kill her. She’d know there had been four men at the marketplace, but had convinced herself that it had been only one guy trying to kill her with a multiple pronged approach.
“You have a bounty on your head that’s impressive. At least, that’s what my sources are telling me.”
She slumped back into her chair, unsure what to do now. It was one thing when one guy was trying to get to her. But now there was a competition to kill her among professional hit men? Where could she possibly be safe from that kind of fire power?
“When were you going to tell me?” He sat down in her extra chair and watched her, noting that her face was pale and her eyes becoming frantic.
She bit her lip, trying hard not to cry. “Probably never.”
He stared at her hard. “You were just going to leave me?”
Dana didn’t like the expression on his face. It was hard. And dangerously blank. “Yes,” she admitted, unwilling to lie to him now that he knew the danger he was in. She couldn’t complicate the issue by half truths or outright lies any longer.
“And you weren’t going to trust me with this kind of information? You weren’t going to ask me for help?”
She shook her head.
He tried to remain calm in the face of her distrust but it was difficult. The woman he loved, the one who drove him crazy with her opinions that were so opposite his own but that he wanted in his life for the rest of his days was trying to run away from him and wouldn’t even ask him for help. “Why not?”
Dana looked away, unable to watch the anger and hurt on his face. She wanted so much to admit what was in her heart, but she was terrified of what he might say, what is reaction to her feelings for him might be. There was a long silence while she formed her answer. “Because these men are dangerous and I….didn’t want you to get hurt,” she finally said, hoping the words didn’t reveal too much.
Unfortunately, the idea of Hassan getting hit by a bullet meant for her was just too much to bear. She turned back to him and shook her head. “Just let me leave here. I….”
He interrupted her strangled words, finishing her sentence for her. “You don’t want me to get hurt.”
“Yes,” she said, fighting back the tears that formed in her eyes at the idea of anything happening to him.
“And you would become very upset if anything were to happen to me?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Yes.”
“Because you love me.”
Her eyes flashed up to his and she cringed, the tears streaming down her face. He knew. She could tell by the expression on his face that he knew the truth. There was no point in denying it any longer, so she nodded slowly.
“And you were going to leave here to take the hit men out of my range.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He contemplated what she had said and wondered how he could get through that stubborn brain of hers. She was so beautiful, both inside and out and she matched his passion like no other woman. She was the only person who wasn’t afraid of him either. Her frankness and openness were refreshing and sexy as hell. And she was planning to leave him. Because she loved him.
“You can’t leave me,” he said softly, but with a finality that made the tears flow more quickly. “If you leave, I’ll find you.”
“You can’t.”
“I will.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you too.”
The simple words were spoken so plainly, she wasn’t sure if she had heard them correctly. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
She shook her head. “No. I think I heard you say that you love me.”
He didn’t wait any longer. He stood up and moved around her desk, pulling her out of her chair and into his arms. “Damn you woman! I love you and you’re making me a mad man by telling me that you’re going to leave me and put yourself in danger just to keep me from being in danger. I won’t allow it!” With that, he kissed her so thoroughly, she wasn’t able to respond for several minutes.
When he finally lifted his head and looked down at her, he was satisfied with the dazed look in her eyes. “So now that we have that out of the way, why don’t you tell me the whole story and I can fix this issue for you.”
He didn’t release