Chapter Twenty

Lacey knew Russell hadn’t given up on the agent idea, or the idea of her living with him. But how could she stay with him if he might get killed because of her? If someone was looking for her, then they were both in danger.

Yes, Russell was a big bad SEAL, but he was also one man, or one among his team. Still… There had been five agents with her the day she was hit. Five men. They’d all been killed but one. The remaining man was now in a wheelchair—might always be in a wheelchair. How could she let Russell chance something like that?

“I’ve decided.”

Jerked out of her misery, she glanced away from the window to watch Russell’s profile. He looked grim, stern, centred, the way he’d been when they’d first met, all those weeks ago. She’d thrown him. Even learning she’d been on the run and in hiding hadn’t compared to his reaction to learning who her dad was. She knew her dad had been a legend among the SEALs. Knew he’d trained only the best men for the toughest job on the planet. But he’d also been her dad. He’d given up the life of a SEAL when her mom had died. He’d done it for her, to be there for her.

Russell had paled, looked a bit shaky, too, when he’d learned who she was. He’d known her dad. Somehow, that made her love him even more. If that was even possible. She thought she might love him so much it was unhealthy. The feeling was so deep, she worried.

“Yes? What have you decided?” She wasn’t sure if she liked his making decisions for her.

“I’m not calling you Sarah. Or Lacey.”

She choked on a laugh at the unexpected comment. He sounded stubborn, as if forcing something on her, like not using the chainsaw. He looked so serious, as if this was a huge thing. A name. That was all. Lacey came from her dad—he’d said she’d always carried around a little scrap of lace with her when she had been a toddler, would scream bloody murder if anyone took it from her. He’d nicknamed her Lacey. At school, they’d always called her Sarah. At home, Lacey.

“All right. Susan is nice.” He was shaking his head before she’d finished. “Not Susan?”

“Nope, Sunshine. That’s what I’m calling you.”

Warmth filled her slowly. She suddenly couldn’t stand the small distance between them. Pushing his console up, she scooted tighter to his side and only felt better when his big arm circled her, pulling her into the heat of his side. She rubbed her face against his chest, loving how strong and warm he was.

“That’s a bit difficult to put on a driver’s licence, big shot.”

Russell drew her head up and kissed her quickly, reluctantly looking back up at the road. He was so casual-looking when he drove, but she knew he was watching everything, and could and would react to any danger.

“Nothing’s going to happen to you again. You know that, don’t you? Nothing. And don’t even think of running. If I have to tie you to the bed, I will. But we’re ending this running. Now. You trust me, don’t you?”

Her stomach tightened at the sudden silence between them. Russell drummed his fingers on his steering wheel and shot her a few worried frowns. There was simply too much to say for her to say anything. She trusted him—more than trusted him.

“Yes, Russell, I do, but… This is the Russian mob. They have money. So much money.”

He didn’t say a word, but kept his arm around her as he drove up the long, winding dirt road to the main house. He felt so good—warm, hard and so strong. He would protect her, she knew that, but if those guys knew where she was… What would stop them from killing him and taking her? Or killing her?

Much sooner than she wanted, they arrived at his ranch. Russell parked the truck in front of the house, shut the engine off, and turned to her.

“Come here.” He tugged her around to face him. Grey eyes watched her closely. He still needed to shave, but he looked less wild, more settled than he’d been when he’d arrived hours before. He also looked focused.

“This isn’t going away. You can’t run forever. You know that. The Russians are big, but if they contracted this out we can do some control, manage it so that this time it does look like you were killed. I need to know why they didn’t believe that. I need intel, and you are going to have to trust me.” He brought her hand up and kissed her fingertips before he cupped her hand on his warm cheek. “You’re cold. Let me do this. Give me this. Trust me.”

She knew what he wanted. He wanted to fix this. Protect her. Save the day. He was a soldier, and all of them were heroes at heart. It was why they joined, why they went out, why they bled. Her dad had. Russ had. But if she gave him this, he could very well get hurt or drive her crazy with his over-protectiveness. She wanted the life she’d glimpsed during those weeks with him, the carefree days and nights with nothing to worry about but what this thing between them meant, and what to wear to drive him crazy.

“Sunshine, you gotta give me this. You’re bruising my male ego, here.”

That made her laugh and snuggle up to kiss him. “I’ll bruise more if you get all bossy or hurt. I don’t want you hurt, Russell.”

“Bossy, huh? I think you need that. A boss.”

“Huh, I don’t think so.”

He grinned that big smile she loved, tipped his head down and rubbed his forehead against hers. “You scare the shit out of me. Hawk’s daughter, all mine, and hell, if you aren’t in more trouble than I’ve ever been in my life.”

The brat! She choked on a laugh and pushed at him, trying to get him off without much luck. “It’s not like I went looking for it.”

He eyed her sceptically and straightened, opening his truck door and getting down before turning to help her to the ground. He watched her again before smiling softly.

“I always wanted to meet you. Scared spitless every time Hawk had me out to your place, but yeah, I wanted to meet you.”

“You were? You did? But, why—? I mean…”

“Because I’d heard how beautiful you were. How sweet.” He gave her a stern look and trapped her between the truck and his body. “No one said how wild you were.”

“Russell!”

He brushed his lips, featherlight, against her cheek. “That’s good, too, because I wouldn’t have had the balls to get what I wanted from you if I’d known who you were. Now, we’re going to clear this up and I’m going to make sure I don’t see that fear in your eyes again. No more running, right?”

The man was impossible. She loved him so much. The feelings rushed up her throat, choking her and all she could do was rest her forehead against his chest and nod.

“But don’t think you can start ordering me around, Russell. I won’t deal with that very well.”

His chest shook, and she heard him laugh softly as he turned them both to the house. “Yeah, I think your old man told me you didn’t. You keep yourself out of trouble, and I won’t have to.”

“Oh, baby, you did not just say that.”

He laughed. She gave him a little punch to his arm for being such a jerk, and he chuckled louder. Something sounded not an inch from them and suddenly Russell was a heavy weight on top of her. Gunshots, dull thuds and puffs of snow hit near her face.

And, worse, Russell wasn’t moving.