That was because there was no way he was going to let her pay him. His protection was free for Rose. He would do anything for her. Always.
“And you were supposed to help me catch the killer. That was the whole point of our partnership!”
War nodded and angled his head to the right. “Exactly.”
Horror flashed on her face. “Oh, no!”
Oh, no…what?
“You’re doing your game-on thing. Like you’ve already reached a conclusion.”
Odin cleared his throat. “Gary is gone. Might want to speed this scene along.”
“I have reached a conclusion. I’m going to keep up my side of the partnership. I’m checking out Gary’s so-called evidence. I’m also keeping you safe. Odin will make sure that nothing happens to you.”
Her hands curled around War’s shoulders. “This plan sucks.”
His head lowered so that his forehead could press to hers. “I need you safe.”
“I need you the same way! Look, why not at least take Odin with you? That way, you have him watching your back—”
“I have Odin watching what matters most.” He needed to go. “Don’t worry. I can handle Gary—and anything he throws at me.”
“Such confidence.” Her hands tightened on him. “You’d better not be wrong,” she muttered. “You come back to me with so much as a scratch, and I will be exceedingly pissed off.”
He eased back from her. “I’ll be back before you can even miss me.” War headed for the door.
“Well, that’s a bunch of bullshit.” Her disgruntled voice followed him. “I’ve been missing you for weeks.”
His shoulders stiffened. “It’s like I’ve been living with a hole where my heart was.”
“War?”
He glanced back. “You won’t have to miss me. I’m coming back. An hour, two tops. I’ve got this.” Then he left because he needed to keep her safe. And if she kept looking at him with those big, gorgeous eyes…
No. His willpower would not falter. Odin would keep watch over her. War would deal with the PI. And if it turned out that Billy had been keeping secrets…
Then maybe they’d be solving this case, and Rose could get her full life back again—and a killer would be off the streets.
***
“Well, that sucked.” Rose glared at the closed door. It’s like I’ve been living with a hole where my heart was.
“His intentions are good.”
The waves pounded against the shore. “His intentions are shit.” She took a step forward.
Odin blocked her path. “Hello, again.”
“Don’t be cute.”
His smile stretched a little more.
“Aren’t you worried about him? We don’t know what War is facing.”
“He’s facing a squirrelly PI that War could handle in his sleep. He has this. But if he thinks that you could be in danger, the man’s focus will be off. We don’t want that.”
Oh. Someone was being chatty. And making a point. She knew that War could easily handle Gary, it was just that— “He cut me out of my investigation.”
“That’s not what’s making you so upset.”
“Now you’re analyzing me?”
“You know War will bring you anything he finds.”
Yes, fine, she did know that. Still—
“You don’t want him hurt. You want to protect him. Even though he’s trained to fight and defend himself in dozens of ways, you still have this urge to protect him.” He sounded a little…surprised. “It’s sweet.”
“Sweet,” she gritted in disgust. “There is not enough cookie dough ice cream in the world for me to deal with you, but I am still going to see what I can find.” With that, Rose whirled on her heel and stalked for the kitchen.
“Ah…what are you doing?” He trailed behind her.
“Stopping myself from chasing after War.” Because she did know that he could handle this, it was just—
I want to be at his side. I do want to look out for him, and I don’t care how much training he has. She did worry, dammit. But she also got—intellectually—that he had this scene. He could take care of things. And, yes, sure, on the off chance that it was some kind of setup…
Her staying put was a sound choice. She didn’t like that choice, but she was dealing with it in her way. Rose yanked open the freezer. Her breath expelled in a relieved rush when she saw that he still had her favorite ice cream flavor waiting inside. She grabbed the container.
“Um, Rose—”
She put the ice cream on the counter and grabbed for the utensil drawer. “It’s called stress eating. I do it. Don’t be judgy. It’s also called…I haven’t eaten all day and I need something so I don’t get shaky and crazy and—” She’d opened the drawer. Shoved her hand inside to snag a spoon.
Except she wasn’t staring down at a spoon. Spoons were there. Knives. Forks. Plus, something else. Something awfully shiny. “What is that?”
Odin’s big hand flew into the drawer. He pulled out two spoons. “One for you. One for me.” He shoved the drawer shut.
Too late.
She ignored the offered spoons and hauled the drawer right back open again. The glinting diamond ring was still there, nestled in the empty spot next to the spoons. “Why is there a ring in War’s utensil drawer?”
Odin cleared his throat. “You should ask War about that. Have a spoon.” He dangled it before her and used his hip to shut the drawer.
She swatted the spoon out of the way. “War’s not here. He left so I can’t exactly ask him why a diamond ring is shining in his drawer. But I am asking you. Seeing as how you are his BFF and all, I thought you’d know.”
He shrugged.
“Odin. You know.”
He reached for the ice cream container. Dipped his spoon inside. “I know…that you should talk to him.”
She yanked open the drawer again. “Is there someone else?” she asked, voice cracking.
“What? Hell, no. He can’t even see anyone but you.”
Her hand pressed to her chest. She couldn’t look away from the ring.
“Ice cream is melting over here. Waste of some good cookie dough.”
Slowly, she shut the drawer. “Who hides a ring like that in a drawer?”
“Same damn question I had. Drip. Drip. Drip. Still melting.”
Rose glanced over at him.
His words had been light, but when she met his gaze, she saw that his bright stare was flat. Hard.
“War has been abandoned by a lot of people in his life,” Odin said.
She took one of the spoons. Didn’t dip it into the ice cream.
“Trusting isn’t easy for him. In fact, trust is pretty much the hardest thing in the world for him. When people let you down over and over again, you start to expect the worst. He screwed up with you. He knew it as soon as you walked out of the door, but he thought you’d moved on. And, deep down, I think War believes that since so many people have left—his parents, all the fucking relatives who wouldn’t take in an innocent kid, friends in battle who sold out his team—”