did he?”
“He did, but his camera got damaged before he left,” Nate said. “Big shame.”
“Really? His camera?”
“Yeah. Funny thing, but somehow, the broken pieces of the camera ended up in a bucket of bleach water. Big mess. Gomez is mopping it up now.”
“Oh,” she murmured. “He must have been pissed.”
“He certainly was.” Nate came down the steps “But in the end, he took my words to heart. Very smart decision on his part. I don’t think he’ll be back.”
Her lungs filled with air, and her vision slowly cleared. “So, ah…they didn’t shoot any video inside the restaurant today, then,” she said cautiously.
“They did not.” Nate sank down to sit on the steps beside her.
He took up all the available space. His hips were lean, but muscular. His thighs strong and steely. The big leather coat made him look even bigger. She looked down and saw the black stitching on the sleeve again, then looked away swiftly.
The alley was a mini-wind tunnel, ruffling his shaggy dark hair, and hers.
Nate reached out and delicately brushed aside a lock of hair that had blown across her face. “Your hair’s down. I’ve never seen it that way. It’s so long.”
“Yeah, well.” Her face heated up. “I wasn’t serving customers. Or cooking.”
“Of course,” he said gently. “Try to relax.”
“I’m perfectly relaxed,” she said. “I just didn’t want to be filmed. Thanks for getting rid of them.”
“You’re publicity shy. I’ve noticed it ever since that day in the hospital. You ran away from those FBI agents who came to talk to Fiona. And you’ve been essentially hiding out in the restaurant kitchen ever since then. You won’t even wait tables or seat people anymore.”
Her tension started to build. “I prefer to do food prep in the back right now.”
Nate waited for more. “Come on, Elisa,” he prompted, when she didn’t elaborate. “I drowned that asshole’s camera in bleach for you. Tell me what gives.”
“I appreciate the gesture,” she said. “And I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but I don’t owe you a damn thing.”
Nate let out a sigh of resignation. “Right. Will you at least come back inside the restaurant now that they’re gone? The last time a woman I was protecting came out into this alley she got abducted by a mass murderer.”
Undeniably true, but Elisa cringed inwardly at thought of confronting Fi or any of the restaurant staff in her raw emotional state. “I’m not coming in quite yet.”
“Please.” There was steel in Nate’s voice. “It’s not safe. Indulge me.”
“Actually, I’m not going back in at all.” She rose to her feet. “I’m going up to my apartment. I’ll see you later. Don’t worry about me, the door’s right around the corner. Nobody’s going to abduct me between here and there.”
“I’ll walk you.” He stood up, towering over her.
In her rattled state, Elisa could think of no way to dissuade him, so they walked in silence down the narrow alley and around the corner. Down the breezeway between the buildings.
They stopped by her entryway and Elisa inserted her key. Nate put his hand gently on top of hers, and she suddenly stopped breathing.
“Elisa,” he said softly. “Tell me something.”
“If I can,” she hedged.
“Are you uptight with me because of what happened with the box-cutter?”
She flinched at the memory. “I could have killed you.”
“But you didn’t,” he said. “It’s not your fault. We startled you. I’m a combat veteran, and so are Eric and Mace. We’ve all had issues with combat stress. Nobody’s judging you.” He paused. “At least, not about the combat stress part of it. You won’t tell me what’s bothering you. I do judge you for that.”
“Oh, please.” She put on a light tone. “There’s plenty of drama around here. You guys don’t need mine. Trust me on this.”
“That’s exactly what I want,” Nate said. “For you to trust me.”
Elisa’s reply evaporated as she was pulled into the hypnotic depths of his dark eyes. Tendrils of warmth slowly stole around her like an invisible embrace. Subtle and seductive. She ached to give him what he asked for. To just tell him her troubles.
Then she saw Willis in her mind’s eye. The awful memory of what happened to the last person she’d asked for help. The image stung like a whiplash.
Willis’s death would be on her conscience to the end of her days.
She looked down at Nate’s big hand resting on hers, imagining how this would go if things were the way she wanted. How she’d turn her fingers around and grab his