Page 53 of Criminally Yours

“I was terrified for you.”

“I’ve faced worse than that.” He released a slow breath, shuddering at the memory of the incident that convinced him to leave the army. “I was worried about you. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself. Ever.”

“I’m okay. I’m not the one with a head wound.”

His pulse slowed. She touched his head again, and he didn’t pull away, focusing on cleaning every last drop of his blood from her skin.

“The blood has ruined your beautiful dark blond hair.”

“Maybe I’ll have to shave it all off.”

“Don’t you dare. It’s your only redeeming feature.”

He lifted his eyes to meet hers as he scrunched the wipe. If she needed banter, he’d give it to her. “Not my cute smile or my ripped body? What about my personality?”

“Your personality is the worst. And don’t get me started on those rock-hard abs and thighs like tree trunks.”

“You’ve noticed?” he teased, his breath steadying.

Cam pulled up onto a dead-end road. “What the hell happened, and how did they know Millie would be there? Who’s the leak?”

“Cameras,” Strike warned, surveying the buildings around them.

“There’s none. We’re safe.”

Millie fisted her hands as Strike opened the door. He needed to make plans with Cam, but leaving her side pained him.

He leaned back in. “I’ll be back shortly.”

“What happened back there?” Cam asked as Strike joined him outside. “Who can we trust?”

“Not the police.” Strike paced, his gaze barely wavering from the area around them except when he checked on Millie. “The people who knew where we’d be and when were Bear, Liss, Casey, and her boss. And us.”

He counted the people off with his fingers.

“So either Casey or her boss leaked it because it sure as shit wasn’t us.”

He sensed Millie opening her door. At her hum, he walked toward her. “You’re staying in the car, just in case.”

“Okay. But I don’t want to believe it was Casey, even with our shared history. I don’t want you to be betrayed,” Millie said softly, turning so her legs hung out of the car.

His legs rested between her thighs.

His phone vibrated and he held it so all three of them could hear. “Casey, you’re on speaker. Tell me who let it slip, because it’s only luck stopping me from being in a body bag right now.”

“Dramatic much?” Casey snapped.

He reached behind Millie and passed her the fidget tool. She was scratching her arms again.

“I’m serious, Casey.”

“I don’t know what to think, okay? My boss told a couple of trusted people. I don’t understand what happened.”

“You’ve got a leak.”

“I need you to know it wasn’t me.” Her voice strained. “Millie, it wasn’t. I promise. I was a shit to you when we were at school, but I’ve got your back.”

“I know,” Millie replied.