“I was being held back by two big men. I’m not sure what made the man to my right do it, but he must have reconsidered his involvement with Matteo. There was a split second where I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the sting of the bullet, but it never came. When I heard the gunshot, instead of pain, the man holding my right arm released me, and I fell. Opening my eyes, I saw he’d thrown himself in front of the bullet, falling to the ground and breaking the second man’s grip on my right arm to free me. I don’t know where I found the strength or the presence of mind, but I turned and threw myself through the broken window at our backs, rolling into the bushes.”
“Oh, Gray!” I almost choked on a sob.
“By that point,” he continued,“my whole body was numb and cut open, but I got up to my feet. I heard sirens and saw flashing lights. I ran. I ran until I couldn’t anymore, and then I ran some more. I ended up at a gas station. I think I tried to buy bandaids, or something like that. I was delirious, and I never made it to the register. I passed out in the aisle, and the clerk called an ambulance. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. The FBI was there. They asked questions, and I answered them. In the end, they helped me get here, like witness protection.”
I blinked furiously.“Did you ever figure out who protected you? Who jumped in front of the bullet and died in your place?”
He shook his head.“No. But I’ll always wonder.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, nodding slowly.“Me too.”
Our eyes locked as we sat knee to knee. He reached out, gently brushing my long, messy bangs back behind my ear.“So, you can see why I might be a little cautious,” he stated, a mirthless laugh escaping to lighten the otherwise dark mood.
I let out a half-hearted snort and wiped at my eyes, stopping a tear before it could fall.“I suppose I can understand your brooding, beastly behavior.”
He wrapped his long, rough fingers around my hand.“I only want to keep you safe. Matteo is not a man one can reason with.”
I squeezed.“Then why in the world did you let me steal that painting from him?” I asked, giving him a gentle shove on the shoulder, making sure it was the one opposite his scar.
“As if there were any way to stop you,” he teased back.
I pouted my lower lip into a frown and sniffled.
“I figured if I didn’t help you with that job, someone else would, and they’d fail,” he said.“I couldn’t stand by and let anyone, man or woman, walk into that lion’s den unprepared. It would have been a slaughter. It had to be me.”
I chuckled.“So, even if I were some ugly troll, you still would have helped me?”
He nodded emphatically.“Absolutely, but I’m also glad you weren’t some ugly troll. Things got a lot more interesting when I saw you on those cameras. God, I can’t tell you how long I wondered what you looked like in person after all those nights spent messaging online. I even used to daydream about what you’d sound like. I imagined so many things, but never someone like you. You far surpassed any daydream I could manage.”
I felt a blush creep up my neck at the admission, dropping his hand and picking at my eggs with the tines of my fork, feeling exposed.“I’m sure you’ve encountered plenty of pretty girls.”
He picked up his plate and managed a bite of toast.“Well, if you count Tallulah, then sure. But other than that, no.”
I let out a laugh.
“She’s my ride or die,” he added.“If you can have Larry, then I can have Tallulah.”
I rolled back with a laugh. Surely I couldn’t have been the first girl he’d been with, though, right? I mean, he knew what he was doing around a female body.
Gray observed my laughter, a piece of toast clutched in his teeth, obscuring his smile.“You’re the only girl I’ve been with, Buttercup.”
My laugh faltered, my eyes widening.“Oh, shit, you were serious.” I sat up straight, my mouth falling open.“No way! No… How?”
His brow furrowed.“How? Look around. It’s not like I can pop into the local bar and pick up a date, or scroll through dating apps for a one-night stand. We’re over an hour from the nearest town, and I can almost guarantee that person won’t be someone I’d want to date. Not out here surrounded by Canadian hicks and busted-up hockey players.”
I burst out laughing again.“But you have two of everything: two chairs, two stools. Surely you’ve had someone out here?” I gestured around.
“Yeah, I have two of everything to make myself feel better, so it’s not so depressing,” he said dryly.
“Then how did you learn…” I raised one brow, my eyes dropping to the‘manly toolbox’in his lap.
He hummed.“Books,” he said, low and gravelly.
I smacked his arm again. Jesus. I’d never heard a single word sound so luxurious.Books,I thought.“Well shit. You did your homework.”
He looked both proud and relieved.
“So, you didn’t even have a girlfriend in high school? A kissing friend?” I asked, still astonished.
