Intercepted Risk (Aegis Group Task Force #5) - Sidney Bristol Page 0,84

hand. “I’m over it. I thought about it, and I realize it does us no good to start infighting, you know? Like, that could be a plan or whatever. Make us all paranoid or something.”

“You think?”

She nodded.

Logan rubbed a hand over his face. “This is above my pay grade, if I’m being honest. We were hired to be the grunts. Muscle. Do only the things outside the scope of what the Task Force was able to do.”

“Do you regret it? Working with Zora, I mean?”

“No,” he replied quickly, shaking his head. “Not one bit. That was always one thing my parents tried to instill in me. Don’t regret things. Regret weighs you down. Take the chance when and where you can, never regret.”

Kelsey’s smile widened. “Your parents sound like really cool people.”

“I’m biased, but I think they’re pretty neat.”

“They’re still together, right?”

“Yup.”

Kelsey drew a circle on his hand with her thumb. “That’s nice.”

Was now the time to ask?

He’d found himself drifting throughout the day, thinking of Kelsey and what she’d said about being jealous of his connection to his family and his heritage. It got him thinking. “Hey, I was wondering, what ever happened to your sisters? The ones your dad had? They’re what? Fifteen now?”

She glanced up at him. “Oh, no. They were eleven and nine when he died. Shit, they’re nineteen and seventeen now.”

Logan’s brain skipped and replayed those words. “How...?”

She snorted. “Um, well, you see, my dad apparently really liked the ladies. I found out after they split he’d never been faithful. Mom didn’t come out and say it, but I got the feeling he married her because he got her knocked up. And she, in turn, convinced him to move, thinking that might change him.”

“Fuck,” he muttered. He didn’t want to think ill of the dead, but that was a fucked up thing to do.

“My sisters are nice. We don’t really know each other, if I’m being honest. They were just young when it happened, and I guess... I guess I resented them. My home life was never great. Lots of fighting and arguing.” Her nose did that wrinkled thing again, only this time it wasn’t cute. “Deep down, I guess part of me blamed them for my parents splitting up. Then Dad went and married their mom because he was drowning in child support payments.”

He opened and closed his mouth. What was the right thing to say?

“Still interested in someone with a fucked up family history like that?” she asked.

“You aren’t your parents.” That much was obvious. Once Kelsey committed to something, she did it. As frustrating as Logan found that quality, he also respected it.

“No, but growing up around that affected me. The truth? I’ve always been ready for every romantic relationship I’ve been in to end from the beginning. That’s why you and me...”

She had one foot out the door already, and they hadn’t truly started.

“I get it now.” Logan nodded slowly. He thought he finally understood, but he could still be wrong.

Her gaze narrowed. “You do?”

“I think so.” Her prickly personality toward him was about protecting herself.

“I’m not going to magically change, Logan. This is who I am.”

“I know.” And he was going to wear down those thorns. She’d draw blood. He knew she would. But over time, she’d learn he wasn’t going away that easily.

Her parent’s fighting had created an emotionally unstable environment. Young Kelsey had learned to protect herself, because no one else would. Not even the people charged with her safety. The very people who brought her into the world.

She would leave him. There was no doubt in his mind that fear of being left again would push her away. But there was one thing he knew about himself, he wasn’t going to give up. She’d pegged him correctly when she’d poked fun at him the other night. He was a man of commitment. If she didn’t want him, she should have never kissed him.

Logan loved her. It had happened without warning and he was in it. But before she could return that emotion, she’d have to feel truly safe with him. And he had a feeling she’d never truly felt that before.

He squeezed her hand and smiled, knowing full well this wasn’t going to be an easy road. But the best things in life often required hard work. Deep down, he knew Kelsey was worth it.

SUNDAY. KELSEY’S APARTMENT. Washington, DC.

Kelsey dunked another chip in the queso and shoved it in her mouth. Her insides were wound tight. She’d