Page 118 of The Bodyguard's Fall

“Alright, wife. You really want to hear all of this? Fine. But you’d better buckle up.”

He didn’t wait for me to say anything—not that I had much to say, though my stomach dipped at the intensity of his gaze.

“The stuff with Coleson messed me up for a while. I wasn’t sure if I could go back to work or even pull a trigger again if I had to. I didn’t regret the shooting. I regret the fact that it had to be done. That I failed to keep my partner safe. We should have walked away, and I knew it.”

“You can’t control everything,” I said, slipping from the bed and making my way closer to him.

“I know,” he said. “That’s the problem.” He put a hand out to stop me from rounding the bed toward him. “Hey. That’s as close as you get to me dressed like that.”

I looked down at my pajamas. It was a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. “These?”

“Yes, Olivia. Stay over there.”

The way he said Olivia, with an exasperated warmth to the word, caused a flurry of heat to race down my spine. I actually wanted to pause the scene and squeal, but I figured he’d lock me in a padded room if I did. He was talking, and I didn’t want him to stop.

I leaned against the closet door, watching him. “So if you know you can’t predict everything, what’s the problem?” I asked.

“You,” he said.

“Me?”

His eyes flashed. “You. When you first got here, I was worried that if something happened, I wouldn’t be able to protect you. That I’d lost whatever grit I needed to be a cop. But it took about two seconds of you being back in my life to realize that I’d have zero trouble putting a bullet through anybody trying to hurt you.”

My heart pounded inside of my chest. I stood almost dazed at his confession.

He ran a hand through his hair. “But here’s the problem. I never anticipated being married to you. I never anticipated what that would do to me. I set up enough cameras around this place to secure a prison. And he still got through.” He took a step toward me, speaking low and careful. “He got through because I was trying too hard to make a move on my wife to even notice my phone alerting me about her stalker on my property.” His eyes were on fire as he looked at me just then, sending enough heat my way to singe my cheeks. I lifted my hands to cover them from view.

“We could have had him,” Tate said. “If I’d had my head on straight, we could have had him. It’s too easy to compromise this whole operation. And I can’t risk you.”

I was a mixture of sorrow and swoon when he ran a hand through his hair.

“So that’s what woke me up. That’s the problem. It was you. I dreamed that he came for you again, and I missed him. And then you were gone.”

Tate’s dark gaze was unflinching on mine while my heart slammed into my stomach. “This whole arrangement is a giant flaming red flag,” he bit out, holding out the finger showcasing his bright-gold band. “We’ve gotten way too cozy. Before we got married, I could tease and flirt with you a little and send you on your way. We’d have a night in separate rooms to cool off. But now, you’re always here, and I can’t ever seem to cool off.”

An embarrassed laugh bubbled up out of my throat.

“And it’s easy to forget my number one job here, which is keeping you safe. To do that, I can’t be distracted.”

During one of these pauses, I was going to have to say something. But I couldn’t. He clearly had some steam to blow off, and anything I said would slow him down.

But he was right.

Things had been cozy since our wedding. Delightfully and irresistibly cozy. The rage I felt for Leroy nipped again at my heels. Leroy, the one who brought us together and could tear us apart in an instant. It made me want to steal away to the mountains with Tate and live so completely off the grid that Leroy could never find us. To pretend he didn’t exist. But he did. And until he was found, our cozy existence needed some parameters. Tate spoke again. This time softer.

“I want this over for you. We’re close, I can feel it. And I need every one of my brain cells to make this happen.”

He moved slowly toward me, broad shoulders in his fitted white t-shirt. His eyes were sharp, but his hair was rumpled and boyish, creating the most delicious contrast that sent another wave of heat pooling in my belly.

“So, I’m at a crossroads now, Mrs. Walker. Because I need you close. For my own mental sanity, I need you close. So moving me or you somewhere else isn’t an option. But I also can’t have you next to me, for reasons I’ll keep to myself.”

“You scared of my brother? I think you could take him.”

He glowered at me, but I could only smile, grateful for the tiny shot of relief from the billowing angst between us. An impish gleam settled in his eyes, and I knew what he was about to say before he even began speaking.

“Smart a⁠—”

With a grin, I clamped my hand over his mouth. “You can’t say it TWICE.”