, I am sleeping with a couple of bikers. But they have names. And the job description didn’t include celibacy.”
He glared at me. “Don’t tell me you actually have feelings for them?”
“None of your damn business.” I lifted my chin, knowing he already knew the answer to that question. “Listen, they are good men. And my love life is of no business of yours unless it interferes with my mission—which it doesn’t.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
“No, that’s whereyou’rewrong. And why I want another damn handler.”
“So, if it came down to it… a shoot-out between us and them, you would have our backs?”
“I would have the backs of the good guys. Everything I’ve seen says we’re on the same side.”
“We follow the law. They don’t.”
“They saved my fucking life, Braxton. They stopped Daniel. They brought me to the hospital. They sat by my bed. Where were you when I was bleeding out on that floor? Were you watching then? Watching as I fought to stay alive? What would you have done if he had raped me, agent?”
Raising my voice, I spat the last word and earned a few curious looks from the nearby tables.
“Katie, it’s not that simple—”
I cut him off. “It really is, though. I’m here today because they cared more about me than your damn agency.” I stood up to walk away, and Braxton stood with me, grabbing my arm and pulling me to him.
“I love you. The real you. The one that they don’t even know exists. I’ve been by your side even if you couldn’t see me for over a year. Why can’t you see what I am trying to say?”
Yet again, I pulled myself away from him, and started to head for my bike. “I don’t mean to be a bitch, but it’s not reciprocated. Not to mention a huge conflict of interest.”
Hypocrite, a little voice whispered inside my head. But I shoved it to the side. I was ready to go, leaving my uneaten lunch on the table. “I want a new handler, Braxton. Hope the phone helps.”
I ignored his protests as he followed me, swung a leg over my bike, and rode away.
I was still fuming when I got back to the clubhouse. Originally, I had planned on taking the whole day off, but if I went home, I knew I would do nothing but sit there and stew in my anger. Plus, I hadn’t even had a chance to eat. So, I busied myself in the kitchen. My mind was still racing, reeling at Braxton’s sheer audacity. I mumbled a few choice curses. I felt stupid. I had known that my relationship with the two brothers would have repercussions, but I’d been living in a wonderful bubble of bliss. And denial. Braxton had just popped it.
“Damn, Vixen, I think you killed it.”
I startled, turning to look at Dalton, who had walked in and was watching me. I looked back at the tomato I had been cutting, which was eviscerated into mush. Shit. I dropped the knife and ran my hands through my red hair, which was free of its usual braid, and gnawed on my bottom lip. I kept my focus on the poor tomato, even though I heard him walk towards me. He placed a gentle hand on my hip, and turned me to him. Using his thumb, he freed my lip from between my teeth, and ran his hand along my jaw.
“What’s wrong, baby girl? I thought you were taking the day off?” Those clear blue eyes I loved searched my face, and I reluctantly looked up at him, shaking my head. He frowned and pulled me closer to him. “No ma’am, you’re not getting off that easy. Talk to me, Nicky.”
I sighed and buried my face in his shoulder, allowing his familiar scent to envelop me like a comforting blanket. Heseemed to sense my need to just be held, and wrapped his arms around me.
After a few moments, he whispered, “Talk to me, Vixen. Let me help.”
“You can’t. I can’t.” I muttered the words into his jacket; it was a miracle he heard me.
He ran his hands down my back. “Why not?”
