Rogue Devil (The Rourkes #11) - Kylie Gilmore Page 0,50
an American flag like a cape later,” he says as we head downstairs. “Like Super American Man.”
“You mean Captain America.”
“General America. I like to think of myself more like a general.”
“Of course you do.”
He pushes the heavy front door open, holding it for me. I duck under his arm into the bright sunshine of a perfect summer day shimmering with promise.
“Chloe,” a deep voice calls.
I turn and freeze, my stomach dropping. “Michael,” I whisper.
He crosses to us and glares at Brendan before turning back to me. “I saw you with him in Villroy. Are you a couple now?”
My head spins. I can’t believe he’s here, all the way from Villroy. How did he find me? Then I remember I gave him my address to mail back my stuff. “Michael, I had no idea you planned to visit.”
He crosses his burly arms over his chest. “Obviously.”
Brendan offers his hand to shake. “We haven’t officially met. Brendan Rourke.”
Michael ignores him.
I turn to Michael. “Brendan’s my neighbor and friend. We were just on our way out to a barbecue.”
“Chloe, can I talk to you alone?” Michael asks.
A horrifying thought occurs. “Wait, did something happen with Sara?”
“No, she’s fine,” he says. “This is just between you and me.”
I relax a little and glance at Brendan. His jaw is tight, his entire body tense. “I’ll just be a minute, okay?”
I gesture Michael farther away down the sidewalk. I don’t want to invite him up to my place. I want to keep this public because I have a feeling this is going to go very, very badly. For him to travel so far just to see me, especially when I’ll be visiting Villroy soon, well, it’s not something a casual friend does.
“What is it, Michael? Why did you come here? I told you I’d be visiting Sara in a few weeks.”
“I knew you’d be off work today, and I couldn’t wait any longer to see you.”
I worry my lower lip. “You didn’t need to come all this way.”
He puts a hand on my arm. “I love you. I’m never going to stop loving you, and this time apart has been so…” His voice catches. “So very hard. I realized my mistake. I wasn’t giving your job the consideration it deserves, that you deserve. I shouldn’t have asked you to do your medical training in France. I decided I’ll move to the US to be with you.”
I gasp. “No, Michael, don’t do that. You have a great job in Villroy with free housing and everything. There’s nothing like that for you here.”
His voice is gruff with emotion. “My job means nothing compared to you.”
My heart sinks because I just don’t feel what he feels. I glance over my shoulder at Brendan, a surge of affection rushing through me just at the sight of him. That’s when it hits me—Brendan’s in my heart already, even though I thought I’d kept it firmly closed. He must be the right person for me.
Brendan takes a step forward, and I shake my head. I don’t want him to come over here. I swallow hard and turn back to Michael. “I’m sorry. I just don’t feel the same way. I think you should go.”
He glares over my shoulder. “Because of him?”
“This has nothing to do with him. It’s me.”
But he doesn’t seem to hear me. He strides over to Brendan and gets in his face. Shit! The two of them square off.
I rush over. “Back away. Brendan is a friend, Michael.”
He doesn’t take his eyes off Brendan, glaring at him, nearly nose to nose.
I appeal to Brendan instead. “Please, Bren, let’s just go.”
Brendan’s eyes narrow, his voice a fierce growl. “You lay a hand on me, a Rourke, and your job is over. I’ll have you banished from Villroy forever. Your duty is to protect the Rourke family no matter what.”
“Don’t tell me my duty,” Michael snaps. But he backs up a step.
“Glad we understand each other,” Brendan says.
Michael glares at him before pointing at me. “Here’s something you should understand about Chloe. She’s heartless. An empty shell of a person. Did she tell you she never cries? Not even when her parents died.”
“Michael!” I shared that in confidence.
He goes on. “She went mute, shutting out the world.” He shakes a finger at Brendan. “She’ll shut you out too. That’s what she does.”
“You should leave,” Brendan says to him quietly.
Michael takes a step toward me. “Chloe—”
Brendan grabs his arm, pulling him away from me. Michael whirls and tosses Brendan to the sidewalk