Mine to Have (Mine #5)(21)

He was lying. Had to be lying. There was no way she’d called for the guy in her sleep. She put her hands on her hips and stalked toward him. “Did you talk to Agent Monroe?”

“Um.”

Um was not an answer. “Did they catch the guys at the motel? Have they found out who killed Wesley?” Do I get to return home now?

“Not yet, but Victor’s working on things.”

Right. Good old Victor.

She raked a hand through her hair. When she glanced over at him, his gaze was locked on her—and the darkness seemed to shine with intensity.

“Damn, but you are pretty,” he told her. “Shouldn’t your hair be all messed up when you wake? It just looks tousled and…sexy.”

“Wh-what?” She had to look like a wreck. No make-up. Crazy hair. So far from the land of sex appeal.

“Why are you wearing my shirt?” His right hand lifted, and the back of his fingers —those scarred knuckles that shouldn’t be oddly attractive to her—lightly caressed her arm, right beneath the edge of the t-shirt. “Not that I’m complaining. You look far better in it than I ever do.”

Talk. Elizabeth pushed the words out as she said, “I…just wanted to be in something that wasn’t stained by blood.” She’d used the little shower, too, was that wrong? After he’d left her, she’d been tired of being covered in blood and the sweat that came from fear. So she’d showered and crashed. It hadn’t been as if she were actually going to run out in the swamp after him. With the snakes? No, thank you.

He nodded. “I’m sorry. I should have thought of that sooner…I could have picked you up more clothes.” His hand fell away from her. “I’m just not used to dealing with someone like you.”

Someone like her? He better not be insulting her. “What do you mean?”

His lips hitched into a half-smile. “Folks in my world are more likely to kill you than to help you.”

But he had helped her. Again and again. “It sounds like the wrong kind of world to me.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m getting out.” He pointed at her. “You’re the last job.”

Ah, so she was just a job now. Wonderful.

“After you, I’m home-free. No more staring into mirrors and wondering who the hell is looking back at me.”

There was a pain in his voice that pulled at her, and Elizabeth found herself edging toward him. A dangerous move, especially when his nostrils flared and his eyes darkened even more.

“Why did you start working undercover?”

“Because I can pass for a killer far too easily.”

She just stared at him. Shame burned through her. When she’d first seen him, she hadn’t doubted for a minute that he was a killer. He’d looked so deadly and dangerous when he burst in that back room at The Blade.

He shrugged, seeming a bit uncomfortable. “My skill set is limited, all right? Some men were born to be criminals.”

“But you aren’t a criminal. You’re the good guy.” The guy who’d saved her life.

He paced away from her, heading toward the lone window in that cabin. “Are you really so sure about that?”

She was. “You saved me.” Twice. Not that she was counting.

“And there have been others that I didn’t save. Too many of them.” His shoulders were stiff as he stared out the window. Sunlight poured in on them, spilling through the window. “A few months back, I ordered the complete destruction of a cabin just like this one. One of my best friends was inside—she was there with her lover. The cabin was his. By the time I was done, the place was burned to the ground.”

A chill skated down her spine. “You had a reason.” The words were pulled from her.

Startled, he glanced over his shoulder at her.

“You’re not some cold-hearted bastard,” Elizabeth said. Sure, there was a lot going on that she didn’t understand, but this part? She got it. “If you had been, you wouldn’t have saved me. You would have turned around and walked out of The Blade.”

I want an hour with her.

“Instead,” Elizabeth cleared her throat, “you spouted that bull about wanting an hour with me so that you could catch Taggert off-guard and get me out of there.”

Slowly, he turned to fully face her.

“So why don’t we play a game?” Elizabeth whispered. “You try telling me the truth…and I’ll try believing you.” What else did they have to do until Agent Monroe gave them the all-clear?

His head cocked. “The truth?”

“Why did you burn down that other cabin?”

His lips thinned. “Because I was working an undercover mission, and I had to find a way to get Jasmine the hell away from that scene so she could disappear.”

Her breath expelled in a relieved rush. “So you were being the good guy again.”

“A good guy wouldn’t have torched the cabin.”

“If you hadn’t…what would have happened to your friend…Jasmine?” And had that just been a hot lick of jealousy that stung her? It sure felt like it.

“My boss…” He shook his head. “The prick I was working undercover to bust wanted her dead. I wasn’t going to let that happen. She and Vic are the only family I’ve got. No one hurts my family.”