Hurry Up And Wait (Owens Protective Services #24)

18. Kavanaugh

18

KAVANAUGH

I was panting hard, barely in control of my body anymore after the things I just did to Isla. Call it my competitive nature, but when she got down on her knees for me, I made it my mission to return the favor tenfold. I gave it my all, plus an extra ten percent, which was pretty fucking amazing considering the massive headache roaring through my skull.

Isla rolled over, her hand sliding over my chest as she nuzzled my neck. I heard her sleepy yawn as she giggled.

“I hope that was a giggle of contentment and you’re not laughing at me.”

“Why would I laugh at you?” she asked.

“I can think of a lot of reasons right now,” I muttered. Namely, the fact that I had a massive coconut sticking out of my head from where she nailed me. That and the fact that I injured myself just by climbing onto her roof.

“I’m too sleepy to laugh at you.”

“Good, then I did my job. How are you feeling?”

She hummed against me, her eyes drooping. “Good.”

“Good? You were nearly blown up. ”

She sighed heavily, her breath huffing out against my chest. “Do we really have to do this?”

“Discuss the fact that you were nearly killed? Make sure that you’re okay?”

She raised her head, her eyes meeting mine. “I am fine.”

I wanted to believe her, but there was a slight limp when she walked and bruising that really pissed me off. I brushed the hair from her face, taking in the dark circles under her eyes. She needed rest, and I wouldn’t be the one to keep her from getting everything she needed to heal.

But before she went to sleep, we had to have a talk. I rolled her, making sure she landed on a pillow and was comfy before I started this particular discussion.

“So, I’ll call Cash and have him send over a team after I leave in the morning.”

Instead of the smile I was expecting, a hard frown hit her face and she sat up, nearly head-butting me. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I want to make sure you’re safe.”

“You’ve already had security installed. And I think based on that massive knot on your head, it’s safe to say I can take care of myself.”

“From an intruder, maybe. But what about that bomb in your fridge?”

“That’s what the security system is for. If anyone comes into my house, someone at OPS will be over in a flash. And…” she grinned at me. “I’ve already been invited over for the shawarma social. I think it’s safe to say that your guys will look out for me when you’re out of town.”

I shook my head, unable to believe what I was hearing. I got out of bed, grabbing my boxers from the floor. “You can’t really believe you’re safe.”

“I’m not stupid. I know what Shawn tried, but he’s not an idiot. He won’t try again. At least, not anytime soon.”

“And you’re willing to bet on that?” I snapped. “You’re willing to risk your life without having any protection because you think you know this guy? ”

“I do know this guy,” she shot back, getting up and kneeling on the bed.

“Yeah, you know him so well you married him,” I shot back, not really thinking about what I was saying. “Did you know he was going to try to kill you when you put that ring on your finger?”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously and I knew I had fucked up. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I had a crystal ball and I knew he would become an asshole five years into our marriage. And I decided to go through with it anyway.”

I swallowed hard, trying to find a way to avoid the massive trap I had laid for myself. “See? I bet you wish you had never said yes,” I said awkwardly, trying to lighten the tension.

Instead, she grunted angrily and got out of bed, pulling on my T-shirt.

“I sort of need that.”

“I can’t believe you! You’re holding his actions against me like I’m some naive woman who thinks her husband will change. I left, remember?”

“It was a stupid thing to say,” I tried to backpedal. She was still putting on my shirt. I really did need it. I didn’t have any shirts here, and she had her whole wardrobe. And while I thought it was sexy to see her in my shirt, I couldn’t drive around without a shirt on. But now didn’t seem like the time to press the issue.

She spun and pointed her finger at me angrily. I had no idea a finger could spew such hatred, but at that moment, I knew that a woman’s rage was not dedicated solely to the anger building inside her. No, it moved through her body like some kind of chemistry experiment and shot out every possible exit. And that exit was currently pointed at my face.

“I’m not an idiot, Kavanaugh. I know what he tried to do. Realistically speaking, he’s too far away to try it again. Isn’t your company monitoring him?”

“Well…yes.”

“Then they’ll know if he leaves the state.”

“I guess?—”

“And wouldn’t it be a giant waste of money to have an entire three- person team on someone like me who is home all day with my sister and hardly ever leaves the house?”

“I think you’re missing the point,” I argued. “If he gets away from us…if he somehow…”

“Outsmarts you?”

I winced and nodded. “It’s been known to happen.”

She took a deep breath, one that told me this was going downhill fast. I needed to somehow save this before she totally blew her top.

“Look, I just want to keep you safe. I’m not around and I can’t look out for you.”

“That’s what the security system is for.”

“And that’s really enough?” I snapped. “I don’t want another phone call telling me you’ve been shot or blown up again. I don’t think I could take it.”

“That’s not going to happen. Why can’t you just trust me? IKE was perfectly fine?—”

“What?” I said, my voice low and deadly. Rage simmered under my skin as she mentioned his name. I told the guys he had nothing to do with any of this, and here she was, using IKE as her defense.

“He trusted me enough to bring me home,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“IKE doesn’t give two shits about you,” I snapped. “He was doing a job. Do you really think he cares if you get hurt again or not?”

“No, and maybe that’s why he’s able to see reason,” she argued.

