A Covert Affair (Deadly Ops #5)(57)

Sinclair stopped talking and she looked up to find Nathan right in front of them, his arms over his chest.

He looked fierce and too sexy for his—or her—own good. He wore a dark suit that had to be custom-made for his gorgeous body. A mix of emotions played over his face, one of them most definitely annoyance, possibly jealousy—for Sinclair, who still hadn’t dropped his arm from Amelia’s shoulders.

And it didn’t seem he planned to. Sinclair’s grip tightened.

“What are you doing here?” she blurted, then felt stupid for it. And a little hopeful. The only reason he should have come was for her, unless he thought her attack was part of his case.

Nathan flicked a glance at Sinclair before focusing on her. “I heard you were in an accident. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” His arms dropped and he took a small step forward, one of his hands slightly lifting as if he wanted to reach for her. But he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Disappointment flared inside her, bright and scorching. She wanted to feel the warmth of his touch right now. “I’m okay. Just a little sore, mainly from the airbag.” She nudged Sinclair with her elbow, but he didn’t move. Just sat next to her, arm securely around her. She knew he didn’t have a thing for her—she was pretty sure he thought of her as a sister—so he must be feeling overprotective to act like this.

“What did the paramedics say?”

“They want me to go to the hospital to get checked out further.”

Nathan nodded, the tightness in his shoulders loosening. “That’s a good idea.”

“Yeah, it’s not happening.” She wasn’t going anywhere but home. After she took care of a few things.

“You could have a concussion or—”

“Sinclair!” a male voice called out, making all of them glance over.

Next to the half-crumpled bus stop, Captain Nieto stood with a man who looked about the same age as him, early to mid-fifties. He wore light-colored slacks and a button-down green shirt and was clearly in good shape. Since he had on sunglasses it was impossible to read him, but it seemed as if he was looking at her. But she was probably imagining that. Something about him was familiar, though.

Sinclair stood, but he leaned in as if hugging her and whispered, “Ask your friend who he really works for,” before standing and kissing her gently on the forehead.

Surprise flickered through her. Sinclair had confirmed that Nathan worked for the FBI. That wasn’t true? Then who did he work for and why would he lie to her? He couldn’t be a criminal if Sinclair was working with him. As Sinclair strode over to his captain, she turned to Nathan, ready to ask him just that, but the words died in her throat at the dark look in his eyes. “What?”

“I don’t like that fucker touching you.” His words were raw and not a little jealous.

The hostility lacing his statement took her off guard. He was the one who’d taken off last night; he didn’t have a right to feel jealous. She wasn’t even going to go there right now. She also wasn’t going to question him about who he worked for. Not now. She didn’t want to give away that Sinclair had put the idea in her head to ask, and more to the point, she was freaking done for the day.

Done with everything.

Her body hurt, her brain hurt, and she was going home as soon as humanly possible.

Nathan moved lightning quick, sitting next to her. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

The concern in his voice pierced her. At least he actually cared. That knowledge broke something inside her. Without warning, the dam she’d been holding back burst free. To her horror, the waterworks started. Full-on, ugly crying. She managed to keep the sobbing noises to a minimum, but her body trembled from the onslaught of her emotions.

Before she could feel embarrassed, she found herself being tugged into Nathan’s strong hold, didn’t fight him as he led her . . . somewhere.

To a vehicle. When he opened the back door to an SUV, she started to protest. “My purse and Jeep—”

He held up her purse and said, “Jeep’s being towed. I’ll get all the info. Come on.” His voice was gentle as he helped her into it and slid in after her. That was when it registered someone else was in the driver’s seat.

Nathan gave him her address and they left, just like that. She wasn’t even sure she should have gone. She needed to talk to her employees, and the police might still need to talk to her. But . . . screw it. She’d wanted to go home and now she was getting her wish.

Even though things were strained between them, and she wondered if they’d ever get past the divide, she still leaned against Nathan. Without pause he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, stroking a hand down her back as she curled against him.

Amelia jerked awake with a start as Nathan shifted next to her. Moving away from him, she saw that the SUV had stopped in her driveway.

Home.

“I’ll call when I need a pickup,” Nathan murmured to the driver before sliding out.

Even though she didn’t need the help, Amelia savored the way his strong arm slid around her and held her close as he walked her to the front door. She didn’t have to do anything as he pulled the keys from her purse and let them in. Inside he disarmed the alarm and reset it to stay mode.

His movements were precise and economical. It was weird to let someone else take over, but she was grateful to have him with her now. She couldn’t believe she’d practically had a meltdown at the crash site. She usually held up in stressful situations but not today.