Risking it All (Crossing the Line, #1)(22)

His first instinct was to drag her from the office, tell her to forget everything she’d seen. The more she knew, the more imminent the danger to her life would become. What if someone else, not him, had come down and seen her?

Hundreds of customers were upstairs.

People loyal to Hogan who would jump at the chance to score points with him by turning in Sera. How could she take such a stupid risk?

Then logic resumed. This was her job.

This was why she was there in the first place. It hit him then, how much danger Sera had put herself in. God, if something happened to her…

No. He wouldn’t allow it. She might be on a mission to bring down Hogan and get justice for her brother, but that undertaking conflicted with his own.

Keep her alive and safe. He’d justified his role in guarding Sera as a way to protect his sister, but it had become more than that the second he met her. So much more.

It had become everything.

With a heavy swallow, he walked back up to the top of the stairs and slammed the door, before descending once more, slower than before. As he entered the basement, she walked out with a smile, holding up an object. A cell phone.

“Found it,” she said. “Hogan took away my cell phone. Figured there was no harm in getting it back while he’s not here to bully me.”

It was a weak cover story. She knew it. So did he. Bowen grew sick as he registered the look on her face. Fear. Of him. She might be trying to brazen it out, but she thought she’d been caught.

Thought it was over and he’d be the one to mete out her punishment. He could see it in her wide brown gaze, the bracing of her shoulders. In his life, he’d never been more ashamed of his reputation, the life he’d led.

With one hand outstretched, he went toward her. “Ladybug—”

“Have to get back upstairs.” She came through the office door and skirted him, heading toward the staircase. If he let her go, she’d run and never come back.

That much was obvious. A part of him wanted to let her. The rest of him rebelled at the idea of never seeing her again, letting her leave fearing him. It was selfish and yet he couldn’t let it happen.

Adrenaline blasted through Sera as she hastened toward the stairs, dodging Bowen’s attempt to grab her. She’d been too desperate, too impulsive, and now she would pay for it. Unless she could somehow make it up the stairs and escape through the kitchen into the alley.

Knowing Bowen and how he made his living, her chances were slim. No matter what

connection

she’d

imagined

between them or kisses they’d shared, it would all go out the window now. For some reason, the realization hurt badly.

Why did it have to be him who caught her?

Dammit, she’d seen him occupied in a conversation with Connor and thought





she’d have at least five minutes. Had she been longer than five minutes? After what she’d discovered, time had blurred, then stood still. For all she knew, an hour had passed as she stood there, staring disbelievingly at Hogan’s black book of debts.

She hadn’t wanted it to be true. Didn’t see how it was possible. But there it had been in black and white.

Her brother, Colin, had been taking payouts from Hogan.

Later. She would think about it later.

Right now, she had to get away from Bowen. She might have taken her chances fighting him off as she’d been trained, but she was unarmed and didn’t know if Bowen carried his gun. As her foot came down on the bottom step, she cringed over the anticipation of a bullet entering her back. Please don’t shoot.

She chanted it over and over, calling on Saint Michael for protection, even knowing it would do her no good. He wouldn’t let her leave alive after catching her snooping.

An arm snagged her around the waist and yanked her backward. One second she was free-falling, the next she came up hard against Bowen’s chest. Without hesitation, she began to fight like hell, attempting to bring her foot down on his instep, but he anticipated the move and shifted his foot. Her elbow managed to connect with his gut, although besides a grunt, he didn’t react.

“Stop struggling.” His voice sounded pained, confusing her. “Please, just stop.”

Sera gathered her strength to renew her struggles, but went still when his mouth nuzzled her ear. “Let me go.”

“I wish I could.”

Tears gathered in her throat. This was it. Her uncle had been right. She wasn’t cut out to be a cop, and it all ended now.

And after what she’d just discovered, it had all been for nothing. Colin, how could you?

As quickly as the thoughts came, she grew angry with herself. How could she lose faith in her brother so easily? Not to mention herself. There had to be an explanation for Colin’s deception. She simply wouldn’t believe otherwise.

With a burst of renewed energy, she twisted from Bowen’s grip, throwing her elbow as hard as she could into his sternum. To her relief, his grip loosened momentarily and she scrambled up the stairs. She’d almost reached the top when a hand circled her ankle, halting her progress.

“Goddammit, Sera.” His hand gripped the waistband of her skirt to gain leverage, his bigger body covering hers in seconds, keeping her pinned on her side. Her breath sounded like a windstorm in her ears as one calloused hand slipped around the back of her neck. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he grated. “How could you think I would?”