Allegiance - Chiah Wilder Page 0,44

around, her chin raised in the air, glaring at him in defiance.

He took a step back and put his hands up. “Whoa. I’m not trying to give you a hard time or anything. I was hangin’ with my bros and saw you, and just came over to say hey.”

Lena sniffled and wiped her nose, then folded her arms under her chest as she stared up at him. “Sorry. I’m in a shit mood. I came out here for a little peace and quiet. It’s been a crazy week so far.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

The question surprised the hell out of him, and he thought he must’ve lost his fucking mind. He couldn’t remember when he’d given a shit about a woman unless someone was hurting her, insulting her, or she was riding his dick. After his divorce, those had become the three terms of interaction. And at the moment, he was crossing that line while he watched Lena’s face crumple a little around the edges. There was obviously something wrong, that was clear as hell, and it killed him to see her upset.

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine. Just tired, I guess.”

Grunting, he shoved his hands in his pockets. “I can tell something’s bothering you.”

She took a seat down in the sand, wrapping her arms around her legs and hugging her knees to her chest. Lena kept staring out at the ocean, and he kept staring at her, unable to rip his attention away from her sad expression. When she looked up at him through her lashes, his damn heart fell to his feet, and he almost couldn’t breathe. She’s so damn gorgeous. He couldn’t leave her like this, alone.

“Fine. If you won’t talk, we’ll sit. I’ve got nothin’ to do.”

Tank eased his ass onto the sand next to her, making sure there was plenty of room between them. Wanting to give her time, he looked up at the stars, knowing that eventually, she would come around. If she didn’t want to talk at all, well, at least she knew he was there.

Fuck, the last time he’d been this consumed by a woman’s feelings was when he was married. After that clusterfuck, he’d sworn not to get invested again. Too many women out there played mind games and loved taking men for a long ride off a short pier. His ex-wife had made it damn clear that he was nothing but a walking wallet with arms, and she had screwed with his head in the process. Yeah, Trish had been a neurotic piece of work, with all the major hallmarks of a true fucking crazy, jealous, lying cheat.

“Fuckin’ bitch,” Tank muttered under his breath, rubbing a hand down the back of his neck as a shudder ripped down his spine at the mere thought of her and that time in his life.

Lena looked over at him. “What?”

“Nothing.” Ducking his head, he looked at the silver moonlight shimmering on the water.

“You really don’t have to be here. I’m fine.” Her voice was strangled with emotion.

“I know.”

After what seemed like an hour, he heard her shift. From the corner of his eye, he saw her scoot closer, the low sound of sand scraping against her shorts melting into the humid air. He remained still and quiet, worried he would spook her.

“I guess…” Her words trailed off, but he didn’t pressure to her to continue.

They remained still, and he breathed in deep, wondering how long they were going to sit there while she worked through whatever was going on in her head.

“I miss my parents. I’m having a hard time with it, and I thought getting out of my condo might do me some good.”

The words were barely out before she started crying. Burying her head into her knees, her soft sobs racked through her shoulders, shuddering down into her bare feet burrowed into the sand.

Tank slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Shit. It’s okay, darlin’.” When she didn’t jerk away from him, he pulled her into his chest. Lena’s arms immediately went around him, and he kissed her cheek while rubbing her back. “It sucks. I know it must fuckin’ hurt like hell. Get it all out.”

As she cried, he kept murmuring comforting words to her as she wrung out her emotions on his shoulder. Her small fingers dug into his arm and shoulder, and he held her tightly while watching the waves crest and then roll before crashing onto the sand.

After a long while, she stopped shuddering against him. Her