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“You were back east?” New York? Was she thinking of going back to dancing? Doive up on being a security tech, but figured he’d interfered enough already

“I went back to Maryland,” she told him, her features drawn as she stared out theHe knew she was seeing her past rather than the changing colors of the trees outside “I had some stuff to take care of there”

“Closure?”

“What?” She frowned, then pressed her lips together He thought shein her eyes “Um, not emotional closure I had that when I ran away”

“So why’d you go back?”

“To help settle the estate Phillip has been doing it all long-distance, but there were things that were better done in person So I did them” She bit her lip, then admitted, “Maybe that is a form of closure? Not with my past, but between my brother and me”

“You cut ties with Banks again?” He wanted to protest To tell her that a guy ould issue threats on his sister’s behalf was one who h already But da his mouth shut was hard

“No, I didn’t cut ties with him We just closed that chapter of our lives What comes next depends on how hard we try, I suppose”

“Try what?”

“Try to be faht about that”

He wanted to grab her, hug her, confess his feelings then haul her off to bed

But he didn’t

He couldn’t

Because while she’d been unwilling to ad to admit his real fear

“I’m a SEAL, Lara Do you knohat that means?” Of course she didn’t Hell, his own faularly

“Are you asking if I knohat your career eneral? Or to you specifically?”

“Either Both”

“Does it matter?”

Yeah