“I’d gladly give my life if it means saving yours.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.
“That’s not a fair trade, Zane,” she says. “Because yours is far more valuable than mine.”
Her words are more of a hit than any fist has ever delivered. Not because of the words themselves but because of the utter belief behind them. Tessa truly believes that her life is not worth what mine is.
How can she not see?
How can she be so blind to her own worth?
Gently, I place a hand on her arm when she starts to limp past me, and she stiffens. “You’ve forgotten,” I say softly. She tips her face up to look at me. “Just how much you’re worth. And even if it takes every moment of the rest of our time together, I’m going to make you remember.”
She takes a deep breath, her gaze never straying from mine. Tessa’s confidence had been at rock bottom when we met. She literally had to fight to survive, and neither of her parents ever told her she was worthy of anything.
I’d made sure I told her just how wrong they were, every opportunity I got.
Then, she’d been a young teenager with a heart open to love.
Now, she’s a woman who has built thick walls around that heart.
Walls I intend to demolish.
I release her, then wait until she’s moved past me before I follow. Because I sense she doesn’t want me to offer, I don’t ask if she needs help as she limps toward the bench seat of the table that doubled as my bed last night.
As she sits, she keeps her gaze away from me.
I pull the door open, and my team glances down at me. “Ready,” I tell them.
One by one, they get to their feet and come inside the small cabin. With all of them in here, it’s crowded, but I thought Tessa would be more comfortable here than anywhere else—at least, right now.
“Must be nice to be out of his rags,” Sawyer jokes.
Tessa smiles. “Something like that.”
Truthfully, I wish she were back in my clothes.
“Okay, so let’s get the big thing out of the way.” Weston leans back against the counter. “Does this have anything to do with why you left originally?”
Tessa’s smile falters, and I glare at Weston.
He simply shrugs, completely uncaring that he just dropped a stick of dynamite into an already tense situation.
“Since the reason I left is six feet under, I’m going to go with no,” Tessa says.
Weston nods. “It was your dad then?”
“We’re not here to discuss why I left,” she shoots back. “And if you are, you might as well leave.”
“We’re not,” I say quickly, shooting a glare at Weston. “Tell us about the company you worked for.”
“Southeast Environmental Commission?” she asks. I nod. “I don’t know much. I was only there a few months before everything went sideways.”
“Just tell us what you do know. Right now, that’s our best lead,” Garrison says softly. If anyone can get Tessa to open up, it’s him. Considering his day job is as a counselor for troubled teens, she’s right up his alley, albeit slightly older than his typical clientele.
“I was working two different jobs. One was as a night shift waitress for a twenty-four-hour diner. One night, we had a couple come in. They seemed happy and were really kind. The wife asked me if I enjoyed what I was doing.” She fidgets with her hands in her lap. “I told her that it was just a means to an end, until I figured out something better. She said they were looking for someone to work the front desk at the environmental firm and said that she had a good feeling about me.” Tessa chews on her bottom lip. I shift my attention away because, when she does that, her mouth is all I can focus on. “Anyway, I accepted on the spot.”
“Without learning more about the position? The pay?” Weston questions.
“I was making barely enough to cover my rent, and my day job was seasonal. I was going to be looking for another one soon enough and figured it couldn’t pay any less since I was making the bare minimum.”
