He whirled around and glared at her. “You underestimate me, Olivia.”
“No, I don’t.” She placed both palms together. “We shouldn’t give in to anger at times like this. Instead, we should be on your knees in prayers and—”
“Olivia,” he sharply cut in, “Please move away from the door. Prayers aren’t what Gabe needs right now, but my pistol sticking against his throat while I warn him never to go anywhere near you again or send his men to do his dirty job for him.”
Olivia gasped.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill him. I have more self-control than you give me credit for.”
Olivia widened her arms and her legs. “So help me God, you’re not leaving.”
“Is this a game?”
Olivia let out a small scream at Ahela’s voice behind her. Her body curled toward the young girl.
Ahela, holding a plate of biscuits and a glass of blackberry juice, giggled and said, “Can I join?”
Defeated because she knew Adam would use the opportunity to leave, Olivia dropped her hands and moved away from the door.
Ahela walked in, looking from Olivia to Adam with amused black eyes. She walked to the table and placed her offerings on it.
As if sensing the tension between the two adults, she walked out of the room without saying a word.
Adam strode forward again. Olivia waved her hand toward the door, giving up. He stopped beside her and Olivia held her breath.
“Trust me,” Adam said and hurried out of the room.
Olivia felt as if someone had wrenched her heart out of her body. She ran out of the room and watched as Adam’s heavy steps sounded down the hallway.
Positioning her hand against her heart and lifting her eyes to the rain-stained ceiling, she said, “Lord, please protect him. Life won’t be the same if anything happens to him.”
Chapter 26
Adam flexed his hand again, wishing he hadn’t given in to his temper a few hours ago by punching Gabe.
“He had it coming,” he said as he flopped down on his chair in the tiny office.
All the office could boast of was a small wooden cabinet, and a desk and a chair. Not that he needed anything more than that, as he didn’t spend a lot of time in the place.
Adam stared at the motto inscribed on the opposite wall and sighed. If only lawmen took those three words seriously. Unfortunately, justice, integrity, and service meant nothing to them.
Guilt stole up to Adam’s chest when his thoughts went to Olivia again.
“If only I had kept her out of it,” he murmured and leaned back against the chair to stare at the dirty ceiling littered with cobwebs.
The sheriff hadn’t thought to send someone to clean the office thoroughly before Adam came.
Adam sat straight and grimaced. “Why am I thinking about a dirty office when Olivia is most likely still frightened by what Gabe’s henchmen did to her?”
His fists clenched when the image of her pale face and dull eyes flashed through his mind. Although she had tried to make it look like it wasn’t as terrible as it had been for her, he had seen through her.
And fudge, he had upset her with the way he had rushed out of there without listening to her plea.
She hadn’t understood that it was something that he had to do. How could he have sat back and done nothing when the cowardly Gabe threatened his woman?
My woman?
Adam rose from the chair and strode to the window. The glass plane was stained with dirt, but he was able to see through some clean patches.
