Dream Chaser (Dream Team, #2)(64)

“Ryn, I can see you not thinking clear after what went down, but that guy who tried to break in today was intent to do you harm that is not as final as death, but you don’t have to live with death because you’d be dead. Not a good scenario by any stretch, but only a little less bad than that, you’d have to live with whatever that guy did to you for the rest of your hopefully very long life.”

Her eyes narrowed in a way no man wanted to see on the face of his woman.

“Not thinking clear?”

“Kathryn, a man was murdered while you hid in your bathroom. You heard it happen. You’re gonna react to that and I’m seeing you’re reacting to that by not gettin’ the situation you’re in.”

“Okay, Boone, but Smithie is my boss. And I have to work.”

“Smithie is going to cover you.”

“Do you know how much Smithie has covered over the years?”

He didn’t, but he reckoned with Smithie’s heart, and the crap that seemed to swirl incessantly around his girls, he’d had his bookkeeper create a line item for that shit.

She continued, “I’m not one of those girls. I show up. I get on with it.”

“You don’t just get on with this,” he stated.

“Okay about that too, but maybe I’d get a say in how my life was handled. I don’t know, one word, maybe two. You think?”

Truth, it occurred to him that he should have gone to her first, and not Smithie.

Also truth, he didn’t know her well (yet), but he knew her enough to know that would have been futile because she was a woman who life slammed up against hard, but she shook it off, and moved on.

He also knew she wasn’t unaware she was this type of woman, but at this juncture, she obviously wasn’t putting it together that this was not one of those times she could simply do that.

And more, she now had people who were not only willing, but in his case wanted to look after her, including Smithie, but mostly Boone. She’d said that her damned self just that morning and made it clear it meant a lot to her. And now she’d apparently forgotten it.

Which brought him to the place where it was obvious she was pissed at him for doing nothing but looking out for her and that was in no way cool.

Which was why he returned, “There’s no reason to be pissed at me.”

“No reason…?” She shook her head in disbelief. “You went and talked to my boss who made a decision about my life and my time and my job not only without my input, but also before I even knew the fullness of what was going on.”

“Smithie’s had some experience with this, Kathryn, and he’s acting for your own good.”

“Does anyone think that maybe I know what my own good is?” she snapped, then drawled, “I mean, I don’t know, but my guess is, I’m the best judge of that.”

He was not a big fan of her tone.

“Cut the sarcasm, sweetheart,” he growled.

“Fuck that, Boone,” she bit at him. “What am I gonna do with all my free time? Cower behind my locked bathroom door and wait it out?”

“I’m gonna have you covered.”

“Actually, no, you’re not,” she retorted. “You’re relieved of duties considering you aren’t super-hot at executing them.”

Boone grew completely still.

Fucking hell.

She did not just say that.

She kept going.

“Now I need to talk to Lottie, and the girls, and freaking Smithie, so if you’ll excuse me.”

She made to move around him.

Boone stopped her by speaking, his voice vibrating again like it did earlier that day when he was talking to Cisco.

“I should have been more cautious. I shouldn’t have left you today, but I had no idea half this shit was going on,” he clipped. “So that was a low fucking blow, Ryn.”

Her eyebrows shot up even as her hair swayed with the violence of her head jerk.

“That wasn’t what—”

Boone interrupted her.

“And straight up, some jackholes set a monster on you, that isn’t in any way on me.”

“Of course it’s—”

“But if you think I’m fallin’ down on the job, sweetheart, I hear you. You got to trust who’s got your back. So, I’m out.”

With that, her entire body jerked.

“Boone, if you’d let me speak,” she said slowly, semi-irately, but still, there was carefulness in her words.

Too fucking late.

“Think you said enough,” he returned. “I’ll talk to Mo and the boys. You’ll be good.”

And with that, he turned, walked out of her room, down her hall, and right out her front door.

He didn’t slam it.

He didn’t even slam his car door.

He drove carefully, but not calmly, to the office.

And in the parking lot, he made his calls to make sure Ryn was covered.

After that, he went to work.

And he worked on shit that was her shit.

Even when it wasn’t.





Chapter Thirteen





Dry as a Bone





Ryn


Arundown of my last three not-so-great days:

After Boone prowled out in a snit, I walked to my living room in maybe an even bigger snit and informed the girl gang what had just gone down with Boone.