Page 36 (2/2)
"You don’t believe hter hurt Hell, even his toenails hurt "I thought ere going to be together for the rest of our lives My world ood to think past one day at a ti it to the end of the day without taking a drink"
Sighing, she clapped a hand over her face "Jose, haven’t we torn each other up enough already?"
"Apparently not"
She scrubbed her wrist over her eyes "You knohat I think?"
"It sure would be nice for you to tell uess" Frustration chewed a fresh hole in his gut
"Nice, love the sarcashtly "Really helps maintain constructive lines of communication"
"Constructive lines of co point "Could you just speak English?"
She sagged back against the wall next to a corny stock painting of an elephant "I think you keep pushing me away because for some sad reason you seeain"
Her words struck deep and true, but then that’s what happened with people who knew each other too well "You’re one to talk with your expectations of a perfect faretted the words the second they left histhey would cause her even more pain on a day that had already handed out too ," she answered defiantly, snatching the kanga from the chair "What about your friends froreat lives together"
He didn’t even have to think He already knew "Give thea to her chest and stared back at him with finality
And pity
"Jose, I really wish I’d had the chance to prove you wrong" Turning her back on hiun and vest
The finality of her tone and the brace of her shoulders went beyond anger, beyond a regular fight This was really it for her, and he knew it They were over, no going back, noin li left for hio home and build that fantasy life with some other man
One look at Annie, and Sa with Stella went He closed the door behind hiation roo every nuance of her face, both as her protector and as the man who loved her
And today? He would have to continue as the man who protected her, here in a stark cubicle of a rooe--Se assess shindig political dinner don
He had his job keeping Annie safe here while the powers that be figured out where to relocate her
Saside her "Would you like to take a walk?"
Her wariness changed to surprise "I thought I was under house arrest"
"You are," he confir her distance She , but she had still closed herself off fro, and I found an unused office with an incredible view I had food sent up for you There is even a sofa if you need to rest"
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes "As if I have any choices these days"
Neither of theh into the sparsely populated corridor His hand rested over his weapon, his eyes tracking the length of the hallway Transfers were always the ht facility Four doors down, her roouards were stationed at every corner
Those few steps seemed likehistoric Mogadishu Her steps against tile see and could protect herself During past ents But Annie wasn’t just any agent After listening to her talk about her capture and what she’d endured, hearing her voice give life to facts he’d read…
He couldn’t let her out of his sight now Maybe ever Which made that emotional wall she had put up between them cursedly inconvenient
A dozen steps later, he finally had her in the new room, one he’d chosen just for her tothe past year, he’dwoman He knew she liked wide open spaces Even at the school, she taught outdoors whenever possible
So he’d picked this office with care A wall of s--bulletproof and tinted--overlooked the runway, but more importantly a distant view of the Indian Ocean
She raced across the roohts created a bubble of light in the dark night Fireworks split the sky, just a few,show at the end of the ceremonies later
Her back rose and fell with deep breaths "Thank you for bringingstuck in that claustrophobic roo you knew that"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>