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She sighed and leaned back in the chair "So nohat?"

"Now you’re free to go back to Chicago Call your boss and let hi is, you don’t want me around here anymore"

"Oh, you can heal and stuff But I think it would be best if you left"

Lily discarded the ie to du like a caveman and a total ass, but she knehy

He was afraid of losing her

So while she was angry as hell about his alphato protect her by pushing her out of his life, because he loved her

She wasn’t going to let him

"You think it would be better if I left"

"Wow, I thinkup off the couch as if it had been set on fire

"Mine too" Rick was right behind hiht there," Lily said "There’s no need to run off, any of you"

"There’s an arguument We don’t want any part of it," Spence said

Lily arched a brow "And here all this tiry females are worse than any enemy we could face," AJ said

"Funny And for your infor anywhere, unless you all took some secret vote and decided I was a nuisance and unwanted" She laid her cup down on the end table and crossed her arms

They all went silent, obviously not sure whether they wanted to take sides against Mac or incur her wrath

"I think you’re brave, talented and gutsy, and you have a lot to offer our organization You can be trusted, you’re well trained and you got off a nice shot to Belanfield before he took you down" Grange stood in front of her "I do believe you could use a little training, like when not to step in front one of your team members in order to take a bullet, and when to keep eame, but other than that, I think you’d make a fine team member of the Wild Riders Bit if you work for us, you won’t be assigned cases with Mac You two could be a danger to each other"

Obviously Grange had no proble his mind

She beamed under his praise, and understood his concerns

"Thank you And you’re right I let ain"

"It’s not going to happen at all She’s not staying"

Lily refused to listen to Mac’s railing, especially since his argument had no validity

"I need a bath Mac, would you ue about that, so he picked her up and she said good night to the guys--God, what tiht

He took her to their room and set her on the bed

"I’ll run the tub water for you Stay here You’ll need ue with hirimy, blood still caked her wound and she wanted to wash her hair Mac helped her into the tub The bath felt wonderful, and she kept her injured arm above the level of the water She closed her eyes and relaxed

"I can wash your hair for you, if you’d like"

She s Mac hadn’t left the bathroo over her since the o

In his ownover her

Only it wasn’t going to work--she wasn’t leaving

"I’d like that"

He left her only long enough to find a plastic pitcher, then filled it ater, wetting her hair and lathering shampoo onto his hands Lily let out a low ers are hed He really was very good at washing her hair, tenderly rubbing her scalp and neck, lingering over the task instead of perfor to be done in a hurry He laid her head back and cupped her neck in the palm of his hand as he poured clean water over her hair to rinse it He even did the whole process over again with conditioner

He grabbed the sponge and soaped her body, dipping it into the water and rubbing it over her legs, her hips, her ar her injury He took special care of where she’d been shot, using a washcloth to gently scrub away the dried blood

"Does it hurt?"

He was bent over the tub, his face only inches from hers

"No"

"You were shot in alht at the museu scars"

He pressed his lips to hers, a gentle sweep Her breath caught and held, the ical The steam from the bath water rose between theaze dark "Seeing you shot scared the hell out ofstupid, and she realized the depth of eet shot"

"I had to doout there in the hallway, possibly bleeding to death, maybe even dead already

Do you kno that made me feel?"

"Yes" Because if their situations had been reversed, she’d have gone crazy She reached up and cupped his cheek

"I wanted to protect you, thought I had a good shot at Belanfield"

"Like Grange said, you can’t do that stuff I was about to pull un when you pushed me to the side like you were so yourself shot You can’t let your eame, Lily"

"Yes But I love you"

"I love you, too But we have to put that love aside e’re working together I can’t ith you, knowing you’ll put your own life on the line for mine"

She smiled "That’s what people who love each other do Don’t ever ask e that, because I won’t Would you?"