“To thank you.” She held his gaze, praying for the words to make him see. “Christian told me you threw yourself on top of me after I was hit. You put yourself directly into harm’s way for me.”
“That’s my job.”
“Actually, it isn’t,” Ro adamantly denied his claim. Standing so close she could feel his warm breaths on her face, she told him under no uncertain terms, “I’m not a Delta Team client, nor am I your sister.”
“No.’ He practically growled. “You’re sure as hell not.”
It was the hardest she’d ever had to work to school an expression. “Right.” A flash of a smile so he wouldn’t see just how deeply his words had cut. “Exactly. So there really isn’t any reason for you to—”
“I keep seeing you fall.” The interruption was quiet, almost as if he were talking to himself more than her. “In my head, I keep hearing the whiz of that bullet, and I knew. There was no way I could get to you in time.”
Oh, Brody.
“But youdidget to me.”
“Not fast enough.” His haunted gaze fell onto the fresh bandage secured around her upper arm.
“Brody—”
“You went down, and you weren’t moving. There was so much blood, and I thought…” His Adam’s apple bobbed with an audible swallow. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“You didn’t lose me, Brody. I’m right here.” Ro lifted a hand and placed it on his chest. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. Not unless…”
His gaze seemed to sharpen then as it locked up tight with hers. “Unless?”
Ro’s heart raced with the force of a hundred thoroughbreds, and her nerves were about as shot as they could get. Her timing was crap, and she was probably making the biggest mistake of her life, but she’d almost died tonight, damn it.
It was like Brody said. If that man hadn’t bumped into her when he did, she’d be dead.Dead.As in never coming back. And what would she have to show for it?
Two dead parents, a mortgage she still wasn’t convinced was a good investment, a love of coffee, and a blossoming career that was just starting to gain traction.
Bet no one would have to stay up all night to writethateulogy.
So yeah, she was shooting her shot. If she missed, so be it. At least she won’t die never knowing.
Inching closer, Ro carefully lifted her other hand. With both palms resting against his warm, sculpted chest, she drew in a steely breath. Dropping her carefully crafted walls just enough, she finally allowed him to see the desire she’d felt all this time.
Desire she felt only for him.
“I’m not under the influence of anything stronger than aspirin right now.” She continued staring up at him. “I say this, because I need you to know I’m fully aware and in control of my faculties. That’s important for you to know.”
“Because?”
“Because I have something I need to tell you, and I really need you to understand it has nothing to do with what happened tonight.”
“Okay…”
“I mean, it does, I guess. But only because tonight made me realize how much I could’ve missed out on had that bullet done its job.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched, and she could tell by the look on his face he was reliving that moment in his head.
“You said it yourself; I could’ve died tonight.” Ro’s throat became thick with emotion and nerves. “God, I could’ve died tonight without having ever known…”
“Known what?” Brody’s encouraging whisper seemed to fill the air around them.
This was it. If there was ever a time to risk it all,thiswas it. Worst case, she could use the excuse of a head injury or the shock of having been shot to explain her craziness away. Or, if she got really desperate, Ro figured she could always cry amnesia again.
Only this time would be so different because Ro knew…