She glanced at the view, then back at him. Her lips rolled into her mouth.
Okay, out of small talk. He waited for her to speak again. She looked like she was about to say something, but hesitated. Threeseconds of silence clawed by before he decided to get the ball rolling—before the tension between them crushed him.
"Allie, I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you wanted to come back to WhiteRock. But at any point . . . if you don't feel up to it, if you need more time . . . Don't hesitate to let us know. If you need more time to heal, don't rush yourself."
Why does she look so sad?
She swallowed and lifted her chin. "You and Jason and Rowan can depend on me. I'm healed. I was surprised to be assigned to your team after what happened, but I'm ready. And I give you my word that you will get my best effort on this assignment." She swallowed. "That's what I came to say. I know I'll need to earn back your confidence, but I wanted you to know I'm fully committed to—"
"Wait, what?" He stared at her, trying to understand why she sounded like she was apologizing for something. "What are you talking about? Earn back my confidence? Allie . . . I have complete confidence in you. I'm just worried you'll push yourself too hard physically.You were shot."
"Three months ago. Nothing vital was hit. You know that. You don't have to pretend you're worried about my health. I know I messed up. With my brother's investigation. And everything that happened that night. I can own up to that. It won't happen again. That is what I came to say."
She walked to the door like she couldn't get out of his suite fast enough. Without thinking—or maybe he was thinking too much—he grabbed her arm as she reached for the doorknob.
"Allie, please, wait." He let his hand fall when she froze. He stared at the back of her head, at the cascade of blonde hair he ached to touch. She wasn't reaching for the door. That was good. But she wasn't turning around either. "Allie . . . Allie, please. Please look at me." Her back straightened. She continued to face the door like a private facing a five-star general.
Knox hung his head. "No one blames you for what happened.No one. Especially me. I never realized you thought that."
"That's kind of you to say. But you were right. I was wrong. I obviously missed things . . . I . . ."
She was still talking to the door. And it was killing him that she wouldn't turn around.
Her hand wrapped around the doorknob. "You were right about Leo. And I'm sorry I almost got you killed that night. I'll never forgive myself, but I won't make those same mistakes again. You have my word." She sucked in a quick breath. "I need to go."
He was so stunned by her words he didn't have the presence of mind to tell her to stop or pull her back into the room.
She slipped into the hall. The door shut with a click. And the ache that had needled at his heart for three months tore something wide and painful inside of him.
Chapter 2
Allie reached her door in three quick strides. She fumbled with her keycard, holding her breath—because for some reason, she was afraid if she breathed she would lose her feeble hold on her emotions.
The keycard light finally turned green, and she slipped into her room. Sure enough, her first deep breath summoned the inevitable tears. She sat on the edge of her bed trying to untangle the knot of feelings Knox had managed to resurrect. The effect he had on her was exponentially stronger than before—despite her best efforts.
Their argument from three months ago replayed in her mind. Knox had suspected her brother, Leo, of embezzlement and money laundering. She hadn't believed it. And she'd made that very clear. She hadn't believed her brother could do such things, and she'd felt confident—too confident—that if her brother was doing something illegal, she would pick up on it. She would see the signs. Because that was her job—detecting deception, ferreting out the lies.
But she'd been wrong. And when she stormed into Knox's surveillance of Leo and his associates—because how dare Knox spy on her innocent brother—bullets started flying.
Knox had been hiding in the shadows of a warehouse, surveilling a meeting between Leo and two other men. Allie found out about the operation and—convinced of her brother's innocence—marched right in and blew Knox's cover.
That's when Leo aimed at Knox and pulled the trigger. And her world shattered.
Fortunately, Leo had been thirty yards away from Knox in the dark warehouse, and was a terrible shot to begin with, or Knox would be dead.
Leo's three associates opened fire on Knox and Allie while Leo hightailed it out a back door. Knox's aim kept two of the shooters pinned down, but the third rounded a stack of crates, and zeroed in on Allie.
They both fired. The shooter's bullet caught Allie in the leg. Her shot found his chest.
When the other two realized their partner was dead, they took off through the same exit Leo had used a minute earlier.
Allie gripped her thigh, letting the memories sear through her. She'd leaned against the cold warehouse wall, watching her leg bleed, feeling like she deserved it. She still did.
She'd taken a man's life. Yes, it was technically self-defense. But if she'd trusted Knox's instincts about her brother and let him continue with his surveillance that night, it could have all been avoided. All of it. And her brother would be in custody.
Knox had stayed with Allie, attending to her leg and waiting for the ambulance, instead of chasing the other two shooters and Leo. Her brother got away that night—as in, left the country. He texted Allie en route to who-knows-where to make sure she was okay. And he briefly texted a few other times. Not with anythinginteresting, just making small talk. She wondered if Leo felt guilty, but she may never know.
Unfortunately, those few texts were the reason Allie and Knox hadn't been able to text freely. The FBI started monitoring Allie's phone, hoping it would aid them in locating Leo. She'd given them permission. She knew it was a good idea. But it also meant she couldn't communicate with Knox without the FBI listening in or reading texts.
