“Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t cross the threshold.”
Keira’s cheeks heated. “Not...I meant in case our tail catches up to us and you need help defending the cabin.”
“You can close your door. I’ll be fine out here, and you’ll be safe to sleep.” He tipped his chin toward the back of the cabin. “Go.”
Her brow dipped. She hadn’t slept the night before, keeping one eye open at all times. Watching her back and remaining alert didn’t leave room for restful sleep. It would be nice to get some shut-eye while someone had her back. She grabbed her laptop and started for the hallway. After only two steps, she paused and turned back to find Rogue’s gaze on her. She’d learned the hard way never to trust anyone but herself. Her life in foster care, the loss of her sister and her training with Viktor had brought her to that conclusion.
Then why did she feel she could sleep in the presence of this stranger she was getting to know? Instinct told her she could.
His eyes narrowed. “Everything okay?”
She nodded. “It’s just...thank you. I’m not sure I’d be here without your help.”
His lips lifted on the corner. “You’re very resourceful. I’m sure you would’ve found a way to avoid capture.”
“Or death,” she whispered. “Anyway, thank you.” Her cheeks warmed. After years of suppressing emotions, she wasn’t very good at handling the ones surfacing now. She turned toward the back of the house.
“Keira,” Rogue’s voice stopped her.
She looked back. “Yes?”
“I’m glad I’m here,” he said. “Thank you for trusting me with your secret cabin.”
And my life, Keira thought.
She gave a brief nod. “Goodnight, Rogue.” This time, she strode out of the living room and down the hallway to the bedroom. She entered, turned, closed the door and then leaned against it. What game was she playing with the handsome former Delta Force operator? No use getting all touchy-feely with the man. Nothing could ever happen between them. She was tainted. A child who’d been physically and sexually abused, her body used for the pleasure of others. Then she’d been trained as a killer.
How could two people from such different paths in life ever be anything more?
He was a patriot, an honorable man who’d fought for his country. A man sent to rid the world of a heartless killer. Yet, he had helped her rather than hurt her.
Plus, he’d kissed her as if none of it mattered—just two people, alone in a cabin. No one watching. No one judging.
Still wearing her T-shirt and shorts, Keira opened the door a crack, climbed into her bed, checked the nightstand for her handgun and then turned out the light. For a long time, she lay staring into the pitch darkness, wondering what life would have been like had her parents lived long enough to see her and her sister become adults.
Would her sister have grown up to be a doctor, a teacher or a ballet dancer?
Would Keira have gone to college or joined the military and become the type of woman worthy of a former Delta Force Operator? A woman without fault, shame or a criminal record?
She sat up, punched her pillow with more force than was necessary and then lay on her side, determined to push all those thoughts into an imaginary box at the back of her mind, using the compartmentalization technique she’d learned in her training with Onyx. Her focus would remain on finding the senator’s killer and the people who had put them up to it.
Kissing Rogue would do nothing to help her complete her self-assigned mission.
The door to the box at the back of her mind opened enough to remind her that kissing Rogue had been pretty great.
As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered if Rogue was awake or if he’d gone to sleep.
If he dreamed, would it be of...
The kiss?
* * *
The rattle of pans startled Keira awake. She sat up straight, trying to remember where she was. The darkness was the first clue. She’d never stayed in a place as dark as the bedroom in her cabin. She leaned over, turned on the light on her nightstand and checked the wind-up clock. Seven o’clock? In the morning? She shook her head. When was the last time she’d slept past five?
Her training with Onyx had required the girls to rise at or before five and be in formation by five fifteen, ready for morning calisthenics. They were required to stay in prime physical shape at all times. They’d had it so drilled into their heads that sleeping in wasn’t even possible.
Seven o’clock? Wow. She felt like half the day was already gone.
