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She was nearly finished with the plate that was prepared with enough food for three meals when she slowly put her fork down and then just as slowly lifted her eyes to his for the first ti," she said in a voice that lacked anger, scorn or fear Her gaze was inquisitive as she studied hiure out soyet he returned her look "What?"
"If you’re so concerned aboutthen why the hell would you haulme defenseless and without the means to protect you or myself?"
His lips thinned and his eyes narrowed He reined his teer and frustration that had sparked the ain
"First, your stuff is here," he said, taking in the sudden arch of her eyebrows and the wrinkling of her forehead as her expression became perplexed "Second and listen up, Eliza, because you need to get this and you need to get it now You aren’t protectingyourself in front ofyou I’ to keep you safe"
For a moment he could swear he saw the tiniest flicker of relief and an al of her shoulders as if for that one second she pondered the veracity of his words and considered the thought of having his protection--and liking it But it was gone too quickly for him to be sure and he was also aware that it could have been a ed in wishful thinking since he was four fucking years old and had wished for what every other norular basis and not week-old stale potato chips found in a trash can Clothing with no stipulations Not clothing that fit or seasonal clothing Any clothing would have been welco that even Goodwill stores or charity centers deemed unfit to hand out and ended up in their trash And ave a fuck or no parents at all, and since he’d had no hope of his ever giving a fuck, he’d wished for the latter
A brief flicker of amusement, unbidden and not pertinent to any of the shit he was dealing with right now, popped into his head It was likely the reranted, food and clothing, that sparked his current thought
Eliza thought he was an arrogant asshole and well, she wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t the heartless bastard she likely thought With her overactive i children or drinking their blood He wondered what she’d think if she knew he had a number of pet charities, the majority of which provided for children with shit parents and shit lives the things he hiht himself back to theat hiet this straight," she said in a softer voice than she’d ever used with him in an actual conversation that didn’t include her vulnerable, falling apart or crying "You hauled ht my weapons--"
"Your arsenal you mean," he cut in dryly
She held up her free hand, still staring at hihtest woman you’ve ever known, yet in the next breath tellyou, I’ll never be in front of you, will never take anything for you and that you’ll be the one protecting ain handcuffed, unarmed, we’re the only two people in whatever place this is and you aren’t ariven those facts, why on earth would I believe a single word you’re saying when nothing I’ve seen lends any credibility to your statements?"
She visibly braced He saw her stiffen in preparation because she thought she’d pissed hih practice at it so he supposed he couldn’t fault her errant assu in the last hour than he so he was saying was getting through He picked up his phone, punched a button and then said, "Leave two on point The rest co"
Her look of confusion deepened and she wrinkled her nose as she stared even harder at him She’d looked at hi to figure hi there was to know about hied the rules
Wade stood, opening the jacket he wore that had Kevlar inserts between the outer layer and the lining It wasn’t the full protection a vest offered--it was thinner--but it would stop e distance and it wasn’t obvious he was protected
As he opened it wider, the two pistols holstered on either side of his ribs where the jacket provided thethe jacket to expose a third gun in the band of his pants that had a built-in sleeve to fit the pistol On each hip, two blades rested in tandened to inflict ht knife that could be throith pinpoint accuracy and slice straight through a man’s chest--or any other vital area--or could be used in close con ht situation
He hiked his leg up on his abandoned chair and pulled up his pant leg to reveal twobetween his ankle and his knee and then he repeated the process to show herand designed to look as if they had no pockets Instead they had flaps that opened from knee to hip and he did so to reveal a variety of explosives that would have to impress even Eliza since his was shit no one outside of the military and no one inside without top secret clearance even knew about et their hands on
When he was finished with his de to thein and he noticed Eliza’s eyes widen as she took the she was in no way dealing with thewith