Secret Obsession (Carder Texas Connections #6)(33)

A gasp sounded behind him. Noah whirled around. Lyssa’s stunned expression twisted his heart.

“Lyssa—”

She backed away from him, shaking her head. “No. Just...I can’t believe this.”

“Get me that plane,” Noah said and ended the call.

He stuffed the phone into his pocket. Lyssa turned and rushed into the sleet. The cold ice soaked her hair. Noah grabbed her and pulled her back into the hangar. He pushed her bangs away from her face. “Lyssa, I...”

She looked up into his eyes, the emerald depths filled with pain. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“What was I supposed to say?” He’d been dreading this moment for two years. For two years he’d lived with the regret.

“If you’d been there...” Her voice cracked.

“I could have saved him.”

Lyssa’s knees gave way. Noah propped her up against him. She struggled to breathe. “You and Jack could have taken him. None of this would be happening. I’d have—”

“You’d have your life back,” Noah finished, a whisper in her ear. “You’d have Jack. I wish I’d been there for you,” he said. “Jack and I, we would have stopped him.”

She clutched the collar of his coat. “That’s why you’re really helping me, isn’t it? Not because you and Jack were best friends, but because you were supposed to be there that night.”

“Partly,” Noah said. “I owe Jack my life. You know that.” He tilted her chin up to search her eyes. “But make no mistake, Lyssa, I’m here for you.”

A small flush rose in her cheeks. Her lips parted. Her gaze heated.

Noah tensed. His entire being urged him to kiss her, to comfort her, to remind her that he would always be here for her.

She didn’t give him a chance.

“Thank you,” she said and pulled his head down to hers.

Stunned, he let her kiss him. Her lips parted and she swept her tongue inside his mouth.

With a groan, a wave of longing rushed through him. He pulled her close and captured her lips, drinking in the sweetness.

He lifted his head, stunned at the emotions sparking between them. She blinked up at him, her own expression frozen.

“I didn’t expect—” she whispered.

He touched her swollen lips with his thumb. “Me neither. You’re more than I ever imagined.”

A loud throat-clearing interrupted them. “Noah, we need you out here,” Rafe called from the hangar’s entrance.

Noah didn’t move away from her. He didn’t want to leave the warm softness pressing against him. “In a minute.”

His hand trembled as he touched Lyssa’s face. These feelings terrified him. Long buried dreams resurfaced. Desires he’d denied because of his friendship with Jack.

She gripped his hands and pulled them away from her. “This isn’t right,” she whispered softly. “I shouldn’t have—”

“Don’t say it.” He couldn’t bear her regret. Part of him knew he was just second best, just a substitute for Jack. For her true love.

She took a shuddering breath. “You don’t understand. There are things you don’t know.”

“Secrets. I know.”

Her eyes widened. “No. Oh, no, you can’t know. No one knows.”

“Reid knew.”

She backed away, the cold air rushing between them. “You’re trying to goad me. There are things I won’t talk about, Noah. I can’t.”

Her words gutted him. “You have to trust me, Lyssa.”

“Everyone I ever trusted is dead...or in a coma. I won’t do that to you. Or to me.”

Back stiff, Lyssa walked out of the hangar into the weather. Noah followed, ignoring the curious expressions on Rafe’s and Zane’s faces.

The back door of the SUV had lifted into place, protecting them from the sleet. Zane held a receiver in his hand and he ran it slowly over the bags in the back of the SUV. One by one, he placed them into the vehicle.

“Anything?” Noah asked, his voice raised over the thwack of ice on the car. They had to figure out how Archimedes knew where they were.

“I ramped up the signal, but nothing yet.” Zane scowled. “He shouldn’t have found us here. I don’t get it. Maybe you can figure it out.”

“What about my ready bag,” Lyssa said and moved closer to Zane. “I kept it in the closet.”

“I went over everything,” Zane said. “Even your weapons. Nice, by the way.”

A loud beeping sounded from the machine. “What the hell?”

He shifted it, and the beeping got more high-pitched as he brought it toward Lyssa.

She backed away.

“Stay still,” Zane said.

He moved the machine up and down the length of Lyssa’s body. It stopped just at the top curve of her breasts. Zane flushed a bit. “Um...have you got anything...”

Noah tugged at the gold chain around her neck. Her engagement ring.

Zane held the monitor close to it. A piercing tone erupted.

He looked up at Lyssa. She stared down at the diamond.

“It’s your ring.” Noah said. “Jack’s ring brought Archimedes here.”