He never had any intention of giving me forty-eight hours. He lied to me the entire time.
Chapter Ten
He had an emergency situation on his hands. As soon as they stepped into Rose’s condo—and she immediately turned for the bedroom—War knew she was trying to shut him out. “I want to explain.”
She took two steps forward. Stopped. With her back to him, she said, “I think I can sum up. You lied to me. You said you were going to give me forty-eight hours, but, instead, you were working with the cops all along. Talking on the phone to Lynn right in front of my face because I am such a trusting idiot where you are concerned.”
“You are not an idiot.”
Her shoulders squared. “You’re right. I’m not an idiot. You’re just an asshole.” She strode for her room.
He surged toward her. He didn’t spare a glance for their surroundings. He’d been in her home plenty of times before. Rose always had things perfectly in place. The condo was top of the line with an incredible panoramic view of the gulf. But he couldn’t look anywhere but at her. His hand closed around her shoulder. “I didn’t have a choice!”
“Sure, you did. You could have told me the truth at any point. Instead, you let me believe you had my back. You let me believe I could count on you.” She huffed out a breath. “Would you stop touching me? I don’t want you touching me right now.”
All he wanted to do was touch her. Pull her into his arms. Make this shit right. But he instantly let her go. “Please, look at me.”
She didn’t.
“When you’re really pissed with someone, you don’t make eye contact.” He’d noticed that about her. “It’s like you can’t stand to look at the person.”
“You are not wrong.”
His jaw locked. “I want you to look at me.”
“I want to go to bed. Guess which one of us is about to get her wish?” Rose took four angry steps toward her bedroom door. Her hand pushed against the wood—
“Before I found you at Finch’s, I had already contacted Lynn. Or rather, she had contacted me.” He spoke quickly because he had to get this explanation out. He didn’t want Rose mad at him. And he hated the pain he’d glimpsed in her eyes. “I’ve worked with her on a few other cases. She knows I can get the job done.”
“How wonderful for her.”
“I knew you weren’t involved in the murders. You’re not a killer.”
“So…what?” Her hand still pressed to the door. “You took the case for shits and giggles? Because you just loved the idea of giving your ex a hard time as you shoved her at the cops?”
“I’m not going to pretend the initial image of you being at the police station didn’t appeal to me.” Because I’m an asshole. “I was mad. Hurt. But…shit changed fast. With you, it always does.” His voice roughened. “Guess you never realized just how easily you wrap me around your little finger.”
A bitter laugh slipped from her. “I don’t think so.”
“I do. I know so. When we were in that motel room, I knew right then that my plans were changing. That was why I walked out to my car and left you inside. I was trying to clear my head, but I was already a goner. You wanted my help? I was gonna give it to you. Then when I went back inside and saw that bastard attacking you…” A sight that would haunt him forever. “Nothing was going to stop me from protecting you.”
Her head turned slightly in his direction, but she still wasn’t looking at him. “How come you didn’t come clean right then and there?”
“You didn’t want to work with the cops. You still don’t. I was afraid if I told you everything, you’d run.” He swallowed. “Tell me I’m not wrong.”
“You’re not wrong.”
War blinked.
“Doesn’t mean I like it. In fact, I hate being lied to. I hate even more that I just fell for you so easily again that I let you do that to me and I—”
He lunged for her. Spun her around. “What did you say?” She didn’t want to be touched. Shit. His hands fell once more.
Her gaze was on his throat. She wasn’t meeting his gaze. Not even lifting her stare to his face.
“Rose. Look at me.”
“You hurt me.”
Her low voice was breaking his heart.
“I thought we were moving forward. That we could trust each other the way we hadn’t done before, but you were lying to me every moment.” She shook her head. “How is it so easy for you to lie?”
It hadn’t been easy. Nothing about this damn case had been easy. Being so close to her, when he wanted her more than anything else in the world? Torture. “Please. Look at me.”
Her long lashes slowly lifted.
“I am sorry.” He could see pain in her eyes, and he hated it. “I didn’t want you running, and I had to keep the cops involved because if I didn’t, Lynn threatened to take you into custody.” The same way she’d threatened earlier. “Keeping you safe is my number one priority. Hurting you wasn’t part of my plan. It was never part of it.”
“You didn’t give me forty-eight hours. You said you would, but you didn’t.” Her lower lip trembled. “I thought we were a team.”
“We are. I will keep working with you. We are going to stop him.” There were tears gleaming in her eyes, and they made him want to promise her anything—everything—if he could just get those tears to vanish. “I will not let Dylan hurt you. I would kill anyone who threatened you.”
“Don’t say things like that.”
Right. He was supposed to keep the darker part of himself separate from her. He’d done that before. Tried to push down who he really was because he’d wanted her so badly. In the end, he’d still lost her because others had known his weakness. “I’m a primitive kind of guy, Rose. A bastard. An asshole. I’m jealous and possessive—especially where you are concerned. When I got that pic of you and Dylan, it took all of my self-control not to immediately kick his ass.” A long exhale. “And now, knowing that he might be behind all of this…knowing that he might try to hurt you…” She needed to understand this. “If he comes at you, I will stop him. No one hurts you on my watch. No one.”
“But you hurt me, War.”
“God, baby…” Pain and guilt knifed through him. “I am so sorry.” Hurting you isn’t what I want. What I want…it is you. He wanted her back in his life. In his bed. He wanted her to look at him and smile. He didn’t want to have her gaze cut away because she couldn’t stand to see him. And when she did peer at him, War didn’t want to find tears in her eyes. “I hate it when you cry.”
“I’m not crying.”
“No, of course not.” He saw a tear leak down her cheek. “What can I do? How can I fix this?”
She took a step back. “Maybe we weren’t meant to be fixed.”
Bullshit. They were worth fighting for. She was. “I don’t have other secrets. I’m not keeping anything else from you. You can ask me anything—from here on out—and I will tell you exactly what you want to know.”