It also told him that she’d gotten the gun for a legitimate reason.
He kept saying her name, calmly, slowly, until she returned to herself. He saw a flash of something—embarrassment?—in her eyes before she finally put down the gun and set it aside.
At his request for whiskey, she frowned, but she allowed him to come inside without further comment. Callie growled low in her throat; Seth gave the dog a wide berth. He knew what German shepherds could do when protecting their masters. There was a reason the military used them so often.
“I just have rosé,” Rose said, a slight smile plying her lips finally.
“Appropriate. I’ll take it.”
“Really? Huh.” She poured him a glass of the pink stuff in a plastic cup before pouring some for herself. “I like a guy secure enough in his masculinity to drink pink wine.”
“Booze is booze. Staring down a gun tends to make a guy not so picky.”
They drank in silence. Callie eventually went to lie on her bed, eyeing them both with canine alertness. Rose, however, wouldn’t look at him. He’d expected an apology, or at least an explanation.
At her continued silence, he was torn between amusement and exasperation.
“You want to tell me what that was all about?” he finally asked. He leaned against the kitchen counter.
She sipped her wine. “Nope.”
“Too bad. You don’t get to almost shoot me and not explain.”
“I thought you were someone else. That’s all.”
“I figured that, except that clearly this ‘someone else’ is a threat to you. You don’t exactly level a gun at your mailman delivering you a package.”
“Mailmen don’t deliver at ten o’clock at night.”
No wonder Heath looked so worried about her. This girl… He caught her gaze, and inwardly he dared her to break eye contact.
She didn’t look away this time.
“You know, when I was fighting in Afghanistan, I had a fellow soldier almost shoot me. He’d been having nightmares, and when I tried to wake him up, he somehow had a gun that he pointed right at my temple.” He tapped said temple. “Luckily, my friend Max talked the guy down. It was a close call, though. He was sent back to base in Germany to get a mental evaluation.”
Rose pursed her lips. “Are you saying I need a mental evaluation?”
“No, I’m saying that it takes a great deal of fear to make a person do what you just did. And to be so afraid that you can’t recognize who’s really standing in front of you.” He saw her shudder, and he marveled again at her aplomb. Most women would be sobbing at this point, wouldn’t they?
“So, you have two choices here: you can tell me what’s going on, or I’ll stay here until you tell me what’s going on.”
She snorted. “Sounds like I have one choice only.”
“Exactly. And I have all night.”
“Look, Seth,” she said with a bone-deep sigh, “I’m sorry about this. I never would’ve hurt you. I just got freaked out, that’s all. It won’t happen again.”
“That’s nice, but not the answer I’m looking for.”
At that, she curled her lip in annoyance. “It’s none of your business.”
“Spoiler alert, the moment you pointed your gun at my heart, it became my business.” And in a quieter voice, he added, “Does this have anything to do with your brother?”
She froze. Her eyes widened, and her breath caught. Yet she didn’t crumple at his feet. Her hand trembling, she brushed strands of hair from her forehead that had fallen from her loose braid.
“How did you—?” She smiled bitterly. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. It isn’t about him, not directly. All I can say is that I have an ex-boyfriend who won’t leave me alone. That’s all.”
Seth looked at her incredulously. “‘That’s all’? You’re scared enough to buy and learn how to use a gun because you have an ex who won’t leave you alone?” Anger began to lace his voice, but when Rose stepped back from him, he forced himself to stay calm. “How long has this been going on? Did he follow you from wherever you moved from?”
“Yes, kind of. It’s been going on and off for a few years now.”
“Define a few years for me.”
She bit her lip, which made his body heat. He stifled a groan. Not the time to get turned on, Thornton.
“Look, this is my problem, not yours. Thank you for wanting to help, but really, I’m fine. It’s fine.”
Seth wanted to shake her, or tell her she didn’t have a choice and she was going to tell him exactly what was going on. But he had a feeling that Rose kept things close to the chest, and considering he’d been accused of doing the same, he couldn’t fault her for it. And really, what did she know about him? Very little. He was a neighbor who had helped her move, who had helped her against a guy trying to accost her—
“Wait, was your ex the one trying to mess with you last month?” He frowned. “That tiny asshole?”
That made her laugh in surprise. “Rich? God, no. No, he’s one of Johnny’s guys.” After saying her ex’s name aloud, though, she shut her mouth, clearly having said too much.
“So Johnny is stalking you and, I’m assuming, threatening you.” The anger returned, and he imagined all kinds of scenarios where he took out this Johnny on his own. Made Johnny beg for forgiveness before beating the shit out of him. Made sure that that look of fear in Rose’s eyes never returned.
He stepped closer to Rose, and he heard her quiet inhale. “If you think I’m going to let you deal with this on your own—no matter how good you are with a gun—you’re mistaken.”
Her eyes widened. “Why? Why does it matter to you? You don’t know me.”
“Maybe I want to get to know you better.” He hadn’t planned on saying that, but it was true. He wanted to get to know her. He wanted her with a desire that almost sent him to his knees.
She was beautiful, but it wasn’t just that. She had spirit, and she refused to back down. Even if it frustrated him, it also intrigued him.
And as if he’d let a woman deal with a shitty, violent ex on her own.
He saw her swallow, her throat working. She started to tremble, and when he wanted to touch her, she stepped away. She played with her braid in obvious agitation.
When she refused to say anything else, he said, “I’ll go to the police, if you won’t. My brother is a cop, you know.”
He almost laughed at her expression, considering she looked more outraged at that statement than anything else that had been said prior.
“You wouldn’t. No, you can’t. It would only make things worse.” She steeled herself. “It would hurt not just me, but Heath. I can’t tell you why—it’s his story to tell. But believe me, involving the police won’t help.”
“Then I guess I have no choice: I’ll protect you myself.”
It had been a strange evening, to say the least. First, Johnny; second, Seth. Pointing a gun at Seth. Seth seemingly unfazed by the whole thing. Here he stood, in her kitchen, acting like he was talking about some mundane topic. Did nothing upset the man?