“Oh, so now I’m imagining the danger? I’m making it all up in my head that there’s a credible threat out there?”

“No, but you’re exaggerating what could happen. Everything is in place. Everyone is on alert about my situation. I’m not some damsel in distress who needs her boyfriend to guard her twenty-four, seven.”

I stopped for a minute, replaying her words in my head. “I’m your boyfriend?”

She paled, stepping away from me. “That’s not—I was just using it as an example,” she stumbled over her words. “You’re making me all flustered and?—”

I stalked around the bed and pulled her into my arms. “You’re damn right I’m your boyfriend.” I slammed my lips to hers and held her tight, making sure she understood exactly what this was. “When I say you need protection, I fucking mean it. Just let me put someone on you.”

“I…I can’t do that,” she said breathlessly. “And kissing me won’t distract me from what you’re trying to do.”

I really fucking hoped it would. “Are you really going to make me go back out on a job and worry about you the whole fucking time?”

“Like I worry about you?” she countered. “I know what you do for work. You could be hurt at any time.”

“That’s not likely to happen.”

She stepped back, shaking her head. “And it’s not likely that I would be blown up again.” She cocked her head at me questioningly. “Why is it okay for you to decide what you can handle, but not me?”

“Because I know better,” I practically shouted. “I’ve been in this business long enough to know when something is too dangerous. This is what I do for a living, and I won’t back down because IKE told you it was fine for you to go home.”

She scoffed, shaking her head at me. “Is that what this is really about? IKE?”

My whole body stiffened at the question. I had hoped IKE didn’t really have any kind of hold over her, but she seemed more than happy to take IKE’s word over mine. I had known her when we were little. I’d held her in my arms and only cared about keeping her safe. Yet, she was listening to a man who didn’t care one way or another if she was alive at the end of the day.

“What is IKE to you?” I asked warily.

“He’s…a man who took care of me while you were away.”

“While I was away. So, this is because I wasn’t there for you.”

“No, that’s not?—”

“I would have been here if I could have.”

“I know that,” she snapped.

“Then why are you throwing it in my face?”

“I’m not!” she shouted, shoving me back a step. “I was stating the truth. You weren’t here. He was, so he watched me. There’s nothing more to the story than that.”

But there was. I knew it. “Did he touch you? ”

She hesitated for just a second. “No.”

That fucker put his hands on her. I didn’t know the circumstances or why she felt she had to lie to me, but there was one reason that was perfectly obvious, and that was that she liked it.

My nostrils flared in anger as I spun away from her, trying to get my temper under control. I was failing miserably and I knew it. I thrust my fingers through my hair and breathed through the insane jealousy rushing through my body. I’d never felt like this before. I’d never wanted to murder someone simply because my girlfriend might have a thing for him. It was IKE. I doubted he was even still in town.

But she liked him.

I was not about to lose her to a man like IKE, not because of something that happened during a high-pressure situation. She was scared and in need of comfort. We weren’t even technically together. I couldn’t tell her what to do when all I’d done was sleep with her. Besides, she was terrified. I had no right to judge what she did while I was gone.

“Look,” I said calmly. “Whatever happened with IKE, I forgive you. It was wrong of me to get so angry when you were just trying to hold it together while I was gone. If he…helped you through that, then who am I to judge?”

When I finally looked at her, all I saw was one hell of a pissed-off woman. She slowly walked toward me and I felt my balls crawl up inside me to escape the wrath that was sure to descend on me. “You forgive me?” she asked quietly.

It was never a good thing when women spoke in that unnaturally quiet voice. It was a sign of bad things to come. “That’s not?—”

“You think I went to IKE and fell into his arms? You think I fucked him?”

“I didn’t say?—”

“You didn’t have to,” she snapped. “I can’t believe you. All I did was stay with him for a day and try to not flip the fuck out because my husband tried to blow me up, and you’re accusing me of sleeping with him?”

“It’s not like it would be a surprise.” Her eyes widened in horror. “I mean that intense situations cause people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. I would understand if you…needed a release.”

And that was the wrong thing to say also. The moment she stepped toward me, I could feel the swing of the frying pan against my head all over again, though it was nowhere in sight. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t find it and use it on me. I gathered up my clothes, backing toward the door, fully aware that I was only in my underwear. But this was a life or death situation, and if I wanted to survive, my only choice was to escape.

“Now…be reasonable,” I said as I flung the door open and backed into the hallway.

“Be reasonable? You want me to be reasonable after you came over here and basically said that I sleep with people in high-intensity situations?”

“I’ve done it too,” I chuckled nervously. “Not that I’ve ever been almost blown up.”

I caught Riley shaking her head at me out of the corner of my eye. The message was clear. Shut the fuck up and get out.

I turned on my heel and raced down the stairs, not bothering to put on my clothes. There was no need as she raced after me, yelling at me for being the idiot I was. In two seconds, I was on the porch, just barely missing the slam of the door.

Sighing, I walked to the edge of the steps and sat down, replaying the argument in my head. I was so fucking stupid.

My phone rang in my pocket and I pulled it out. “What?”

“Yeah,” Dash answered. “Is there a reason you’re naked on Isla’s porch? Because some people frown on that.”