“We aren’t even going to fucking talk about why you were out front.” His jaw was clenched tightly, and his hands were gripping the steering wheel hard enough his knuckles were white.
He’s pissed at me, too.
Her gaze turned toward front office and she saw the woman who’d checked Gage in come running outside screaming. Gage slammed on the gas, and the force sent Neeka pressing into the cold leather seat. She was vaguely aware of him reaching over and buckling the seat belt across her body.
Was she in shock? Was this what it felt like to have her mind becoming unhinged?
He looked over at her and breathed out wearily, running his hand over his hair as he continuously checked the rearview mirror.
“Damn, I wish you hadn’t been put in this situation, or seen me take out those fuckers.”
“I could have gotten you killed.” She stared at the road in front of her, the reality of it all slamming into her with such excruciating force it sucked the air from her lungs. “I’m so glad you’re okay, though.”
“Oh, Neeka. You were so brave, baby.” That anger faded, and in its place was this sincerity, this emotion she’d never imagined seeing from him.
He sounded so genuine, his focus bouncing from the road to her. She let her tears fall, and Gage lifted his hand and brushed his fingers across her flesh, wiping the tears away. She took a big, steadying breath and looked out the window.
“How much longer until we reach my father’s home?” He dropped his hand from her face, and his voice went hard again, like the solider he truly was. “I’m going to drive straight through. It was never safe for us to stop, but doing it now would be out of the question.”
She knew he had stopped for her, knew that everything he had done was for her.
“What will happen when I see my father?” What she really wanted to know was what would happen between them, and what would happen with her. They might have shared a night of intense pleasure, but she couldn’t forget that her father had hired Gage to find her. She was a mission, a job, and she couldn’t let herself think a happily ever after would be a result of that.
She let her head fall back against the seat. Instantly, the memories she had of what Gage and she shared washed away, now only terror filling her every cell at what her future would hold.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Gage looked over at Neeka for the tenth time in the last twenty minutes. She was sleeping, the illumination of the lights from the dash casting an ethereal glow upon her pixie-like features.
He had been driving for hours upon hours now, the sun starting to rise as they entered Hillcrest, a small, but wealthy country town on the outskirts of Shyloh. He was about an hour or so from Edward McCarthy’s home, and as much as he hated seeing Neeka go, he knew it was for the best.
He was a trained solider, a killer. If he were to start something with Neeka, it would give his enemies a target, and that was something he could never live with, could never risk.
Neeka made a small noise and shifted in her seat, the blanket he’d draped across her body sliding down slightly. He knew letting her go was for the best, but it didn’t make his heart ache any less. She slowly woke, blinking several times before turning a drowsy look his way.
“Hey.”
“Hi.” Her voice sounded sleepy, slightly hoarse.
“We’ll be at your father’s house in about an hour.” He watched her, gauging her reaction. “I’ve already contacted your father and his staff, and they’re expecting us.”
She blinked a few times and looked out the front windshield, nodding several times.
“Do you need to use the restroom? Are you hungry?”
“No, I’m fine. I just want to get home.”
He nodded more to himself than to her. It was better to just get her there and not drag this out.
“Gage?” she said his name softly.
“Yeah.” He looked over at her, her vision still trained on the road in front of them.
“What happens next?”
He knew what she was referring to. It was the same thing he had asked himself repeatedly the entire trip. “I drop you off with your father, make sure you’re safe, and then I go back to the compound.” His focus was straight ahead. He didn’t trust himself to look at her for fear he might say something that shouldn’t be said.
“It’s for the best.” Her voice was soft.
“Yeah.” His words were void, his emotions being pushed deep inside of him so that he would be able to say goodbye to her forever. They might have shared that one night together intimately, but she had awoken something in him that had never been touched, a feeling that warmed him and gave him strength, that broke down his wall, but only for her.