Witness in the Dark (Love Under Fire #1)(74)

She left him in the kitchen, unable to help him past this. She couldn’t even help herself.

In her room, she thought about his other assignments. How many other princesses had he been assigned to watch over? Maybe some of them were honest-to-God princesses and not just the secret daughter of his boss.

Had his entire career been guided by her interest in Paris or her invitation to a party? No wonder he’d been so adamant in the beginning that he didn’t do babysitting. He had to be royally sick of her by now.

Maybe she should talk to him. Ask him where he’d rather work. She had some pull with her father. She could put in a word for him, because he’d given so much of his time to her.

It was late when she went to his room. She stood by his door for a few minutes, playing over in her mind what she wanted to say.

He would most likely insist he didn’t mind babysitting her. He would want to see this through, because he was honorable and responsible, and he didn’t give up.

Instead of knocking on Garrett’s door, she went back to her room and called her dad.

When the call was over, she went to sleep. The pain would end soon. It had to.

Except, it didn’t.

The next morning, she sat at the table for breakfast, promising herself she wasn’t going to be upset. She wasn’t.

“Why did you come to my door last night?” Garrett asked.

Naturally, he’d heard her. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?” He glanced up at her before taking a big bite of cereal.

“I’d like to move to another safe house. With a different protective detail,” she told him steadily.

His face actually paled. “If this about the princess thing, I didn’t mean it as an insult. Your safety is the most important thing to any of us on the team.”

“I understand that. But you’re being reassigned. They’re coming to get me this afternoon.”

“This afternoon? Wait. No! I want to see you through this. I want to keep you safe.”

“My father said he’d give you some time off. Go on vacation, or relax at one of your houses.”

Anger flashed across Garrett’s face. “Vacation? Are you kidding me? I don’t need a fucking vacation. I need—”

She held up a hand. “It’s already done, Garrett.”

His expression turned wounded. “You’re punishing me for what happened between us, aren’t you?”

She had to harden her heart against the pain. “No. I just think you’ve spent a lot of time watching me, and could probably use a break. I know I would take a break if I could.”

“Please don’t do this,” he said quietly.

“I’m sorry. I’m going to go pack.”

“Sam—” He was interrupted by his phone ringing. He grabbed it and barked, “What?”

No doubt his orders coming in.

His jaw flexed as he paced. “Okay.” He listened. “Okay.” Another pause. “All right. I guess we’ll be there at one.” He ended the call and looked briefly up at the ceiling. When he lowered his gaze to her, it was arctic. “We leave in an hour.”





Chapter Fifty-Nine


Garrett drove Sam to the rendezvous amid deafening silence.

He couldn’t believe this was happening. It was his own fault. He’d let things get personal between them, and now she was leaving because being with him was too hard on her.

But being without her was going to be too hard on him. Did she not get that? Did she not understand that he’d had no choice when he’d kept secrets from her? Orders were orders. He was merely a pawn.

A pawn who missed her warmth in his arms while he slept. And the way she laughed. The way her hair smelled, and the sexy as hell way she handled a gun.

He didn’t want a damn vacation. Time off would mean time to think. He didn’t want to think. Especially not about how nice it would be if he had a normal job and she had a normal life.

If they weren’t surrounded by craziness and threats, they might have had a shot at being happy together.

He’d known from the start he couldn’t have those things with her—for many reasons—but it hadn’t stopped him from wanting them.

Before she got out of the car, he turned to face her. “I’m sorry I don’t have more to offer you. I’m sorry I can’t be what you need.”

“I’m not asking for anything more. I understand. You would have given your life for me. You just can’t share your life with me.”

The distinction cut him like a knife. “I’m sorry.”

The words weren’t nearly enough. They didn’t even scratch the surface of how much he wished things could be different for them. She would be starting a new life in WITSEC, and he had a job that kept him on the move and in danger. Those two things couldn’t be combined.

“Sure,” she said with a nod he didn’t believe. She was placating him. “I should go.”

She got out of the car and walked over to the other car. Angel was leaning against the driver’s door with a smug look on her face.

Garrett put Sam’s bag in the trunk as she got in the passenger’s side and closed the door. She didn’t look back.

“What happened?” Angel asked him, assuming Sam couldn’t hear her talking to him across the roof of the car.