“Send Roger a message telling him come to meet you behind this building ASAP. Don’t make it sound suspicious, or we’ll shoot your brains out.” She flashed a gun under her jacket.
I sent out the message, then the woman took my phone, and I was being marched out of the building’s back door with a gun to my head. The next few minutes waiting for Roger to arrive felt like the longest of my life. But when Roger appeared, he didn’t even look shocked. He simply raised his hands to show that he was unarmed.
“Let her go, and we can talk about this.” He sounded so calm.
His calmness irritated Max because his grip on me tightened painfully.
“There is nothing to talk about. You are going to do what I ask,” the woman said. “Give us the hard drive and let us safely out of the settlement gates, or we’ll blow her brains out.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“You have ten seconds to start talking or walking. And it better lead to the hard drive,” she threatened.
“I tried to warn you. I’m not the one you should worry about.” Roger still looked cool as a cucumber. “He is.”
He gestured behind us, and Max whipped around, jerking me so hard I wheezed.
Ror’k stood there, all seven feet of rolling muscles, his golden eyes glaring over a pair of shades at the man holding me. And he looked pissed.
“You dare hurt my female?” He cocked his head, and the sunglasses snapped back into place, covering his eyes.
His female? I never thought I’d get the warm fuzzies from a man calling me his, but here we were.
The fine hairs on my arms raised as the air around us charged with anticipation. Ror’k moved in a blur, his hand snapping around Max’s wrist, twisting it until his weapon clattered to the ground. Max howled, stumbling back, but Ror’k didn’t give him room. He drove his knee into Max’s gut, folding him over with a grunt. The fight wasn’t even fair.
The woman shrieked and reached for her gun, but Roger was already there, disarming her.
“Mind keeping the guy alive, Ror’k?” Roger asked. “We need information, and we can’t question a corpse.”
Several officers were here as well now, and they separated Max from Ror’k.
“Good job, everyone. Let’s get these two in for questioning.” He turned to Ror’k. “Nice shades.”
“Thank you,” Ror’k grunted. And soon we were alone.
I found myself wrapped in his arms, and I knew immediately that everything would be alright. I was exactly where I was meant to be.
“Thank you for saving me,” I whispered against his chest, still catching my breath.
His hand slid up my spine, warm and possessive. “I will always save you.” His voice dropped, rich and certain. “I know we agreed on just dating, but you are mine, and nothing can change that. I will not tire until I earn your love.”
A shiver rolled through me. “Good. Because I changed my mind too. I want more than a few dates. And I think I already love you. I know it’s early. But I do. I thought I’d never find someone who would deserve my love again, but you proved me wrong, and I love you.”
He lowered his head. “I do not know what romantic love feels like, but something tightens in my chest when I look at you, and the thought of being away from you is unbearable, like I can’t breathe. I need you like I need the air.”
My heart did a little flip-flop at the raw honesty in his voice. “That might be love.”
“Then I’ve loved you since the moment you crashed into my life.”
I laughed softly, brushing my fingers along his jaw. “You mean crashed into you, lips first.”
“That too.”
“The feeling could also be indigestion,” I said, hiding a smile.
“Dottie,” he said with a tone of warning.
I just laughed, because what else was I to do? I’d never felt giddier before in my life. The only thing that could make it remotely better was some sexy time under a hot shower. “That shower is looking awfully good right now.”
